Idaho Briefs March 2, 2011

Liquor stores may get longer hours

BOISE - Legislative budget writers are getting behind a plan to keep some of Idaho's busiest state-owned liquor stores open longer.

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 10-9 Tuesday in support of a Liquor Division plan to keep more of its stores open until 9 p.m. daily. Most stores now close at 7 p.m.

The victory came amid objections from some lawmakers who claimed keeping stores open longer would promote more consumption of booze.

Liquor Division officials say 10 state stores are open until 9 p.m. at least two days each week. Budget writers gave the agency authority to spend about $450,000 to keep more than two dozen additional stores open longer.

Agency officials say the 6-month experiment could help the state collect an additional $2 million in revenue.

Lawmakers ditch jobs incentives bill

BOISE - An effort to boost Idaho's struggling economy by giving businesses tax incentives to create new jobs has failed in the state Legislature.

The legislation died Tuesday in a Senate committee over lawmaker concerns about its fiscal impact.

The bill would have allowed an employer to receive a portion of their new employee's income taxes in the form of a 4 percent refundable tax credit of a new employee's gross wage. To receive the credit, companies would have had to hire new people earning at least $12 an hour with benefits.

The Idaho Chamber Alliance contends the money returned to companies would go into hiring more workers and growing their businesses. But the bill died over lawmaker concerns it could eventually cost the state millions in lost revenues.

Officials fighting

ATV road closures

BOISE - State lawmakers are working to prevent the U.S. Forest Service from closing some roads to all-terrain vehicles amid safety concerns over underage drivers.

The Senate Transportation Committee approved legislation Tuesday to require underage drivers who use these forest roads to complete a state-approved safety course.

Forest Service officials are considering altering or closing some roads in Idaho for safety reasons, following a 2009 decision by state lawmakers that opened the roads to drivers younger than 16 who operate off-highway vehicles without a state-issued driver's license.

- The Associated Press