BOISE - Legislation exempting state government from Boise's planning rules in a dispute over a 580-car Capitol Mall parking garage rolled through a House committee Tuesday, an effort Idaho officials describe as a "last-ditch" effort to keep the project on track, should the local city council not allow it to go ahead like the state wants.

The House State Affairs Committee voted 11-5 to approve the bill allowing the state to override Boise's planning rules to build the $8 million garage. The Senate has already signed off on the proposal, which now heads to the House floor.

Lawmakers approved construction of the new garage project last year. But in January, a city planning board rejected part of the garage's design. The state has appealed, but the Boise City Council won't rule on that until late April.

Consequently, Legislative Services director Jeff Youtz, a member of the Capitol Commission that oversees the mall surrounding the statehouse, said Idaho needs a fallback plan in case city decisions continue to stall the project - or add to costs. He emphasized that the state would only use the power in the measure as a final option, and was committed to working with Boise officials to make sure the garage fits the historic neighborhood where it's destined to be built.

"Legislative leadership wanted a failsafe option if the worst case scenario played out and the project was rejected," he said, "to protect bondholders, the state's good faith and credit, to protect the timeline to get it built in the next year, and not experience construction delays which would drive up the cost of the facility."

Youtz said the state is counting on building the facility in time to collect parking revenue and begin paying off the bonds. Those bond payments will total about $600,000 yearly, Youtz said, and would need to be paid out of general state taxpayer funds, if construction is postponed.

On Tuesday, Ross Borden, Boise city's lobbyist, said Mayor David Bieter does not plan to take a position on the bill.

No one from the public testified against the legislation.

But lawmakers from both parties who voted against the bill said they're concerned the state is exerting its power to wiggle out of local planning rules, upsetting the balance between state and local authority.

Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, joined Republican Rep. Kelley Packer of Mountain View and all three committee Democrats to oppose the bill.

Barbieri said it's inconsistent for the state to use its bond repayment timeline as an excuse to overrule local planning regulations, especially since private developers are required to go through the city planning process and can't just rewrite the law when things don't go their way.

"I do think it is bad form for the state to require everyone to comply, and somehow the imperial government doesn't need too," he said. "It just seems to me that somehow we might be overreaching here and I'm not sure it's appropriate."