SALT LAKE CITY — The Idaho State Legislature has introduced a memorial criticizing the Utah State Legislature over a bill that would rework the fuel tax that Utahns pay.
House Joint Memorial 12, filed Thursday, is sponsored by Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle. It openly criticizes a pending bill that would cut the gas tax consumers pay in Utah by 50% and impose a tax on refineries by the same amount. A memorial in Idaho's legislature is similar to a resolution in Utah's, which is a statement by a political body on an issue.
"We've always considered them a good partner and to do this is bull manure, in my humble opinion," Speaker Moyle said in an interview with FOX 13 News' sister-station, Idaho News 6.
The memorial calls out Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz over his promotion of the bill and warns the impact of the legislation would "significantly increase the total fuel tax burden on Idaho citizens and businesses, placing Idaho among the most heavily taxed fuel markets in the nation." It warned of a potential $250 million impact to Idahoans.
It also said the Utah bill would spark "a plague of new ‘tit for tat’ taxes and fees to be borne by non-residents."
Utah lawmakers to consider a 50% cut to the tax you pay for gas:
"Idaho's at a disadvantage because we can't stop them, right?" Speaker Moyle said. "I still think it's against the Constitution with the interstate commerce stuff,but we'll see what they decide. But he's pretty adamant about forcing that issue, which is a huge increase in fuel costs for those of us living in southern Idaho."
When told of the filing in the Idaho State Legislature, Republican political leaders on Utah's Capitol Hill did not seem impressed.
"We represent Utahns. We don’t represent Idaho and I find it interesting they’re responding to a bill that doesn’t exist yet," Rep. Cal Roberts, R-Draper, who is sponsoring the bill, told FOX 13 News. "They call it an export tax, they can call it what they want. It’s not an export tax it’s a refinery tax and it’s making sure our residents get a fair deal at the pump."
Rep. Roberts dismissed the memorial in Idaho's legislature as "political theatre."
"We’re focused on representing Utahns first making sure the prices at the pump are good for Utahns. What I would say to Idaho is if you’re a pro-energy state, invest in energy industry like we have for many decades," he said..
The pending bill has been the subject of intense lobbying on Utah's Capitol Hill. Rep. Roberts has joked that every lobbyist in the state has been employed by oil and gas interests to stop it. The Utah Petroleum Association has expressed concerns about the bill.
"We have concerns with the bill proposed by the Utah legislature, which includes how it would impact regional fuel markets and our members' customers in Utah, Idaho, and beyond," the group said in a statement to FOX 13 News on Thursday.
Speaker Moyle told Idaho News 6 he hoped Utah's legislature would back off of the bill.
"There's some things we can do to put pressure on Utah,right? I mean, one of the things I would like to see us do is we've got a lot of water that goes to the Great Salt Lake in southeastern Idaho. Let's keep it. Let's keep it in Idaho," he said.
Rep. Roberts defended the legislation, which is due to be made public soon on Utah's Capitol Hill. He also warned that Idaho could see broader impacts.
"If they were to put a tax, let’s call it on potatoes. So Utahns would pay a tax on potatoes leaving the state of Idaho. I would be curious to see what they think their Idaho farmers would feel about that," he said. "It would hurt their industry."
