Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) targeted tax relief, crowded prisons and college scholarships in his Jan 7 address.
He renewed his call to decrease the sales tax on groceries for the poor — a tax-credit proposal that state lawmakers rejected in 2007. Otter also urged the Republican-controlled Legislature to phase out the personal property tax.
As an alternative to the state’s practice of shipping prisoners to other states to relieve overcrowding, Otter called for spending $70 million on a new prison for the mentally ill and for converting a warehouse at the Idaho Correctional Center into a 304-bed drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation center.
Other big-ticket items included a proposal to spend $50 million for college scholarships for low-income students and $20 million for a comprehensive study of every Idaho aquifer. He also called for a 5 percent pay increase for state employees.
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