Local legislative summit set for Tuesday

COEUR d'ALENE - It's the last official weekend of summer and most locals look forward to fall colors, cooler temperatures and football, but for policy wonks it marks the beginning of a new political cycle.

To that end, local business leaders are holding their 10th annual Legislative Summit on Tuesday at the Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn. Idaho 1st District Congressman Raul Labrador will be a keynote speaker at the event.

Hosted by the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce and the Idaho Chamber Alliance, the event is designed to help the two organizations gather information on specific issues that they will use to develop their 2014 legislative agendas.

"We developed the issues a couple of different ways," said Coeur d'Alene Chamber CEO Steve Wilson. "We met with the state association earlier this spring to look at progress that was made during the last session, and determined that an Idaho corporate tax reduction is necessary."

Wilson said business leaders statewide are still concerned that Idaho's corporate tax rate is over 7 percent. That has been a problem when recruiting new employers to the region, he added.

"Even though we know that when you work through the corporate tax structure it is usually less than that, it is still a problem," he said, adding that employers who are evaluating the state for expansion or relocation may not take the time to dig deep enough into the tax structure to see potential offsets.

Wilson said lowering the tax rate below 7 percent would make Idaho more competitive at first blush.

"If we could get it down to 6 percent, we would be much more attractive," he said. "But getting below 7 percent would help."

Wilson said his public policy committee has expressed an interest in learning more about the Medicaid expansion issue, which is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Wilson said the Legislature set that issue aside to deal with the state insurance exchange during the last session.

The state has the opportunity to expand its Medicaid coverage to include low-income uninsured adults under the PPACA. The move would shift taxes away from state and county taxpayers, who currently pay for that health care now, and put the burden back on the federal government to foot the bill.

While the federal government would pay 100 percent of that expansion for the first three years, the state would assume 10 percent of those costs after that time. The state is currently paying 30 percent of the cost of Medicaid.

"We want to look at that because if you eliminate the county indigent fund there will be more money to spread around the local economy," Wilson said.

Local option taxing authority is another issue that has been on the chamber's agenda before. In the past, Kootenai County successfully lobbied to gain that authority for specific projects.

Wilson said a local option sales tax was used to expand the jail at one time, but it takes a two-thirds majority vote to use it.

"Only two counties have been able to use that option since we got it through the Legislature 10 years ago," Wilson said. "Getting a super majority vote on any project is difficult."

Wilson said the Boise Chamber of Commerce has identified some economic development legislation in Oklahoma that allowed that state to build the basketball stadium that was used to lure the Seattle SuperSonics away from Seattle.

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Widner, R-Boise, will be Skyped in to address the Oklahoma legislation during the summit, Wilson said.

Other topics include higher education and impact fees, he added.

The event is open to the public. Tickets are $30, which includes lunch. The event starts at 9 a.m. and runs through 1:30 p.m. Call the chamber for details at 664-3194.