LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER XI
Constituents:

     We didn't quite finish up the legislative session on the 26th of March.   We will be coming back, hopefully, to finish up on the 29th, and then we can head home.   Here are some of the events of the week.

 1.  HB729 -- Texting While Driving Ban passes the House -- the bill makes texting behind the wheel an infraction with a penalty of $50 plus court costs on the first offense and $100 plus court costs on subsequent offenses.  There is a Senate version that would impose fines up to $300 and jail time up to 90 days. The House and Senate will have to work out details on Monday.

 2.  House Eases Rape Laws for Young Men -- Men within three years of age of their 16 old or 17 year old sexual partners would no longer face statutory rape charges if the sexual encounter was consensual.         I voted against the bill primarily because it did not have the support of Idaho's Prosecutors.   Sandee Meyer, Executive Director of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorney's Association send me the following e-mail: "On behalf of Idaho's Prosecutors, we would like to thank you for opposing SB1385. We continue to strongly believe that the passage of this legislation poses a great threat to innocent, young adolescents in Idaho.  Again, thank you for your opposition to this dangerous and unnecessary legislation.

  3. 10th Amendment/States Rights -- American constitutional law is a centuries old struggle between       Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson -- between expansive and narrow views of federal power.       Both Virginia and Idaho struck a blow for Jefferson when these two states passed resolutions to ban federally mandated health insurance (from the new national health plan). In Virginia 23 of the Houses's 39 Democrats supported the legislation.

     Although the Constitution's supremacy clause makes it clear that federal law trumps state law, there are a number of issues that are not clear as to the constitutionality of the new health national health care plan.  Many opponents believe it breaches the constitution itself. First is the broad challenge on states' rights grounds, particularly with respect to health care. Second, the Supreme Court has recognized a right to medical self determination, notably finding it within the 5th Amendment's due-process clause.  An individual mandate could violate that right by restricting choices of doctors or procedures. The last and strongest argument concerns the government's power to require the purchase of health insurance under the commerce clause.

     The non-partisan Congressional Research Service found this the most challenging constitutional     question related to health care reform, as the commerce clause, the clause in the constitution that allows the federal government to regulate trade between the states, has never before been used to require that citizens buy a good or service.   If the Supreme Court finds in favor of any one of these arguments, the state laws become irrelevant:  the individual mandate will have been invalidated at the federal level.   It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 4.  Idaho Education at the Crossroads -- Idaho Public and Higher Education are at the crossroads.  Our educational infrastructure has suffered from the cutbacks of the past few years, and it is likely to suffer more in the coming few years unless a dramatic turnaround occurs.

     The Idaho constitution clearly outlines that we have a constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and uniform education for our children. This obligation clearly signifies that we need to provide the resources to K-12 students.  This year's budget for K-12 is down about 7% and Higher Education's       support is down more than 10%.

     Idaho elected officials are strong supporters of public education.   I've heard Governor Otter and Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Luna, say that we must do our best to prepare Idaho students to compete in the Global Economy. But when we have schools that have gone to four day school weeks, increased class size, and suffered a dramatic decline in support of the resources need to adequately fund the educational infrastructure this raises the question of whether or not we are meeting our constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and uniform education for our K-12 students.

     In 1985, Higher Education received almost 17% of the state budget.  This has declined to about 8% today.  Priority and world class programs have been eliminated, class sizes have increased, and top researchers and teachers are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. Fees for students are increasing by 10-12% a year, and the average graduate leaves their Alma Mater with over $20,000 in debt.  Governor Otter has said on many occasions that higher education prepares the work force for our State's economic engine; however, the State's commitment to Higher Education does not seem to indicate it has a high priority.  Our teachers put in over 10 hours a day of work for five days and also work on the weekends.   Idaho ranks 41st in the U.S. in teachers' salaries and 47th in expenditures per student.

     Bob Huntley, former Idaho Supreme Court Judge and Democratic candidate for governor, and I are proposing an alternative for the Governor and others, which we feel could help us adequately support education and other critical state services.  We call our proposal the Idaho Economic Recovery Act.  The proposal would reduce the 6% sales tax to 5%. This would benefit low income families and make us more competitive with other states. Additionally we propose that services be taxed at the 5% level and that certain exemptions be eliminated. The net return to the state as calculated by the Idaho Tax Commission would be about $200 million. This could be used for supporting our educational programs. Under our proposal, production and agricultural exemptions would not be touched and there would not be a tax on health services.

     We held a press conference on Thursday. The Idaho Education Association, Labor Unions, and members of the community attended.   We proposed this initiative because we feel that education is at the cross-roads in Idaho, and that our proposal leads toward a more equitable tax system

     Lee Iacocca said, "In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and the highest responsibility anyone could have."   And as Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."  Again, we urge the Governor and our elected officials to look at our proposal, and move forward to strengthen education in Idaho.

That is all for this week.   I'll be sending out another summary once we Sine Die.   Please contact me at ttrail@house.idaho.gov

Rep. Tom Trail
 

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