Tax relief, sales tax keep Legislature busy

Property tax relief, removal of sales tax from food, more equitable pay for teachers and state employees. These are just a few of the difficult issues facing us in the legislative session — compounded by January's $34 million decline in revenues.

One month of declining revenues is no cause for panic, but it sends a signal that we should exercise caution. On the economic front, Idaho is better off than many states overall. But we're also seeing negative signs, such as a slump in the real estate market. We need to see how these dynamics play out before creating new spending programs. Lessons of the past have taught us that we should set some money aside for a "rainy day fund" so we can better deal with the economic downturns.

On the positive side, we will still be able to provide generous funding for schools, higher education, public safety and health services that are important to Idahoans. We just need to be cautious about how we spend our tax dollars and how much we spend.

Success should never be measured by how much money we spend, or where we rank with other states in spending. It's far more important to evaluate how we spend taxpayer money, and the quality of services provided.

It's crucial for legislators to set sensible spending priorities and sort out the "needs" from the "wants," just as families in my district do. I will be evaluating budgets on that basis as they come to the House floor.

Historically, we've had a tremendous amount of revenue provided by our natural resource industry — timber, mining and agriculture. But these industries have seen steady declines over the years. It stands to reason that economic recovery, to a large extent, depends on an expanded natural resource industry.

I will continue to support timber and mining, while exploring other creative measures to help boost the economy. Energy can be an important component in the economic picture.

Our neighboring states have enacted Renewable Portfolio Standards that will require the purchasing of renewable energy up to 25 percent of their portfolio within the next 10 years. This will create a huge market and there will need to be a greatly expanded development of renewable energy projects to fill this demand.

Idaho has wind and geothermal resources available. There is a market for these, and we have abundant natural resources to enhance that market.

I have introduced a bill (HB500) that would allow renewable resources (such as wind and geothermal) to be built on school endowment lands, thus creating another permanent funding source for schools. We need more funding for schools, and this is a way to provide it. I will keep you posted as this bill advances.

If you have questions about this, or any other legislative issue, please do not hesitate to contact me.

? Rep. Eric Anderson is a Republican from Priest Lake.