(BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter offered his complete agreement with concerns expressed today by his fellow Republican governors about the impact on state budgets of health care legislation pending in Congress.

                 Reacting to a statement (attached) issued at the Republican Governors Association (RGA) Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, Governor Otter said he shared concerns about the cost of expanding Medicaid eligibility, and joined his colleagues in urging Democrat governors to similarly speak out about the impact on state budgets.

 “States like Idaho were meant to be the ‘laboratories of the Republic’ – places where local accountability and familiarity with local needs can help turn good ideas into good public policy. But right now what we’re seeing are more and more examples of one-size-fits-all ‘solutions’ coming out of Washington, D.C.  They’re threatening to impose incredible costs on states like Idaho, and more importantly on the people we serve,” Governor Otter said. “These are costs that are ongoing, and will force us to make difficult and painful choices about our own priorities here at home.”

                 A $151 million shortfall in anticipated revenue for the State budget year that begin July 1 already has prompted the Governor to order a tiered holdback that amounts to 4 percent of the General Fund budget. However, that action only accounted for about two thirds of the shortfall, and more spending reductions are anticipated since the Idaho Constitution requires the State to balance the budget.

                 “Now we face the prospect of the feds dictating how we use a much bigger share of a declining amount of State revenue. That is simply unacceptable,” said Governor Otter, who was not included in the original RGA statement only because official obligations in Idaho kept him from attending the annual conference. “I join my colleagues in urging Democrat governors to help us stop this runaway federal mandate.”