SALT LAKE CITY — House Speaker Mike Schultz is firing back at his Idaho counterpart in a brewing battle of words over a bill pending in the Utah legislature.
On Thursday, FOX 13 News first reported on a memorial introduced in the Idaho State Legislature criticizing the Utah State Legislature's gas tax proposal. The bill seeks to cut the tax Utahns pay on fuel by 50% while increasing it by the same amount in a tax on refineries.
Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle has worried it will mean higher gas prices for Idahoans. In an interview with FOX 13 News' sister-station Idaho News 6 in Boise, he called the legislation "bull manure" and threatened to pressure Utah by going after water that flows from Idaho into the Great Salt Lake.
Speaker Schultz told FOX 13 News on Friday he was not amused.
"I think that’s immature, childish and I'm a little bit disappointed to be honest with you," he said. "I think Idaho trying to kill the Great Salt Lake probably isn’t a good thing. Certainly it isn’t a good thing for Idaho. I think hopefully we all can be adults in the room, figure out where our disagreements are, try to find a way to come together."
Speaker Schultz said he wanted Speaker Moyle to pick up the phone and call him instead of running resolutions criticizing the Utah State Legislature. But he said the Utah State Legislature had no intention of retaliating, nor would he abandon the gas tax bill.
"We're just going to ignore it. We're just going to move forward with what they think is the best policy for the state of Utah. We're not going to get into this back and forth tit for tat with Idaho. We like Idaho. We think they're great partners and we want to work with them," he said. "We want to be partners, not adversaries."
