Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, is a cartoonish figure with a dangerous idea.

The tax scofflaw and public timber thief argued before the Idaho Supreme Court that he belonged to a privileged class - the 105 members of Idaho's Legislature.

Arguing the government has no constitutional authority to tax his income, Hart is now $550,000 behind on his federal taxes and he owes $53,000 to the state.

For close to three years, he's been using one tactic after another to stall the state tax collector. Among them was a section of the Idaho Constitution that protects lawmakers from arrest or being detained while the Legislature is in session "except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace."

Boiled down, it means Idaho's founding fathers wanted to protect ordinary citizens from having a judge arbitrarily yank their elected representatives from a legislative session. And as a practical matter, lawmakers have found ways to accommodate both the courts and their obligation to their constituents.

When it comes to Hart, however, it's always about him. So he converted the measure into a form of immunity. If the law said he was obligated to file a tax appeal by Jan. 4, 2010, he'd blow it off. The legislative session was about to convene and the tax collector could just wait.

Anyone else in the state who fails to file a timely appeal loses the right to appeal. But if Hart had his way, he and other lawmakers could unilaterally extend the time for a legislator to file a tax appeal. Hart's theory would in fact allow legislators to simply ignore any legal deadline.

Following this logic, what's to stop other legislators from asserting privileges elsewhere under the law? Lawmakers already have become comfortable with retirement perks no other state worker receives.

With impunity, some have padded their expense accounts while imploring state workers to get by with fewer resources.

Hart isn't the only lawmaker to probe the limits of ethical behavior.

Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, silently partnered with an oil and gas company while opening Idaho up to oil and gas exploration.

House State Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, strangled a bill before it could complicate his road abandonment dispute with Bonneville County

What the Idaho Supreme Court said in this case was something lawmakers have not been hearing much lately.

And what it said was: No.

No, Rep. Hart, you are not a class apart from the rest of us.

No, Rep. Hart, your office is not a sanctuary.

No, Rep. Hart, you can not avoid paying taxes.

"In this case, Hart was not obligated to do anything but pay his taxes," Justice Jim Jones wrote for a unanimous court. "In this instance, Hart is just a taxpayer, with no greater privilege than his constituents."

And no, Rep. Hart, it is not acceptable behavior for a public official to twist a provision of the state constitution beyond recognition. Anyone else who engages in a frivolous lawsuit and loses has to cover the winning party's legal costs.

So will Hart - at a rate of $150 for every hour Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden's office spent on this matter.

Long after Hart's legislative tenure retreats into the historical footnotes and termites have finished gorging themselves on the stolen timber in his cabin, this decision will stand - if only for what it precluded. - M.T.

Source: Associated Press