House Republican Leader Ken Roberts Appointed To Tax Commission

Idaho Legislature

House leader Ken Roberts (R-Donnelly) has been appointed to be the fourth member of the state Tax Commission.  The commission oversees state revenue collections and tax laws.

Here’s the press release from the governor’s office:

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced the appointment today of Ken Roberts, Republican Caucus chairman in the Idaho House of Representatives, to the four-member Idaho State Tax Commission. He fills a vacancy left by the February resignation of Bob Geddes, the former president pro tem of the Idaho Senate who stepped down from the Tax Commission to return to work for his previous employer, Monsanto.

“Ken’s years of experience working on tax issues as a member of the Legislature and his keen understanding of the critical importance of public confidence in the process make him an outstanding choice for the Tax Commission,” Governor Otter said. “I chose him from a very talented and qualified group of candidates. I could not have gone wrong by selecting any of them.”

Roberts will resign from the House and begin his new job on Monday, July 16. His appointment – completing a term started by former Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow and continued by Geddes – lasts until April 1, 2013. It is subject to Idaho Senate confirmation when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Since Roberts also was slated to be on the November ballot for re-election to the House from a realigned District 8 – including Valley, Custer, Lemhi, Boise and Gem counties – a newly formed Republican legislative district committee will be charged with selecting his ballot replacement. With Roberts’ resignation from the Idaho House and the existing District 8 Republican legislative committee having disbanded, Governor Otter is consulting with Secretary of State Ben Ysursa on a path forward for appointing a replacement for the balance of Roberts’ current House term.

Roberts is a Valley County farmer who attended both the University of Idaho and Boise State University. He is in his sixth two-year term representing Valley, Clearwater, Idaho and Lewis counties in the Idaho House.

In addition to his role in House leadership, he served on the Health and Welfare, Revenue and Taxation and Ways and Means committees. He also has served on the McCall-Donnelly School Board, as a director of the Gold Fork Irrigation Co., on the Idaho Legislature’s Change in Employee Compensation and Economic Outlook committees, and on the Council of State Governments-West Legislative Council on River Governance. Roberts also is the designated House representative on the Idaho Bond Bank Authority, from which he also will resign to accept the Tax Commission appointment.

He will join Acting Chairman David Langhorst and Tom Katsilometes – both Democrats – and fellow Republican Rich Jackson on the Tax Commission. The chairmanship will be determined by the Governor at a later date.

“I am looking forward to the challenge and to continuing to serve the citizens of Idaho in this new capacity,” Roberts said. “I look forward to the responsibility of implementing tax policy fairly and uniformly for all Idahoans, and to working with the Governor and the Legislature on recommendations for improvement.”