Gov. Otter Gives 2012 State Of The State Address

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter outlined $60 million in income tax cuts, a pay raise for state workers and teachers and a plan to equip students with laptops in his annual State of the State speech on Monday.

The tax cuts dwarf his separate $5 million initiative to create technology jobs and spur university research.

Otter outlined a $41 million, 3 percent pay bonus for state workers and teachers – but only if tax revenues stay on track. And he recommended $32 million to buy laptops for students and pay merit bonuses to teachers, part of last year’s disputed education reforms.

Otter’s budget would spend about $2.65 billion in fiscal year 2013, 4 percent more than the current year when the state is expected to wind up with a roughly $100 million banked next June.