Two competing voucher bills have been duking it out nearly all legislative session. By Friday, only one was standing.
Senate Bill 1025, brought forward by Sen. David Lent (R-Idaho Falls), had been amended in the Senate Education Committee on Thursday to eliminate $30 million in special education funding. But that wasn’t enough to keep it alive on the Senate floor, where it was easily defeated 6-28, with one senator absent.
That leaves House Bill 93 – the least accountable voucher program for consideration before the Idaho Legislature this year – as the only currently viable bill. It advanced out of the Senate Local Government and Tax Committee this week and could be heard on the House floor as early as Monday.
“At the start of the legislative session, Governor Little said he would only sign a bill that was fair, accountable, responsible and transparent,” said Idaho Education Association Political Director Chris Parri. “HB 93 meets zero of those standards. We’ll continue to fight for Idaho’s public schools, which deserve so much more than legislation that siphons funds away from their students.”
The Senate Local Government and Tax Committee hearing room was packed with people who had signed up to testify. Elinor Chehey, representing United Women in Faith, said the Legislature’s current efforts to reduce taxes will set the state on a funding collision course if vouchers are implemented.
“Other states that have gone down this path have found themselves short on revenue, and the school districts have had to ask for more supplemental property tax levies,” she said. “… Will the families in your school districts be happy paying additional property taxes to help cover their district’s expenses because the state’s money went to tax breaks for families with children in private school?”
If HB 93 passes, Idaho will join a long list of states that offer public money to pay for private schools. The bill was modeled on Arizona’s polarizing voucher program. Lobbyists have flooded the Idaho Statehouse to support voucher legislation during this session.
It’s unknown whether Governor Brad Little will find HB 93 meets the fair, accountable, responsible and transparent test he set out for any proposed voucher scheme when he asked legislators to set aside $50 million for the purpose at the start of the session.
