Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Legislature received a shock when Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) announced Jan. 12 that he would seek to cut K-12 education funding by more than 5 percent as part of efforts to trim state spending amid a bleak budget picture. “The unfortunate reality is we just don’t know how long or how bad this economic downturn is going to be,” Otter said in his state of the state address. He called for cuts of more than 7 percent from the previous budget, including a 7.5-percent cut to social services, 10 percent to higher education and almost 12 percent to corrections.
Otter singled out transportation funding as his most vexing issue. He called for a 10-cent increase in the gas tax over five years (to 35 cents a gallon), increases in vehicle registration fees and a new excise tax on car rentals to help pay for roads and bridges and other transportation needs.
Other proposals highlighted in the speech included a restructuring of the agencies that oversee education and the creation of a council to find ways to increase the number of nurses and other health-care professionals in the state.
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