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LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER XIV - MARCH 24-28/2008
Constituents: With luck the Idaho Legislature will Sine Die about
Wednesday -- just past April Fools Day. Winter's hold on Boise still prevails with temperatures in the 20's and some scattered snow showers.
Many Idahoans thing we've done enough damage already this
session. I'm reminded of what Mark Twain once said, "While the Legislature is in session no man's life, liberty, or property is safe." There may be some truth in this statement.
On March 24th Governor
Otter signed HB501 -- the Victim Shield Law which helps protects the addresses of victims of domestic violence through the Secretary of States Office. Fran Halstead, Kendrick, who remained in hiding for more
than 22 years and testified for the bill, and Carl Hulquist, Moscow Community Activist, who organized the community to support the bill were present as well as a representative of Moscow's Alternative to Violence.
Secretary of State, Ben Ysursa, Rep. Ringo, and I were also there to see the bill signed. The Secretary of State estimates that the program may assist up to 500 victims of domestic violence the first year of the program.
The E Bay auction of the pen that the Governor used to sign SB1260
-- Dog Fighting/Felony Penalty sold for $405. The money will go to our local animal shelter. A constituent notified me that two men in Spokane were convicted on dog fighting charges. For dog lovers, research supports the notion that music affects dogs, and that they like simple melodies, soft volumes and slow tempos which seem to soothe the canine soul. Many animal shelters and boarding kennels use music to calm dogs in their care.
And now to the issues taking up the final moments of the Legislative session:
1. SB1447 --
This is the bill which would further reduce state employee medical benefits upon retirement. It has often been said that the state budget is balanced on the backs of state employees. If this bill passes it will be on the broken backs of state employees. It follows the same pattern as occurred to faculty at a local university.
Supporters of the bill say the measure will reduce the state's $442 million unfunded liability. According to my analysis the bill breaks long held promises to state workers by leaving them without fallback
health care coverage once they retire. The bill would cap medical benefits for current retirees and eliminate medical retirement benefits for future hires.
I've seldom seen such strong armed attempts by the Governor's Office to force a bill through. Even the bill's proponents admit there are major flaws in the bill and that state employees have not been involved in the process of the crafting of the bill. We should study the legislation for a year and bring together all of the stakeholders. What we are about to do with state employees is a travesty.
2. HB599A --
This is the proposed IACI (Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry) bill to eliminate the property tax on business equipment. The bill which passed the House (I voted against it) would have eliminated $120 million over time. The bill would have forced many entities including Latah County to raise property taxes. The Senate amended the bill and proposed a cap of $75,000. The price tag on this was only $15 million and would have benefited 86% of the mom and pop small businesses. I can support this type of legislation because most jobs in Idaho are created by small business. However, the fat cats from IACI say they would rather see the whole bill defeated rather than compromise. The talk around the House is that the bill will probably die.
3. HJM4 -- This is the local option tax legislation which if enacted would go to the voters as a constitutional amendment. If passed by the voters, local officials could put up specific
infrastructure projects for funding. It would take a 2/3rds vote for passage. The legislation is currently in the Senate and faces an extremely close vote.
4. Transportation --
Idahoans will not be faced with increased gas tax or registration fees for at least a year. Governor Otter has crusaded for $240 million in additional monies that the Department of Transportation needed. We did pass $134 million of Garvey Bonds that will be used next year. The Legislature could only come up with a package of about $65 million which was far less than the Governor wanted. So both sides agreed to do nothing until next year. One positive note is that the Legislature did approve about $500,000 for an audit of ITD. The results of this audit will used to provide assistance to the Legislature and the Governor in making future decisions on funding state transportation needs.
5. Drug Rehabilitation Programs --
The Governor's veto of $16 million proposal came as a shock to most legislators and the public. A cross section of both legislators and the public studied this issue for over a year and agreed on the required legislation. The Senate over rode the veto, but the House decided to negotiate. At this time it appears that a compromise has been reached. The $16 million will be reduced by about 10% but some additional supplemental funds will almost fill the void. The democratic process worked in this case and saved an extremely important program.
6.
Protection of Idaho's Children -- Idaho will remain the only state in the country with no system for reviewing child deaths. The House passed the bill but the Chairman for Health and Welfare in the Senate blocked consideration of the bill. The attempt to have a bill that would require criminal checks on the backgrounds of workers at day care centers failed, as did attempts to move legislation forward for funding pre-K programs. No wonder Idaho is ranked 50th in the nation in terms of these measures.
Well, that just about wraps up this session. Please continue to send me your comments but now use my personal e-mail address:
ttrail@moscow.com.
Thanks,
Rep. Tom Trail
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