03/13/06 Ethanol bill dies; forget about the $50

A House committee has killed legislation that would have required that gasoline sold in Idaho contain ten percent ethanol which is produced from farm products. The bill would have required the ethanol blend only after 30 million gallons were annually produced within the state. The measure had already cleared the Senate but critics say there were too many unanswered questions. Now a legislative committee will take a look at ethanol production during a summertime study. Governor Dirk Kempthorne asked for 88 million but legislative budget writers approved a 52 million dollar state construction package instead. Left out was 34 million dollars sought by the governor to improve a half dozen state parks and build a new one in eastern Idaho. That request goes onto a stack of proposals that budget writers may revisit later this week. And the governor's plan to give every Idahoan 50 dollars has also been shot down by the legislature. Instead the budget committee decided to use the 63 million dollars on economic development projects. Still to be determined by the legislature is property tax relief. The governor says he's not sure what kind of legislation will reach his desk in this his final year in office. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scot