Emilie Ritter Saunders was StateImpact Idaho's multimedia reporter until the project merged with the Boise State Public Radio site in July 2013. She previously worked as the Capitol Bureau Chief for Montana Public Radio and was a Senior Fellow with NPR's Economic Training Project from 2009 until 2010. She graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2007.
Click the image to see Gov. Otter's petition website.
A panel of Idaho senators voted unanimously to give a full hearing to legislation that would create a state-based health insurance exchange.
Gov. Otter’s chief of staff introduced the proposal to the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee today. It’s the first step toward creating an online insurance marketplace for Idaho.
“It’s important to understand that this RS [bill draft] is really the result of a process that began over 6 months ago in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld Obamacare,” said Otter’s chief of staff David Hensley. Continue Reading →
It was a busy week at StateImpact Idaho! We started our deep-dive into Idaho’s business equipment tax called the personal property tax, which you’ll likely hear more about as the legislative session progresses. Here’s the five posts (plus a bonus), that got the most clicks, comments and shares this week:
A robotic arm picks up prop shafts during final inspection at the Mennie Machine Co. in Mark, Illinois.
The Associated Pressstarted rolling out a three-part series this week on jobs and the impact the recession and technology have had on workers around the globe. Here’s an excerpt:
Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over.
Allstate's corporate headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois.
Allstate Insurance announced plans last week to expand its call center in Pocatello, saying 225 jobs will be added.
The insurance company already operates a call center in the area with 226 employees. The new employees will work in Allstate’s roadside services division, taking emergency calls from customers around the nation. Continue Reading →
Inside an equipment room at Micron in Boise, Idaho.
Boise-based Micron and two of its subsidiaries are three of the top five business personal property tax payers in Ada County.
In 2011, Micron paid more than $2.9 million. MP Mask Technology Center, a joint venture between Micron and Photronics Inc. paid almost $1 million, and shuttered Micron joint venture Transform Holdings Inc. (Transform Solar) paid nearly $440,000.
So, Micron stands to gain the most in Ada County, and arguably the state, if Idaho lawmakers nix the personal property tax. Micron knows it. Continue Reading →
The Idaho Statesmanreports Boise Cascade LLC plans to go public after nine years as a privately-held company.
Eighty percent of Boise Cascade is held by Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago private-equity firm. The status change will make money for Madison Dearborn, spokesman John Sahlberg said. Continue Reading →
In 2011, more than 53,000 Idaho companies paid the business personal property tax. Half of those businesses paid less than $90. Who stands to benefit from getting rid of the tax? Click around the map to see the top five payers in each county. The darker a county is shaded, the more reliant it is on the personal property tax. Continue reading →
Idaho college and university presidents spent the first part of this week making their pitches to the Legislature for funding.
The common theme: as more Idahoans seek a college degree, the state needs to invest more in higher education.
Boise State president Bob Kustra told the Legislature’s budget panel, a decade ago, the university received about one-third of its budget from the state. Now, it’s closer to one-fifth. Kustra said that means the school, like many across the region, have to look for other sources of funding. He says tuition is a big component. Continue Reading →
All the drawers, shelving, and buckets that hold sweets at Powell's Candy Shoppe in Boise are taxed annually.
Over the next few days, StateImpact Idaho will roll out radio features, an interactive map, and county-by-county data on Idaho’s business personal property tax.
Why? The tax has long been loathed by some businesses and their lobbyists. The Legislature is under increasing pressure to decide how and when to repeal the tax during the current session, after taking a stab at it 2008.
So, we want to put Idaho’s personal property tax in context. Is this a tax that stifles business and burdens small mom-and-pop companies? Who pays the most? Who will benefit the if the tax is eliminated? We’ll answer many of these questions over the next few days. First, here are some personal property tax tidbits to wet your whistle: Continue Reading →
The Idaho Labor Department today released December jobless figures, showing the lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in nearly four years. December’s rate dipped to 6.6 percent, down from 6.8 percent in November.
Unlike previous monthly jobless reports, this one signals stronger hiring.
“The labor force expanded, albeit just fractionally, for the first time since last May, and job opportunities were sufficient to accommodate not only 300 new entrants to the workforce but 1,500 workers who were previously without jobs. Rate declines in recent months have been due in large part to labor force contraction.” – Idaho Labor Department Continue Reading →
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