The Idaho House Tuesday passed a bill to exempt the sale of Girl Scout cookies from the state’s sales tax.

“As you look at this bill, it is a very simple bill,” said Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake. “We’re asking, simply, for a tax exemption on the sale of Girl Scout cookies.”

Anderson, along with Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, co-sponsored House Bill 250, which would provide the tax exemption for the cookie sales. It is estimated that the state would lose $140,000 a year in tax revenue if the bill becomes law.

“I’d like to discuss what is in a box of Girl Scout cookies,” Anderson said before the other House members. “The cookies themselves only account for about a quarter of the cost of the box. The rest of the money goes to fund the good work of the Girl Scouts. Eighty-one percent of young girls who become Girl Scouts will be more likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, 91 percent of these girls will not abuse alcohol.”

Burgoyne was no less supportive of what the Girl Scouts represent, adding, “99 percent of Girl Scouts will never be in a juvenile court. This bill will help Girl Scouts to become responsible and productive citizens. If the Girl Scouts can help prevent one girl from becoming a meth addict, it will save Idaho $2,600 per year.”

The bill passed 59-11, with a combination of both Democrats and Republicans voting against the measure. It now goes on to the Senate, where it could face an uncertain future.

Earlier this month, Senate President Pro Tempore Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, told the Idaho Press Club that the bill may get no hearing at all in the state Senate. He noted that Idaho state law already allows for more than 100 tax exemptions, and he suggested that members of the Senate may resist creating more of them.