Working for Idaho

Dem lawmakers respond to budget holdbacks

2009-09-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Democratic leadership in the Idaho Legislature today commended Governor Butch Otter for directly tackling Idaho’s immediate budget issues and for involving Democratic legislators in his deliberations. At the same time, House Minority Leader John Rusche and Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly questioned whether the Governor’s plan will result in the best outcome for Idaho’s future or preserve as many Idaho jobs as possible.

In response to the Governor’s announcement this morning of significant cuts to state government, Democratic leaders raised concerns about the soundness of the Governor’s plan to carry over significant rainy day funds and federal stimulus dollars while cutting investments important to Idahoans and Idaho’s future.

“We appreciate the fact that the Governor took the time to brief Democratic leaders on the current economic situation, and to solicit our ideas on potential solutions,” said House Minority Leader John Rusche. “While the Governor’s proposal may respond to the immediate financial crisis, we are concerned that the proposal falls short in adequately preparing for Idaho’s economic future. The revenue shortfall is a symptom. Unemployment is the disease. For our economy to recover, Idaho needs to step up efforts to build jobs.”

In less than two years, Idaho went from fourth in the nation in job gains to being among the states with the greatest job losses. State coffers have seen a corresponding drop in revenues.

“Idaho businesses are closing, we’re bleeding jobs, people are losing their homes, and families are struggling to keep up with increasing tuition,” said Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly, as she questioned the Governor’s cuts and his decision to pass over significant reserve and federal funds.

“The reserve and economic stimulus funds come from our taxpayers. That money doesn’t help our economy if it sits in a savings account," Kelly added. "We should be maximizing our use of federal funds and more aggressively accessing our reserve funds to save jobs, create jobs and help build a future for our children. Instead the Governor’s proposal further erodes services at a time when Idahoans need them most.”

“It is a matter of values and priorities,” Rusche said. “Like other Idahoans, we realize that building our economy and jobs is a priority. We hope that our colleagues in the majority party will recognize those values and work with us to create a fiscally responsible plan and the best outcome for Idaho’s families and businesses in the short term and in the long term. We stand ready to work with the Governor and our colleagues in the Legislature to solve the challenges facing us.”

Are our schools as strong as they can be?

2009-09-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

By State Rep. Liz Chavez

Fall is approaching and that means two things: Our children are heading back to school, and football season is here. Whether on the high school gridiron or in college stadiums, Idahoans love to cheer the successes of our star athletes. Only a handful of them will “go pro,” and even fewer will earn fame and fortune, but everyone who plays comes away with a lasting sense of accomplishment and teamwork.

This sense of individual achievement and opportunity – combined with the thrill of doing something great as part of a team – are among the most cherished values we Idahoans seek to instill in our children. We know that not every child will make the major leagues in their chosen field, but we want all our children to have every opportunity to succeed, no matter what sort of career or calling they pursue as adults. That’s why it’s important to take stock each fall and ask: Are our neighborhood schools the best they can be to help our children define their own dreams and reach their potential?

That question looms larger than usual this fall, since our children are returning to school under state education budgets that were cut by the 2009 Idaho Legislature for the first time in state history! Democratic lawmakers fought against those deep cuts, since we knew that funding sources were available to help keep our neighborhood schools strong, even in the economic downturn. In the end, however, Republican priorities prevailed, forcing cuts in the number of classroom teachers and diminished opportunities for our children. With that in mind, here are a few things that parents can watch for as children return to school this fall:

Has your child’s class size increased? Does the teacher have the same sort of help he or she did last year? With budget cutbacks, many districts have reduced and each child will get less personal attention. Tell your children to alert you or a teacher right away if they feel they are falling behind. Barebones budgets offer few resources to teachers, children and parents if a skill is not mastered the first time around, but every parent has the right to expect that their child has the opportunity to learn to his or her full potential.

Have you met your child’s teachers? Back-to-school nights are a fixture of the first month of school, giving you a good way to see how your child spends the school day. Later in the fall, parent-teacher conferences will help you team up with your child’s teachers to address small problems before they become big ones.

What about extracurricular activities? Athletics, the arts and other clubs give children many paths to success later in life. This year, due to the Legislature’s budgetary shell games, many Idaho families will be stretched to pay more than ever for these important opportunities. That’s something to keep in mind next year when elected officials tell you they held down your taxes.

Idahoans are committed to the community schools that have served our state so well over the decades. We know that historically, these schools are essential to offering all children the “level playing field” they deserve to have as they prepare to excel in life, no matter what opportunities await them. We will continue to fight to keep our schools strong and hope that even in these difficult times, our neighborhood schools continue to be places where our children can build their dreams – the dreams that will keep Idaho strong.

State Rep. Liz Chavez of Lewiston serves in the Idaho Legislature. She is a retired middle school teacher and sits on the House Education Committee.

Let's be wise stewards of Idaho's outdoors

2009-08-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

By State Senator Les Bock and State Rep. George Sayler

There’s nothing like summertime in Idaho. By now, we’re all making plans for a last few weekends of horseback trips, whitewater rafting or camping in that still-secluded spot that no one else seems to know about.

Whether your summertime rituals involve an annual hike up a favorite trail or Sunday evenings at the old fishing hole, the great outdoors are one big reason most of us choose to live in Idaho. From our pristine lakes and rivers to abundant, accessible public land to clear blue skies, we are blessed with scenic and recreational riches.

We also know that these gifts were given to us to use wisely, and that we are called to be stewards of the air, land and water that both feed our souls and help us keep food on our tables. Just as we all shoulder a great deal of individual responsibility for our actions, as lawmakers, we know that decisions made in the Idaho Legislature can affect our environment. Are we making the best decisions?

This past session, the Legislature wisely voted to protect Idaho’s waters from zebra mussels and quagga mussels, which are wreaking havoc across the West. At the same time, however, most legislators in the majority party chose to reject safeguards that would protect our rivers, lakes and groundwater from inadequate septic systems and toxic chemicals. Was that a good decision?

The near-record-long 2009 session ended with a hasty budget compromise that used state general fund money to fund roads and bridges. One loser in this shell game was the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, which provides affordable recreation opportunities within a short drive of nearly every Idahoan. With Idaho awash in federal recovery funds for roads and bridges, was it really wise to raid the Parks and Recreation budget?

As a nation, we recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of one of science’s greatest achievements, the Apollo 11 spaceflight to the moon. Just days before that anniversary, Idaho hosted the Pacific Northwest Economic Region conference. It was clear at that meeting that Idaho is poised to be a leader in creating jobs through a broad array of energy options. Why is it that our neighboring states are far ahead of us in what ought to be the Apollo project of the early 21st century: working to create clean energy jobs that not only lift our economy but decrease our dangerous dependence on foreign oil? Can the Idaho Legislature look beyond gas tax fights to work toward a future where applied science, political will and collaborations among our universities and businesses make us a model of energy innovations? Democrats pledge to do so.

As far as we know, we have only one planet suitable for sustaining life. Idahoans have come to realize that our actions matter and that, if we want to pass on the planet’s gifts to our children and their grandchildren, we must take seriously our role as caretakers of our precious environment. Democratic lawmakers in the Idaho Legislature share a commitment to being sure our decisions are those that our descendants can live with – and those that will ensure that like us, they’ll have a chance to enjoy Idaho’s natural beauty and bounty for generations to come.

Senator Les Bock of Boise and Representative George Sayler of Coeur d’Alene serve in the Idaho Legislature.

Gem State Dems are Idahoans first

2009-07-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

By State Rep. John Rusche

Much has been said about the imbalanced makeup of the Idaho Legislature. National magazines and even Steve Ahrens, former executive director of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, have commented on the lopsided nature of the Idaho Legislature. As Steve documented in a recent column for the Idaho Business Review, one-party government can result in arrogance, chaos and worse. Idahoans got a vivid example of this via the 2009 session, which fell just one day short of the longest ever and still failed to address many of our state’s problems.

A recent Gallup poll showed that just 37 percent of Americans identify with the Republican Party, a 10 percent drop since the start of this decade. Throughout the Mountain West, Democrats now hold a majority of governorships (five of eight) and Congressional seats (17 of 28, including Idaho’s 1st District).

Yet the Democratic brand continues to lag across much of Idaho. Perhaps we Idaho Democrats have not yet adequately made the case that we are Idahoans first, and that we share the values held deeply by most people in our state. Or perhaps we are doing what Democrats tend to do, trying to articulate those values in policy and “six-point plans” rather than with straight, honest talk.

There’s little question that Idaho needs more balanced, effective government. Idaho Democrats are committed to bringing about that balance, but we know that our fellow Idahoans will not shift long-held voting patterns unless they have compelling reasons to do so. So here’s my best shot at telling you what Idaho Democrats stand for:

Idaho Democrats believe in fairness. Everyone should play by the rules and pay their share.

Idaho Democrats have faith in our state’s future, and we try to plan for progress. That’s why we work so hard to ensure that our children have excellent schools that will prepare them for good jobs, and that’s why we want to help business create jobs that will allow our kids to stay in Idaho when they grow up.

Idaho Democrats believe in personal responsibility. Sometimes “stuff happens,” and when people are out of work they may need help like unemployment pay and food stamps – but they also need the opportunity and the motivation to learn new skills and get back on the job.

Idaho Democrats prize our state’s unique qualities: our accessible recreation, our glorious wild spaces, our clean air and water. We know we are stewards of these resources and we can use them for economic gain as well as fun, but it’s also up to us to preserve them for future generations.

Idaho Democrats believe in limited government. If government can do the job best – as in maintaining roads, public safety and the schools that most of our children attend – it makes sense for it to do so. But Idaho Democrats believe government should let lawful people live their private lives, and that businesses do best in an atmosphere of creative collaboration and innovation.

Finally, Democrats are different from district to district. As Congressman Walt Minnick has shown, Idaho Democrats are independent thinkers who vote their consciences, and this is true on the state level as it is in Congress. But we are all Idahoans and Americans, and we’re all committed to the values our founders laid out 233 years ago: freedom, liberty, opportunity and justice for everyone. Like you, we know that one-party government is not working for Idaho, and we seek your trust to show how effective, efficient and ethical a balanced Legislature and Democratic leadership can be.

Rep. John Rusche of Lewiston is Minority Leader of the Idaho House of Representatives. This op-ed first appeared in slightly different form in the Idaho Business Review's July 27 issue.

Democratic persistence brings new child care law

2009-07-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

When a new child care law takes effect in Idaho on January 1, 2010, it will mark the culmination of a five-year, Democratic-led campaign to make sure our children are safer when their parents must work outside the home. No one worked harder on that effort than Rep. George Sayler, a Coeur d’Alene Democrat representing District 4 in Kootenai County.

Under current law, Idaho has no regulation for facilities watching six or fewer children, with minimal regulations for those caring between seven and 12 children and licensing only for centers with 13 or more children. The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies has consistently ranked Idaho last among the 50 states for these lax standards.

But starting next year, employees of child-care facilities watching four or more children not related to the provider will have criminal background checks. There must be a working telephone, water safety measures and smoke detector in smaller facilities covering between seven and 13 children. Staff-child ratios will be strengthened at this level, too, and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare can perform unannounced inspections.

Under the original bill co-sponsored by Sayler and Sen. Tim Corder, a Mountain Home Republican, those provisions would have applied to centers with four or more children, but social conservatives in the House Health & Welfare Committee watered down the bill. Still, Sayler said, “Idaho kids will be safer today than they were last year, and that’s good.” An estimated 70,000 Idaho children under age 5 are in some form of outside-the-home day care.

Session was marked by unnecessary cuts, GOP split

2009-05-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Idaho Legislature has finally concluded after 117 days and a cost of more than $3.5 million to taxpayers. After the second-longest session in Idaho Legislative history, many of us are asking “What do Idahoans have to show for it?”

While transportation funding was the Legislature's main hurdle, the economy was the real story of the session. Over the past year, Idaho has gone from leading the nation in job creation to leading in unemployment growth. Combined with stagnant housing and financial markets, high unemployment means that state tax revenues are down significantly. Just as Idaho families and businesses have had to cut back, so has Idaho government, but Democrats fought hard to protect necessary services like police and public education.

Republicans had a different view. Throughout much of this session, they seemed determined to use our real but temporary economic downturn to make permanent and detrimental changes to Idaho’s public schools, colleges and universities and to negatively impact Idaho’s ability to deliver services to its citizens. The 2009 Legislature will forever be remembered as the one that made the first-ever cuts to public schools – cuts that many of us felt were completely unnecessary, given the availability of federal recovery money and Idaho taxpayers’ own rainy-day funds. Like most Idahoans, Democrats realize that strong schools and a robust job market are keys to our state’s future prosperity, so we worked to lessen attacks on our schools and economic development efforts and use a reasonable share of our available resources.

Other important issues remained virtually unaddressed during the long 2009 legislative session: health care, clean energy, rural broadband, telecommunications and economic development. While we saw the Legislature push a toothless measure to declare our state sovereignty, once again any meaningful ethics legislation died in the legislative process. While we saw the Legislature protect Idaho’s waters from zebra mussels, the majority party rejected protection of those same waters from inadequate septic systems and toxic chemicals. And while we debated transportation for months, Republicans cynically prevented any serious consideration of authority to trust local communities to address their own transportation and infrastructure needs.

Democrats are proud to report some solid successes. We led the campaign to strengthen Idaho’s child-care laws, and after five years, we succeeded. We pushed legislation to make schools more energy efficient and a successful measure to recognize that working Idaho women deserve equal pay. Democrats also worked to maintain life-saving health care for adults living with cystic fibrosis and forced reversal of the ill-timed layoffs of state auditors who were chasing tax cheats. But we did not drive the Legislature’s agenda, and like most Idahoans, we believe it went on far too long, with far too little accomplished for Idaho.

It became clear during this marathon session that Idaho’s Republicans lack a coherent vision for Idaho's future and are ill-equipped to handle the demands of our global economy and our changing population. Despite holding most of the legislative seats and the Governor’s office, Republicans appeared to spend much of the 2009 session locked in power struggles, unable to govern effectively and meet Idaho’s citizens’ most basic needs.

Idahoans deserve better. Democrats are unified behind a vision of a robust economy, pristine resources that value our farming and ranching traditions, excellent schools, efficient state services and a fair deal for all of our citizens. Democrats will continue to work for Idaho’s future, putting the public good first as we were elected to do.

John Rusche of Lewiston and Kate Kelly of Boise serve as minority leaders in the Idaho House and Senate, respectively.

The real story on the GOP standoff

2009-05-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Senator Elliot Werk (District 17) sent this message in his newsletter to constituents last weekend. The House did return today, and the Legislature is now on Day 113.

The Idaho legislative session is now in its 111th day – the 2nd longest session in history. The conservative Republican Governor is locked in a battle to raise the gas tax in the deepest recession in a generation with House Republican leadership who refuse to bring another gas tax increase to the House (the House has already voted down four gas tax increase proposals). The Governor is backed by Senate Republican leadership.

Senate Democrats have refused to support a gas tax increase on struggling Idaho families. House Democrats have very effectively and strategically leveraged votes in their caucus to reduce cuts to education budgets.

(Wednesday) night the House “finished their business,” adjourned Sine Die (meaning without a date), and left town saying that they will not consider another gas tax increase. Meanwhile the Senate continues in session with Senate Republican leadership looking to back the governor.

According to the Idaho constitution one legislative body cannot adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other. So the House will be forced to return this coming Monday when the Senate does not accept their adjournment. What will happen when the House returns on Monday is anyone’s guess.

This is what we call a stalemate – the players are locked into their positions!

But the important question is why. What could be so difficult about the passage of a small gas tax increase? After all the Republican Party controls almost 80% of the seats in the legislature along with the governor’s office.

The answer isn’t in the issue; the answer is in the politics.

The Republican Party in Idaho is currently experiencing a civil (or perhaps not-so-civil) war. The Republican Party is very conservative. However, there is a wing of the party that is extremely conservative and they are seeking to take control of the party from the current conservative leadership.

This battle has been raging for years but really began to pick up steam when Bill Sali was elected to Congress in 2006. Sali won a primary packed with five far right conservatives and one “moderate” (I place this in quotes because there are really almost no true moderates in the Republican power structure). Sali’s supporters then began to try and systematically eliminate all typical conservative and “moderate” vestiges from the Republican Party leadership.

At the 2008 Republican Party state convention the far right conservative’s ousted long time party head Kirk Sullivan and installed far right stalwart Norm Semanko (one of the losers in the 2006 Congressional primary). This change occurred over the objections of Governor Otter and other long-time party brass.

Then the far right conservatives at the convention voted to close the Republican primary election in the hopes of purging any remaining “moderates” by ensuring party purity during primary elections. The closed primary election would ensure that only the most conservative candidates won election. This set the stage for the current fight.

So, this fight isn’t really over the gas tax, it is a fight about the future of the Republican Party in Idaho.
Will the far right conservatives fully subsume the Republican Party? Will they eventually oust Butch Otter as being too “moderate”? Will they impose some far right litmus test for belonging to the Republican Party (labeling everyone else RINO’s – Republican In Name Only)? Will they close their primary elections forcing people to register for their party to vote in their primary – all at public expense? FYI - a decision on a lawsuit - brought by the far right - to force the closing their party primary election is currently pending in front of Judge Winmill.

All of these pressures are forcing Republican legislators to move inexorably further to the right. You see with the closed primary the candidate with the furthest right positions is most likely to win (since the far right party purists dominate the primary election turnout). Hence this session alone we get seven NRA-sponsored gun bills and a memorial to Congress asserting our sovereignty (just as we were accepting about $1 billion in federal stimulus money!) and seeking elimination of the Federal Reserve bank.

Meanwhile the Republican Party has lost the ability to effectively govern. It is no longer about what might be best for the state of Idaho. They are so consumed with their party war that the people of the state of Idaho are being left out in the cold.

As the Republicans move further to the far right, the ability to craft consensus legislation that serves the people is lost. Instead we get a litany of legislative initiatives that have unintended consequences, cater to the most conservative element of their party, are either unenforceable or represent empty messages instead of good public policy, or provide special interests with benefits at the expense of the people..

And, of course, we get stalemate in the statehouse (or Dysfunction Junction as we Democrats are now calling it). At a cost of roughly $30,000/day this legislative session has already cost the people of this state $3,330,000. And with the House on a four day break until the Senate calls them back, the taxpayers are still paying for all of the per diem for the absent House members ($49/day for locals and $122/day for the out-of-towners).

If all this weren’t so sad and frustrating it would actually be funny. A party civil war that threatens the authority of their own sitting Governor and seeks to move a very conservative party further to the right while wasting taxpayer funds and resulting in the second longest legislative session in history (with every possibility of making it to number one in just a week). You could write a book about this stuff.

Unfortunately the people of this great state need to sit through the melodrama and wait for their fate (and the fate of their children) to be written in the backrooms. Welcome to Idaho!

House Democrats oppose adjournment stunt

2009-05-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Idaho House adjourned "Sine Die" (without a planned date to meet again) shortly before 9 p.m. on April 29, over the objections of House Democrats, the Senate and Governor Butch Otter.

House Minority Leader John Rusche said "I don't believe it's constitutional," and reminded his colleagues that when the Senate attempted to adjourn without concurrence of the House in 1980, they were not permitted to do so. "The legislature is a team, Senate and House yoked together to do their work and move the state forward," Rusche said. "The legislature is constructed to have a balance of power between the houses and both 'balance' and 'power' are important parts of the phrase."

"We all feel an intense desire to serve the needs of our districts," Rusche added. "One of those needs is to have a government that works. I don't see how this motion promotes that value. Working government requires personal interaction and compromise. I don't see that the unilateral action this motion puts into place serves the value of good, working government."

Democrats held a news conference the following morning to further explain why we believe it's Republican power struggles - even more than the impasse over transportation funding - that have prolonged the legislative session, now the second-longest in state history. See video highlights of it here.

The House will have to be back at work Monday, May 4, because the Senate did not concur with its adjournment. Since Republicans hold 76 percent of the seats in the legislature and the governor's chair, it is primarily up to them to resolve their differences and bring this session to a close.

It's Equal Pay Day in Idaho

2009-04-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

April 28 marks Equal Pay Day in Idaho, the result of a resolution passed by the Idaho Legislature earlier this month. It recognizes the fact that on average, Idaho women must work 16 months to collect the annual wages earned by the typical Idaho man.

Writing in the Idaho Statesman, Democratic lawmakers Anne Pasley-Stuart and Les Bock tell why they introduced the measure:

Pay for women in Idaho has only improved 5 percent since 1992, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Vital Statistics. In only three other states do women face a greater pay gap than they do in Idaho.

The wage gap becomes particularly insidious as women age. Women are far more likely to enter retirement in poverty than men, because women have insufficient incomes to save for retirement, maximize pension and Social Security benefits, and provide for their longer life spans. For retired women, the median income is $15,615, about half that of their male counterparts.

... HCR 23 assures women and men that they have not only an equal playing field, but an equal paying field. It is especially good that we've taken action in the wake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which will ensure that American workers are treated fairly under the law by correcting wage disparities.

Read more of their op-ed here, and read an article about the measure here.

Dem lawmakers respond to vetoes

2009-04-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Idaho Democratic Legislative Caucus sent this statement in response to Gov. Butch Otter's veto of two bills today:

"As elected officials, we are tasked with solving a broad range of problems on behalf of Idaho's citizens. Yet the Governor and other Republican leaders are more interested in power plays than solving problems," Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly said today, after Gov. Butch Otter vetoed two bills. "In this critical time Idaho needs leaders and statesmen in charge."

"We are living in a time when Idaho's challenges are becoming more serious and more complex. As legislators, we are tasked with handling many issues at once," added House Minority Leader John Rusche. "More than 51,000 Idahoans wake up every day without a job. Our public schools are facing unprecedented cuts, and homebound seniors are losing needed services and medicine."

"Yet today, the governor vetoed two bills that had broad bipartisan support: one that recognizes the importance of parents as teachers and another that protects Idahoans against identity theft," Rusche said. "We question whether killing important bills is the best way to achieve the cooperation and collaboration that Idahoans deserve from their elected officials."

"We need leaders who are willing to work openly and responsibly to solve the problems facing Idaho and achieve our goals, not players who are more interested in scoring points for themselves than doing their best for the Idahoans they were sent to Boise to represent," Kelly added.

Week 13: legislators' reports

2009-04-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents about Week 13 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. Liz Chavez (District 7) - ... Last week there was a glimmer of hope that the slashing of 5 percent across the board in all agencies was going to be reduced to 3 percent, not my first choice but better than the number we were originally given. We will have to see if the Governor and Senate and House leadership can work together to forge a budget to meet our state's needs without further damage to the various department's ability to function.

I know that some, or many of you, read the article suggesting that my seatmate in the House of Representatives and I are casting irresponsible votes regarding raising the fuel tax to help fix and maintain our bridges and roads. I wouldn't presume to answer for the other good representative, however I would submit this opinion for your consideration. We can't make bridges or roads out of children, teachers, principals, aides, bus drivers, maintenance personnel, or parents but I believe that they are as much the infrastructure of our state and our future as those roads and bridges. I would hope that our Governor would be not only the "Transportation Governor", but the "Education Governor" as well.

Rep. Branden Durst (District 18) - Reacting to Gov. Otter's statement on the April 9 failure of a fuel tax increase, Rep. Durst wrote: With all due respect, Mr. Governor, your statement is irresponsible. You state, "For months now we have made every compromise, addressed every legitimate concern and provided every alternative that opponents wanted." With all due respect, Mr. Governor, but that is categorically false. As my debate against HB135 indicated you haven't even attempted to address every legitimate concern. You also haven't provided every alternative that opponents wanted. Are you saying that concerns about improving access and funding to alternative modes of transportation aren't legitimate? At what point did you invite members of the House Democratic Caucus from the Treasure Valley (who nearly all voted against your plans) to the table? At what did you ask us, "What do you need to get on board?"

To my knowledge the answer is obviously never. Even last week during the amending order, we tried as hard as we could to amend the bill so that it would address our concerns. You offered no leadership in supporting those issues that the people of my district care about. With all due respect, Mr. Governor, please don't suggest that you tried to meet us half way and certainly don't suggest that I am being irresponsible. I understand the problem, but will not be bullied or shamed into do something that I know is not in the strategic long term interests of the state of Idaho.

Rep. Phylis King (District 18) - Fish and Game has done a fantastic job of running their agency in the past few years, and they asked for a fee increase that averaged about 15 percent. Many sportsmen and sportsman groups supported this bill, saying hunting and fishing in Idaho is a bargain. 80 percent of Idahoans surveyed agreed it was a good thing to do. But the Senators on the other side of the Annex mucked up the bill and only increased out-of-state hunters and fishermen fees. I disagreed with the amendments, but as many on the committee said, half a loaf is better than none at all. So I voted for it. I’m sure they will be back in a year to ask for the other half of their request or else cut programs. By the way, non-game animals are protected by the Fish and Game and it is paid for by 99 percent federal funds. Thank God for the Feds who understand whole ecosystems.

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19) - Writing today at her blog, Notes from the Floor:

For me home is within walking distance of the Capitol. For my colleagues it is generally not. Right now some are trying to extend leases, moving into hotels or contemplating sharing digs for what is a few days but could become a few weeks when you count the personalities involved in Idaho lawmaking.

For now the Senate's Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee members have stuck together on more mild cuts to state employee pay. Not a wholly moderate body, there seems to be a frustration on the Senate's part with House leadership for forcing votes from Republican members. The House has buckled down in its Republican caucus to make larger cuts state employee pay and to make the deepest possible cuts to Education.

... it is yet to be seen how the Senate will vote on tax increases for roads. Our Senate Caucus is unified even more than the House's Democratic caucus on this issue. If the vote is going to be close here as well I'm a bit surprised the Governor hasn't been chatting with us much about what he wants out of this session. There are a few things he wants, like lesser cuts to state employee pay which we might agree on. In years past he has been open to local option authority and I'd hope he might consider that and public transportation in particular as a worthy piece of any state wide transportation plan.

But he hasn't really called. So we'll keep at this staring at a board full of appropriations bills someone is worried about sending him. Until things start moving no one is going to budge. Until the first bill is vetoed we won't know how willing anyone is to take the heat of making this session go longer. Every day is probably one state employees' pay, one lay-off you might say.

We won't win a waiting game, only maybe a game of public chicken.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet (District 25) - I thought I would bring you up to date on last week's JFAC actions. On Wednesday, we voted to rescind the 3 percent across-the-board payroll cut to all state employees. At the Governor's request we voted to allow agency heads to allocate the personnel cost reductions at their discretion. Shirley Ringo (D-Moscow) and I, the two House democrats, voted with the 10 Senate members of JFAC tipping the vote. House Republicans met later that day and authorized their leadership to oppose this vote. They want a "trigger" to make the 2 percent reduction depending on revenue collections in the first and second quarters of this next fiscal year starting in July. The Governor's request was in writing, an email to all legislators, the previous week. Now I have seen a memo that says the Governor wants to change his mind and go along with the "trigger." The personnel cost reduction of 5 percent remains in the baseregardless. ...

... Because the Governor wants to put the stimulus monies to work as soon as possible, he and his executive advisory committee chose to recommend that the monies go to programs/agencies that are already in place such as the Department of Environmental Quality for water and sewer projects and to the Idaho Department of Transportation for road projects. JFAC chose to fund the water and sewer proposal as well as the Idaho Education Network for $3 million dollars - this will bring high speed connectivity to our rural areas and be matched by federal E-rate funds and grants; we proposed to fund $2 million toward the CAMP process, the aquifer management plan; and we appropriated $17 million dollars in transportation funds to the local highway districts. As of this writing we are hearing that the Governor is not happy with these decisions and we may be revisiting them in the future (which is why we may not be going home this week). Senator LeFavour (D-Boise) attempted a motion in JFAC to redirect the above funding to education operations which failed on a party line vote.

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - ... Increasing revenues through registration fees and the gas tax have been the central pieces of the Governor's agenda for the last two years, yet still he appears to be unsuccessful; at least so far. Originally the Governor proposed both a ten-cent fuel tax increase phased in over a five year period. He also proposed an increase in registration fees which amounted to nearly tripling the current registration fees for private drivers. Neither of these had much support in the Legislature.

Last week, the House debated HB135, a second piece of legislation to increase the gas tax by two-cents for the Fiscal Year 2010 only. This proposal failed on a vote of 37 against - 32 in-favor. I voted against the gas tax. If we had been able to make some headway that would mitigate cuts to education and other State services, I may not have felt the same about making a modest tax increase to support our State's transportation infrastructure. In the current situation, however, raising taxes for transportation doesn't make sense at the same time Idaho is cutting state workers' pay and making historic cuts to public education. I am sure we will be revisiting this issue.

On Friday we voted on the GARVEE project bill. This borrows against future federal highway money. While it is not all that good to borrow, it does make financial sense when the cost of construction now is less than in the future. The recession has dropped the costs of construction so current money buys even more. It also allows us to create and retain some construction jobs now when we really need them. In addition, Highway 30 between McCammon and Lava Hot Springs was the beneficiary of Garvee funding in the recent past. Our community has directly benefit from the Garvee program. I voted "yes" on Garvee. ...

House Democrats vote for transportation jobs

2009-04-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Idaho House Democrats today voted to preserve and create transportation jobs through support for GARVEE bonds that will continue transportation funding around Idaho.

“These are projects that are already making a difference in our state,” said House Minority Leader John Rusche. “GARVEE spending will improve our roads as well as keep Idahoans working during this recession.”

“Like all Idahoans, Democrats believe in honoring commitments and finishing what we begin,” added Assistant House Minority Leader James Ruchti. “Now may not be the time to raise new taxes on Idaho families and businesses, but GARVEE bonding allows our state to finish these projects.”

“Governor Otter should be credited for his tenacious efforts in making the case for additional transportation funding,” said House Minority Caucus Chair Bill Killen. “We stand ready to continue to look for solutions that will help Idaho meet its transportation needs at the same time we keep our schools strong and opportunity growing across Idaho’s economy.”

Democrats nix fuel tax, seek end to tunnel vision

2009-04-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

A majority of Idaho House Democrats voted today against a fuel-tax increase while pledging support for comprehensive transportation solutions and smart use of taxpayer dollars.

“Democrats have been saying since January that this is no time for the state to raise taxes on struggling Idaho families and businesses,” House Minority Leader John Rusche said after the vote. Fourteen of the 18 House Democrats voted against the measure, which was defeated on a narrow 32-37 vote.

“Democrats are not against transportation investment,” added Assistant House Minority Leader James Ruchti. “Idaho is increasing the Idaho Transportation Department’s budget and accepting millions in federal stimulus funds for transportation at the same time we are trimming state workers’ pay and making historic cuts to education. This tunnel vision doesn’t reflect our values as Idahoans.”

“The recent ITD audit showed that the agency isn’t using taxpayer funding as efficiently as it should. Beyond that, we see no effort on the part of the House Majority leadership to propose truly comprehensive transportation solutions that include local option authority for local communities,” Rusche said. “They also can’t recognize that fuel taxes will not solve our state’s future needs. Idaho remains stuck in the mid-20th century because of the House Majority’s refusal to wake up to reality. Democrats will continue to stand for comprehensive, 21st-century transportation solutions.”

Weeks 11 &12: legislators' reports

2009-04-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents about Weeks 11 and 12 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. James Rusche (District 7) - Our House Democratic fundraiser is being held this Thursday. This is an annual event that we hold at the end-of-the Session called the "Sine Die," or adjournment, party. Every year at this event we hold a silent auction on items donated by our caucus members and businesses throughout the State. This year, one of the silent auction items is a basket of books comprised of a favorite book donated by each member in the minority caucus with a short inscription that includes a favorite quotation from the book. I chose The Lord of the Rings as my book and included the quote "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes." One of my favorite lines.

This quotation sums up some of the dysfunction here. First we cannot use the stimulus because it might have strings. Now we are using as much as we can get. Members of the majority party have argued that in order to help the economy recover, we must get money into people's hands and circulating through the economy and thus are proposing corporate tax cuts. At the same time, I have heard the same members refuse to use "rainy day" funds to help stabilize the education budgets and maintain needed State services. On the one hand they are saying we must stimulate in order to recover, yet on the other they are saying we will not spend because we might not recover.

Another saying goes "Meddle not in the affairs of wizards, as they are subtle and quick to anger." I might use that saying for the Governor, but he really seems quite patient with the House. I think we are headed to a collision over micromanaging the agencies though. The appropriation bills have language directing how each department should respond to lower budgets rather than just setting the budget and letting the managers manage. As the top manager for the State, the Governor rightly takes exception to that instruction. WE will be settling that next week, I think. ...

... The day-care licensing bill cleared the House Health and Welfare Committee. This bill has been in play in the Legislature for the last five years without success, so I am happy to finally see some progress. At the same time, the vote in committee was to send it for amendments, extensive amendments, that may dilute the intention of the bill. The amendments to the bill include requiring licensing only for pay establishments with seven or more unrelated children (the original bill called for licensing of day cares for four or more children) as well as the removal of requirements for continuing education for day-care workers in facilities with fewer than 13 children. Some of the amendments proposed may carry a cost to the State of some $30,000 thereby decreasing its chance of survival in the House considering our budget shortfalls. I am hopeful the bill will be successful. While not as good as it could be, it is still a net improvement in the safety of kids in daycare.

Rep. Bill Killen (District 17) - On Tuesday (March 31) this week the House took up the sole remaining transportation funding bill on its amending order. The process is somewhat arcane with the body dissolving and reconstituting as a committee of the whole; though it sounds ominous, nobody is transformed, no puddles are scattered about the chamber, but magically, we no longer have a Speaker, but rather a chairman of the committee of the whole. Once constituted the various bills are ripe for change; in this case H 135 from the Transportation chair, JoAn Wood, was offered up with eight possible amendments – an unusually high number. The list included Local Option Authority, various fuel tax increases, and changes to the State vs Local revenue split percentage. Like the arcade moles, they popped up throughout the morning debate with all but one roundly dispatched by the mallet wielding members of the body.

The bill itself, as amended, will be coming back for an up or down vote on Tuesday the 7th; based on what happened this week I expect it will get whacked soundly and expire on the floor of the House. With the economic downturn still at full throttle, legislators are extremely reluctant to raise taxes or fees of any kind, particularly with about $400 million still untouched in our rainy day funds. A cynic might suspect that the reluctance to commit to using those funds now is somehow tied to the fact that next year is an election year and if we run short then, after having committed those funds now, might force sitting legislators to consider a tax increase in an election year. ...

Sen. Elliot Werk (District 17) - Legislation introduced in the House to decrease the reimbursement for public school transportation funding has reached the Senate after a valiant fight by House Democrats to defeat or amend the bill. H-256 is co-sponsored by Republican Sen. John Goedde – a former trustee of the Coeur-d’Alene school district and chairman of the Senate Education committee and Rep. Bob Nonini chairman of the House Education committee. The bill purports to cut public education busing reimbursement by $4.2 million in fiscal year 2010.

The bill cuts the public education budget by eliminating funding for field trips, decreasing the reimbursement for school busing from the current 85 percent to 50 percent of allowable costs, instituting a very complicated formula for providing additional grants for transportation, and finally eliminating the flexibility of school districts to calculate their reimbursable costs using either a per student or per mile basis. This last provision in the bill was specifically targeted at the Boise School District and could result in a loss of $1.45 million to the district for costs already incurred this school year.

I firmly believe that my job as a legislator is to support the best possible public policy regardless of the players involved. Personal animosity, anger, envy, and grudges have no place in the public policy arena. Unfortunately the portion of H 256 that targets the Boise school district comes from a long standing grudge held by Sen. Goedde and some members in the House.

During House debate on H 256 one Republican lawmaker even stood up and stated that the Boise district uses up everyone else’s money! He could not have been more wrong since, like every other district in the state, the Boise district receives funding through the statewide funding formula. The added fact that the Boise district tax base supports rural schools all over the state through our immense contribution to the tax revenues of the state general fund makes it difficult to understand the mentality of some of these legislators.

The provision in H 256 that eliminates field trips is also startlingly short-sighted. It belies an attitude toward public education that any enrichment is a luxury. As we all know, field trips are an integral part of the learning process.

It is a sad testament to our legislature that a bill like H 256 would ever see the light of day, not to mention the certainty of passage (although hopefully amended). Our children’s education deserves more than actions based on grudges, misinformation, and a lack of appreciation for a well-rounded education for our children.

Rep. Phylis King (District 18) - Back in 2001 or 2002, the legislature had a surplus. So they cut the Idaho income tax by 0.1 percent valued at $150 million, (and) 60 percent of this cut benefitted the wealthiest 5 percent of our population. Then in 2004 they had to “temporarily” raise sales tax because the economy tanked. Sales tax disproportionately hurts lower income families. The result of those two moves was that the legislature shifted revenues from the wealthy to lower income families.

After a year they let the temporary tax revert to the original 5 cents. But because there was not a lot of objection to the penny sales tax, and there was a hue and cry to do something about property tax, Governor Risch, in the summer of 2006, held the “special” session where the legislature voted to raise the sales tax to 6 cents permanently. They also voted to move the Maintenance and Operations portion of public education funding from property tax funding to the General Fund.

Sales tax and income tax are the largest sources of General Funds and are not as stable from year to year as a source of funding as property tax funds. So now for the first time in Idaho’s history we are cutting education funding and teacher pay, and once again state employees do not get even a cost of living increase.

My beef is that there is a pattern here. Idahoans are willing to raise their sales tax by a penny or gas tax by 2 pennies, for the good of the state, but the legislature uses that willingness to shift more and more taxes onto hard working families and away from those who can more afford to pay. The makeup of this legislature refuses to rethink their policy on income tax, tax exemptions, corporate taxes, etc. We are 46th in the nation for state employee salaries and 44th in the nation in average teacher salaries. Agency heads say they cannot recruit and retain employees and are losing talented people to other states.

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19) - Do the Co-Chairs of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, Senator Dean Cameron and Representative Maxine Bell really decide how much to cut Idaho education budgets or how much and in what way to cut state employee and teacher pay? No.

Wednesday night Dean Cameron and Maxine Bell sat on the stage in front of more than 600 teachers and parents and had to defend cuts to education and teacher pay because Governor Otter and House Leaders Mike Moyle, Ken Roberts and Scott Bedke didn't feel obligated to come defend their own parts in really deciding how these budgets will be set.

Wednesday night Dean Cameron sat in the middle of a huge line of silent law makers under the lights and read from a script. I know he didn't relish it. He is a kind, reasonable man who I believe tries hard to do the right thing in a place that has changed much over the past five years. He said he had no choice but to cut education. In the realm of politics he did not. In the realm of the real world there are ways to keep education budgets whole for 2010 and 2011 even if the economy worsens.

But some Republican leaders refuse to put education higher than roads or business tax cuts in their set of priorities. These people ran on smaller government platforms and if it means cutting schools, laying off teachers and state employees and cutting pay till it all unravels, they will do it. They have done it. Privatizing broken government services puts our tax dollars in the hands of businesses, which may or may not do a better job than government.

These leaders, along with Tom Luna, Bob Nonini and John Goedde I believe would privatize education, like we've privatized health care, even if such a system would benefit only those with enough money to pay for a good education. Even if those with less money would get something less for their children. ... read more at Nicole's blog.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet (District 25) - ... What was extremely disappointing last week was the negation of House Bill 252, a collaborative approach for districts to declare an "emergency" and open up contracts for personnel reductions. Representatives Rusche, Chavez and Pence spent a month in early morning meetings with majority party members and education stakeholders only to have two bills come forward that were never discussed in this working group. The trust that was engendered from the collaborative approach has been greatly damaged as a result of majority party actions.

A second concern of mine was highlighted in The New York Times this weekend. The article indicated that the federal government's Department of Education will be monitoring how states use their education stimulus/stabilitization funds. General funds, they said, are not to be freed up from education to be put elsewhere and the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan may come forward in the next few weeks with more clarification rules on this matter. The majority party's JFAC motion for k-12 education used $20 million dollars more of stimulus money and transferred it to the general fund. This may not work and we might be looking at this again. When I said earlier this week that I thought we would be out of here on April 10th, I could have been mistaken. ...

Week 10: legislators' reports

2009-03-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents about Week 10 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. John Rusche (District 7) - What many have called our “going home” bill failed on the House Floor last week. After close to two hours of debate, the Governor’s proposal (H246) to raise fuel taxes by 30 percent over the next three years failed by a vote of 27-43. This was a tough vote. The arguments in favor of the bill were well articulated and I agree that Idaho’s roads need ongoing funding for maintenance. At the same time, I just can’t justify raising taxes on Idaho families in these difficult economic times.

The other transportation bill proposed by the Governor, H247, which proposes increases in vehicle registration fees, was pulled last week. There were numerous errors in the bill and there were also concerns that the bill did not receive any hearing in the House Transportation Committee. Over the next week or two, I expect that we will see several new revenue-raising bills to help pay for road maintenance. The Governor has made transportation his #1 priority for this legislative session and if he does not see some headway, I expect the Governor may get out his veto stamp.

Governor Otter and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna are proposing to cut the public education budgets by $110 million for Fiscal Year 2010. This is in funding for staff as well as transportation (field trips and daily busing), textbooks, school maintenance funding (interesting, we can cut money to maintain schools but need to raise taxes for roads). Education is key to our State’s future. Cutting public school funding while saving both stimulus money and our own Education Reserve Fund seems shortsighted. When the school tax shifted from property tax to our general fund (sales and income tax), we set up the Public School Stabilization Fund with $100 million just in case those tax revenues fell short. It does not seem wise to refuse to use this rainy day fund now. Isn’t it why the fund was set up?

Rep. Phylis King (District 18) - ... In the tenth week of the session, JFAC (Joint Finance Appropriations Committee) is working hard to hear all the agency rewrites of each budget with the Stimulus Money in mind. Education is one of the more important budgets to me. They used about $80 million of PESF (Public Education Stabilization Fund), but then, last Wednesday, they replaced that money with Stimulus money. So the PESF has not been touched and if we can get the governor and superintendant to agree, we will use it in 2010 and 2011. ... In the debate about an increase in the gas tax, the Democrats brought up the fact that the Governor’s transportation bills raise $61.8 million for roads and bridges and yet he is cutting $62 million from education. We think that demonstrates the governor’s priorities.

By the way, the gas tax bill to increase gas tax by 3¢ in July 2009, 2¢ in 2010 and 2¢ in 2011, failed to make it out of the house by 27 to 43. There were major flaws in the registration fee increase bill and it was pulled back. We may see a new registration fee bill on Tuesday in transportation. The fuel tax saga continues with the Governor threatening to put the GARVEE road projects into the stimulus money instead of funding the eight projects already identified.

Many organizations, cities, and counties applied for other Federal Stimulus money. They worked hard to get their applications to the Governor to meet his deadline last week. Unfortunately, they were not considered. I feel badly that expectations were so high and deflated so quickly!

Rep. Branden Durst (District 18) - I am pleased to announce that my joint effort, HB 84, with Rep. Donna Pence (D-25B) was passed out of the House on Friday by a vote of 57 to 7, with 6 legislators absent.

The bill, for those of you that don't know, will allow parents of children that turn five years old after September 1st and attend a private kindergarten, to continue on to 1st grade so long as they can pass an assessment that is approved by the State Department of Education. It also provides a new safeguard for children that attend an out-of-state kindergarten that turned five after September 1st by requiring them to also take the assessment to demonstrate they are prepared to enter first grade.

Really, this is a pretty small change that will impact less than a few dozen students a year. The most classic example is one that I coincidentally heard of yesterday while visiting my doctor. He has a son that was born on September 2nd, one day too late. Under the current law his son has to wait another year or commute to an out-of-state private kindergarten if he wants to start first grade next year with the rest of his peer group. What's worse is his son is very big for his age and will likely dwarf the other children when he starts kindergarten in the fall. Anyway, this is a good change and hopefully parents will feel more empowered to do the right thing for their children.

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19) - ... This morning we had to make a decision we have been putting off while the world adjusted to what the more than one billion in stimulus funding will mean. We had to decide how much to cut state employee pay. There were seven motions or proposals. In the heat of the attic in this big old cement and stone building anything seemed possible. As we passed out the motion sheets in that room that used to be part of the county jail, the options seemed to contract.

By the time we got to our committee room in front of the cameras our choices were down to three. Three bad motions made on the table in that comparatively cold and empty room. All three motions proposed to cut state employee costs by 5 percent. The worst one of these passed. It cut every state employee’s pay by 3 percent and then mandated 2 percent more in employee cost be cut through furloughs, keeping positions vacant and if necessary through layoffs.

The House members were lock step for this motion and its 3% salary reduction and 5 percent net cut in personnel funding. Why in any rational way they would want that, I do not know. We could have given more room for agencies to use furloughs more or vacant positions. We could have used dedicated funds or stimulus funds to keep it at 4 percent or even 3 percent total personnel cuts. But leadership in the House has been twisting arms for weeks. I’m not sure what any state employee ever did to them or if it is just that those particular Republican leaders need to keep hating government, even when government is our tax dollars, people’s jobs, people’s lives. ... more at Nicole's blog

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - It was nice to see some of you over the weekend at our Legislative Listening Tour. We were discussing legislative issues that are affecting you at home and it was good to get feedback from our constituents. ... On a good note, SB1100, which proposed a statewide franchise for cable operators has been pulled by the bill's sponsor as a result of comments from many of you as well as hard work by Representative Elaine Smith. Currently, in order to receive the right to use the public right-of-way for cable infrastructure, companies must negotiate a franchise with local cities and counties. This bill proposed that one franchise be granted by the State for operation throughout the State. The main concern regarding SB1100 was the impact it would have on public access channels. This bill would have limited a local community's ability to request that cable companies provide public access channels. There were also concerns that the bill would result in lost revenues for operating public access channels.

As a preview to what is coming up this week, a daycare licensing bill (S1112aa) will be considered by the House this week. This legislation already passed in the Senate by an overwhelming majority. If passed by the House, the measure would require licensing of all day-care operations that care for four or more unrelated children. It would set minimum standards including criminal background checks, health and fire safety inspections, and child-staff ratios. Some of you attended the town hall meeting I held a few months ago on this topic. I think this is good legislation and I will be voting for it. These are the bare minimum standards the State should be setting to ensure that our children are safe.

Bad education legislation: the sequel?

2009-03-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

The week before last, it appeared that a bipartisan panel had drafted acceptable compromise education legislation to help Idaho through the economic downturn. Here's a post that Rep. Liz Chavez, a member of the panel, wrote March 11. Now, however, it appears that many of the earlier bills' worst aspects have resurfaced. Here's an email Rep. Chavez sent last night:

Well, just when I think that the Idaho Legislature and the process of government can't get any more interesting......it does.

After working for a month and a day, meeting every day at 7:00am to work out legislation (HB252) that provides tools and procedure in the case of a catastrophic economic emergency that give the state and local school districts flexibility, today we heard new legislation that begs the question,"What are we doing?"

The Chair of the House Education Committee Rep. Bob Nonini, introduced proposed legislation reducing the state's reimbursement to our local school districts from 85 percent down to 50 percent. This will effectively take away any and all field trips for curriculum enhancement. However, because athletics is not reimbursed, that will not be impacted.....but this may have spillover effects that we can't see right now.

There will be two more pieces of proposed legislation presented on Monday. One will be to cut the Early Retirement for Teachers in half for this year and eliminate it entirely in 2010. This plan doesn't cost money, but in fact saves money as veteran teachers, who are often at the end of the salary schedule are replaced by new teachers who are on the lower end of the salary schedule.

The other piece is a plan to freeze the steps and lanes, meaning the years of experience and education, into which all teachers fit to be paid.

My frustration and dismay in all of this is that the legislation we worked on so hard for over a month, was that every group that would be impacted by this legislation were sitting at the same table and we came to agreement on the tools to use in an economic emergency. So the question has to be, "Why do we need these pieces of legislation? Why can't we send the funding to the school districts and let the duly elected Board of Trustees and the local teacher's association work it out?"

So here's the deal. I need your help. I need every one of you to call the Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna at the Department of Education, the phone number is 1-800-432-4601 and register your concern, or Representative Bob Nonini at the House of Representatives 1-800-626-0471.I would also encourage you to email your concerns to Rep. Nonini at bnonini@house.idaho.gov and to anyone else that you think might have some influence on the course of this legislation.

Democrats kill tax increase

2009-03-19T12:12:00.001-07:00

Democrats in the Idaho House voted today to defeat a tax increase sought by Gov. Butch Otter.

“While I agree that Idaho's highways and bridges are in need of repair and we have an investment we need to protect, I disagree with the timing for a tax increase on Idahoans,” House Minority Leader John Rusche of Lewiston said after the vote. During floor debate, Rusche said, “We do need to preserve our shared assets, not just the roads and bridges but also our schools and universities.”

“Right now, our economy is stalled and Idaho's unemployment rate is rising,” Rusche added. “More than 51,000 people were without jobs last month, with the unemployment rate reaching double digits in many places. Idaho families and businesses are suffering and now doesn't seem the time to increase their tax burden.”

“On the one hand, Idaho’s roads are cash poor … but on the other hand, many of our constituents are finding themselves cash poor,” Assistant Minority Leader James Ruchti of Pocatello said. But Idahoans understand the need for some cutbacks. “They understand we can’t fully fund everything because they are going through the same thing … so they get it. The question we need to ask is: Do we get it?” Ruchti added that with the state’s many needs, “if we’re pouring it all into transportation infrastructure, I think we’re truly going down the wrong road.”

The tally on HB 246 was 27 for and 43 opposed. All but three Democrats voted against the bill. One who supported it, Rep. Shirley Ringo of Moscow, said that she hoped that the Legislature would invest in “human infrastructure” as well as transportation needs.

Child-care safety bill needed now

2009-03-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

By Senator Tim Corder & Representative George Sayler

Last week, the Senate passed by a 30-5 vote Senate Bill 1112, a proposal to change Idaho's outdated and inadequate child-care statute. Supporters of child-care reform have tried for years to amend current laws that leave thousands of children vulnerable. The vote is a bright star on what has been a dark horizon of child care in Idaho.

Unfortunately, some now want to cast a shadow over that star. In his March 15 column, Wayne Hoffman tried to discount the impact SB 1112 would have in improving child-care safety and alleged that the law would be costly and burdensome. We would like to correct these misperceptions.

If enacted, SB 1112 would end the loopholes that create safety issues for many children and that provide opportunities for people, including sexual predators, to harm children. The current law allows anyone to care for six or fewer children without any regulation or oversight, and it has minimal requirements for group care facilities taking care of seven to 12 children.We have a mountain of evidence showing the need for change. Current problems range from children being sexually abused to providers being intoxicated, to other health and safety violations. Current law makes it virtually impossible for the state to take action in most cases.

SB 1112 would provide a consistent, minimum statewide system of safety requirements for children in child-care facilities where four or more children, unrelated to the provider, are being cared for on a regular basis for compensation. It would require criminal background checks and health and safety inspections. Firearms and water safety measures are included, there must be a working phone on the premises, and maximum group size and child-staff ratios are established.

The bill would provide a process for the Health and Welfare Department to monitor these standards and suspend, deny or revoke licenses where illegal activity or serious threats to health and safety are found or where convicted sex offenders are on a child-care facility's premises.

Hoffman referred to an incident where a fire inspector showed up at a licensed child-care facility and found children being kept in locked plywood cubbyholes. His point was that licensing did not prevent the abuse. We are not claiming to be able to prevent all abuse, but the inspection would not have happened without the licensing requirement. The abuse would have continued.

Hoffman argued that more licensing takes away family responsibilities or may be too burdensome on small providers and costly to parents. Nothing could be further from the truth. Licensing fees are based on the number of children being cared for and actual costs of providing the license. Where licenses have been required in cities with ordinances, no decrease in the availability of child care has occurred.

Under Senate Bill 1112, parents would retain primary responsibility for child care, but the state would take a larger role in ensuring that all child-care facilities meet minimum health and safety standards. We believe the state has that responsibility. We also believe it is the parent's responsibility to choose the type of child care most suitable for their family. Unfortunately, parents don't always fulfill their responsibility. As Hoffman acknowledged, some parents will only be concerned with the cost and may even place their children in locked cubbyholes. Why should their children be put at risk?

This year, the Legislature has required veterinarians and mortgage brokers to be licensed and have criminal background checks. Passage of SB 1112 will send the message that our children are at least as important as animals and money.

Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, and Rep. George Sayler, D-Coeur d'Alene, are co-sponsors of Senate Bill 1112.

Let's hold off on more charter schools

2009-03-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

By Senator Dick Sagness

In a recent speech on education, President Obama surprised some listeners by saying that the nation needs more charter schools. It’s true that, at their best, charter schools can be laboratories of educational innovation. However, many states are struggling with how to fund charter school expansion at a time of shrinking or stagnant budgets for traditional public schools. Boise School District officials have announced they must lay off 122 teachers next year, and other districts are certain to require similar layoffs.

Yet amid these deep cutbacks, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna has called for lifting the cap on charter schools. I think that’s the wrong idea during this current economic downturn, and I have introduced legislation to put a three-year moratorium on new charter schools. The Senate Education Committee agreed to print Senate Bill 1085 way back in mid-February, but it’s been languishing there ever since. That’s a shame, because SB 1085 is needed at a time when Idaho’s traditional public schools face historic cuts. Allow me to explain why Idaho needs this moratorium:

When a new charter school starts, the vast majority of the students moving to the charter school district come from the traditional school district in which the charter school district resides. When the students move to the charter school district, the money allocated per child under state formula follows the child. In other words, the money that was supporting the student in the traditional public school is now supporting the education of the child in the charter school district. On the surface this makes sense except, like many things, the devil lies in the details.

When a child leaves the traditional public school district, many of the district’s costs remain essentially the same. Base costs for teachers, administration, facilities, maintenance, transportation and other support functions have to be maintained as they were before, but with the shift of funds to the charter school district, the traditional district has fewer dollars to cover essential costs. In some larger districts like Pocatello or Nampa, the charter school district receives more funding per child than the traditional public school district receives.

Each new charter school district gets about $1.3 million in funding for its first year – money that follows students from the traditional public school district to the charter school. However, since Idaho law says that if the traditional public school district loses 1 percent of its student population during the first year of the new charter school district operation, the traditional district in which the charter school district resides will be compensated for 99 percent of the revenue lost to the charter school district. This means that six new charter school districts could drain about $8 million per year from overall funding for K-12 schools.

Senate Bill 1085 would put a moratorium on starting new charter school districts for three years, July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2012, a period for which most people agree Idaho will continue to have serious revenue shortfalls. If we don’t do this, approximately $8 million dollars per year – or up to $24 million over the three years – will have to be taken from state funding for K-12 schools. This makes no fiscal or educational sense. If you agree that this would do grave damage to Idaho’s children, contact Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde and ask that the committee hear Senate Bill 1085.

Senator Dick Sagness of Pocatello is retired dean of the College of Education at Idaho State University.

Week 9: legislators' reports

2009-03-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents about Week 9 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. John Rusche (District 7) - Governor Otter announced Wednesday that he will be using all of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act monies available to Idaho, totaling $1.24 Billion over the next three years. This is good news. I am pleased that he has decided to accept the assistance available to us; his original skepticism has been replaced by a better understanding of what it means to Idaho families. I am also pleased with the way he worked with previous governors and budget experts who have gone though similar economic challenges to assess and review the package.

I also agree with the goals of using the mone to protect and promote jobs for Idahoans, and to preserve education for our kids.

Unfortunately, the Governor also stated that he was proposing cuts to public schools of almost $110 million for 2010 (beginning July 2009). He has endorsed Superintendent Luna's recommendation that nearly $62 million be cut from public education (in enhancements and specific line items) as well as calling for an additional 5 percent reduction in personnel costs. It is hard to see how that helps protect the education of our kids. School districts will have a few choices: try a supplemental levy (raised from property taxes), cut staff (more crowded classrooms), decrease programs or make other wage, benefit or cost cuts.

The Governor's proposal leaves the "rainy day funds," our emergency funds, untouched. Whereas two months ago he felt that we should use 1/3 of the money while reserving 2/3 of the estimated $390 million currently available, now he feels we cannot touch a dime, even the $114 million specifically designated to stabilize public schools. Prudence is one thing, but this seems quite shortsighted to me. It's sort of like a family with a sick child, choosing to not spend anything for medical care just in case the child might be sicker next week.

Transportation projects fare pretty well, with $200 million for roads and bridges. He continues to call for another GARVEE bond ($125 million) as well as making a push for a gasoline tax increase and auto registration increase. Stimulus dollars for roads, GARVEE for roads, new taxes for roads, and cuts in public schools.

Over the next few weeks, we will be struggling with these budget issues as well as transportation funding. I will be working for a plan that is fiscally responsible, minimizes the economic damage to our State and sets Idaho up for the quickest possible recovery. I will work diligently to put Idahoans back in jobs and provide future generations with a bright economic future.

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19) - Headed into the Joint Finance Committee where arms have been twisted so the Governor can cut State Employee funding by 5 percent. Every dollar he can funnel into the world of concrete and asphalt is going there. As if the road construction industry's boom alone will revive the economy while we lay off state workers, make them take deep furloughs, cut teachers and teacher's aids, grow class sizes and weaken our ability as a state to serve people when they need it most.

An economy needs small businesses and I'm wondering where we are working to help them. Little home energy efficiency companies, tech companies who scan documents and do data entry will boom, but not because Governor Otter wanted them to. The strings in the stimulus are accountability measures. Congress tried to make us prepare a bit to avert an energy crisis, be more efficient and independent finally as a nation in healthcare and energy. But this governor wants to tax us more for roads, borrow more for roads, spend all the stimulus he can on roads while his Superindendent of Public Instruction cuts deeper and deeper into Schools with every passing day.

Senator Jon Thorson (District 25) - ... Within the past year, unemployment rates have doubled, and the demand for food stamps has increased by 32 percent. The recommendations to the Department of Labor and Health & Welfare will be used directly to help those folks who have been the recent victims of the economic downturn and sluggish job market. For many hardworking Idahoans, this is the first time in their lives where they have asked for public assistance, or been unable to find work.

These are humbling times. I am pleased that Idaho is able to offer some assistance to enable citizens to stay in their homes and put food on the table. The $200 million earmarked for transportation projects may soon help some of Idaho’s displaced workers find a job, and quickly get off public assistance.

A majority of those positions would be construction though, and while that sector has been particularly hit hard, there are still many displaced workers that do not have those skills. So, it was disheartening to learn that none of the stimulus will be used to maintain some of the threatened state agency positions. In fact, the Governor and some members of the legislature are recommending an additional 5 percent cut to state and education personnel costs, in addition to the 6 percent overall budget cuts already made in fiscal year 2009. The Governor’s office explained that the state government, like business, needs to cuts its personnel and tighten down the hatches during these tough times.

While we strive for a government that runs as efficiently as a business, in times like these we cannot compare government to a business. First of all, when a business sees an increase of 32 percent in demand, it does not cut its operation budget by 11 percent. Unlike business, government cannot choose its customers. It cannot turn away those seeking services who qualify. We are experiencing an economic crisis because of failed businesses, businesses that even after decades of service decided to close their doors.

Government does not have that option. Further, it is during times like this that citizens need government services. Frankly, the recommended cut is shortsighted. Allocating some of the stimulus funds to save those budgets would not only serve the families supported by those jobs, but also the services provided to the public from those jobs. The Governor talks about using stimulus money to create jobs; it also makes sense to use the money to preserve jobs.

Dems respond to Otter's plan

2009-03-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Democratic leadership in the Idaho Legislature today praised Governor Butch Otter for accepting the federal stimulus money and for involving former Democratic and Republican governors in his deliberations. At the same time, House Minority Leader John Rusche and Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly questioned whether the governor’s plan will preserve as many Idaho jobs as possible.

Speaking with reporters after the governor’s press conference in Boise this morning, the Democratic leaders also raised concerns about the soundness of the Governor’s plan to sit on large pots of money while cutting public education. Read their response and see links to TV coverage here.

Rep. Chavez: A better education blueprint

2009-03-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Idahoans were outraged to hear of legislation that would trigger unprecedented damage to public education. Last night, Rep. Liz Chavez of Lewiston sent word via her email letter to constituents that a bipartisan committee has come to agreement on a less-damaging version of the bill:

Even though I'm in my second term as one of your state representatives, I continue to learn and discover both the strengths and weaknesses of individuals, and of the process as a whole. And while sometimes I am dismayed at some of the legislation and ideology that drives some of the more unusual pieces of of legislation, I have also found legislators and lobbyists who are good hearted, well meaning, intelligent, and patriotic Idahoans.

Sometimes ideology and procedure collide, and when that happens, if we're lucky we get the opportunity to help broker compromise and cooperation that results in excellent policy that will stand the test of time.

I have been fortunate enough to have been asked to participate in just such a scenario regarding setting policy to address a catastrophic economic emergency and the impact on education. It so happens that we find ourselves in such a situation now, but in order that we not just react in fear, for now and the future, cool heads have been put together to craft a blueprint for where we go from here.

The impetus for this group to get together and figure out how to address the shortfall in the department of Education wasHB117 and 118. There was such a hue and cry from all parts of the state, from parents to teachers to school boards to legislators. Instead of just allowing that anger to run amuck, leadership in the House asked Rep. Rich Wills to facilitate a working group consisting of the Idaho School Boards Association, the Idaho Education Association, the Administrators Association, the Rural Schools Association, and legislators.

The overriding concern has been, and rightly so, that the children, small and big, know that they can count on their schools being open, the lights turned on, and a teacher to help them learn and grow. As we focused on meeting the needs of Idaho's students, all those who have an interest in meeting those needs came together and while it has taken a 7:00am meeting every day for 3 weeks, today we came to agreement and hope to have legislation ready for the sponsor of HB117 to present to the House Education Committee for consideration.

This enewsletter has been heavy on education, but keeping education as whole as possible for Idaho's children and their future, realizing that there are people losing their jobs every day, is as critical to the recovery of our state and country as having "shovel ready" projects that put Idahoans back to work.

I believe in our country, I believe that working together we are going to come out of this crisis. I also believe in each one of you and your ability to help make recovery a reality for our ourselves and our economy.

Week 8: legislators' reports

2009-03-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents during Week 8 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. Phylis King (District 18) - In the eighth week of the session, we have been talking a lot about tax policy. Last week it was about beer and wine, (which failed); this week we are talking transportation taxes. ...

...I have been lobbied by both sides of the issue but I remain firm that I will not vote for an increase of gas tax and registration fees for three reasons:

1. We are in tough times. Micron has already laid off 2500 employees and may lay off another 2000 by August. Many of those unemployed individuals live in my district. This not a good time to raise their taxes.

2. We are going to get $181 million from the Federal Stimulus which needs to be used in 3 years. That should keep the Idaho Transportation Department busy for at least a year. Or to put it another way, will ITD be able to use any of the new money that might be generated from gas and registration fees for projects at the same time as they have the stimulus money? Let’s wait a year. Maybe we can come back with a bill for registration fees based on value of the car or the weight of the vehicle.

3. The biggest reason for me to say “no” is that the Treasure Valley has 42 percent of the people and about 60 percent of the wealth (we are the economic engine of this state), but we receive only 25 percent of the Highway Distribution money. That means that when we raise the registration fees and gas tax, we, in the Treasure Valley, are paying for roads and bridges for the rest of the state—which I don’t have a problem with. Yet the single most important concern the Treasure Valley has identified is a need for local option authority for public transit. We need to start purchasing right-of-way for public transit now. In 10 years it may be impossible to purchase right-of-way and it certainly will be a lot more expensive.

If the majority party wants my vote, they need to stop ignoring the Treasure Valley! Clete Edmunson from the Governor’s office has talked to me and I have made my position clear to him and to the Chairman of the Transportation Committee that I will not vote for gas tax and registration fee increase without a public transit component.

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19) - ... It kills me that my work on sentencing or health care may suffer because it is not really the role of a legislator to be a community organizer. It kills me that some of my colleagues have said I have to make a choice, be a gay activist or have no future in politics in Idaho. Really I have no choice.

I think of the straight people I meet who clearly care and want to help.

The burly firefighter who told me he buttonholed Senator Fulcher at a recent reception to say firmly but politely how upset he was as a constituent that Fulcher had opposed the Human Rights act. I think of the man who came to me to talk about health care issues and, as he was leaving, mentioned how wrong it was that some radio talk show hosts were say such awful things about me and gay people.

I think of my friend Emilie Jackson-Edney and her wonderful conversations about gender identity with Senator Coiner.

I think of Mountain Goat, the blogger whose partner fears being fired from her job. I know this woman only by her pen name and her posts and I picture her these days settled next to a radio watching the hate stream out day after day because she knows someone has to say that this is wrong. She is so right. How can we as a state stand by when others incite violence and hate. Why are we not outraged? Or maybe we all are outraged and we don’t know how to express it.

Well, I’m offering some ways to express it. And I’m asking for your help. Because I can’t do this alone. The tiny cluster of under-funded, human rights oriented, non-profit groups who have worked on these issues for over a decade and have three staff between them, they can’t do this alone.

We all need your help this year because if we don’t have your help things will keep getting worse, not better. And like you, I just can’t bear that. (Read more at Sen. LeFavour's blog, Notes From the Floor.)

Rep. Brian Cronin (District 19) - A bill that seeks to bring minimal licensing standards to daycare facilities that have less than 13 children will finally get a vote this year on the floor of the Senate. The bill (SB1112) that's been revised and refined by sponsors Rep. George Sayler (D-Coeur d'Alene) and Sen Tim Corder (R-Mountain Home) has made it further than all previous attempts over the last five years.

On Wednesday, the Senate Health & Welfare Committee voted to send the bill to the 14th (amending) order. The hearing room was packed and more people wanted to testify than were allowed to. I was one of the people who had signed up to give testimony but never had the chance. Chairman Lodge simply decided at a certain point that there would no further need to hear anyone else who might be supporting the bill. ...

... The wife of former Bill Sali staffer Wayne Hoffman testified as a former daycare operator, claiming that licensing would be financially devastating, particularly given that she was making minimum wage as a daycare owner. I'm sympathetic - my wife Veronica and I know how difficult it is to make money in this business. We've been in the business for three years and admittedly have questioned the value of having Veronica work so hard for less than ample financial rewards. But, if someone can't afford to spend roughly $200/year to certify that their facility is safe for children, then that person simply shouldn't be in the business to begin with, as far as I'm concerned. And if I play by the rules, I don't want to have to compete against facilities that cut corners and endanger children. ... (Read more from Rep. Cronin's blog, Citizen Idaho.)

Sen. Jon Thorson (District 25) - ... Last Wednesday, I experienced the most contested piece of legislation to enter the Senate Chambers so far this session. The legislation, S1119, would have given the Public Utility Commission the authority to approve low income bill payment assistance plans that gas and electric utilities voluntarily wish to implement. Currently, utility companies must rely solely on private contributions to help them fund their programs.

With unemployment rates continually increasing, many families are struggling to stay warm or keep the lights on. The utility companies report that the need for assistance has increased. Most of the folks that seek public assistance to help pay their bills are humble, hard working people, who may just be blindsided by the increase of utilities, lost their job, or are struggling to find work in this economy. Often people only use the assistance a few times and then they are back on their feet.

Yet, opposition to the bill saw this as “welfare” being filtered through public utility companies. I voted in favor of the bill, because I see it as a sensible approach to assist these companies to pay for the costs of doing business and helping families. Without the permission of the Public Utility Commission, the cost is just written off and passed on to tax payers. The bill failed to pass the Senate by one vote.

If you, or if you know someone who is struggling to pay their utility bills, there are some resources that may be able to help. To find these resources in your county, visit http://www.puc.state.id.us/CONSUMER/counties.htm. Also if you are in a position to help, please consider checking the box on your utility bill to send a few extra dollars to the funds reserved for public assistance, or consider a donation to one the non-profit organizations that provide this assistance.

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - Things are slow here in Boise, so this will be a very brief update. We are still two weeks away from beginning to set budgets. We are waiting for the Governor to re-address the legislature with a revised budget in light of the money Idaho will be receiving from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. I expect his proposal will include recommendation on how to use the stimulus money, as well as a proposal on what reserve funds we can use to shore up Idaho’s budgets.

The Governor is still working on getting his package of transportation bills passed. All week the Governor’s staff has been working with the House Transportation and Defense Committee, of which I am a member, but still no compromise has been reached. It is possible that if a compromise is reached it may mean less of an increase in gas taxes and less of an increase in registration fees.

Week 7: legislators' reports

2009-03-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents during Week 7 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - As many of you are aware, the proposal to raise taxes on beer and wine to pay for alcohol and drug abuse was presented and debated this week. I heard from many of you on this issue and I appreciate your feedback. After three days of listening to public comment, the Revenue and Taxation Committee, of which I am a member, voted against this bill: 13 against and 5 in favor. I was one of the legislators who voted “no” on this bill.

Although I strongly support treatment programs for substance abuse, I simply could not vote to raise these taxes on small businesses in our community at a time when they are struggling to survive one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression. The testimony presented at the hearing clearly showed the need to adequately fund treatment programs, and I know the industry heard the message that the Legislature expects them to be part of the solution. I hope it encourages them to come to the table when an improved bill is up for consideration.

On another note, after getting a clearer understanding of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, I am feeling more optimistic about our future here in Idaho. Like many of you, I have concerns about the cost of this package, but the money is here and Idaho has some serious needs and complex problems to solve. As we consider how to use this money, I will be pushing for projects that solve long-term problems including upgrades to sewer and water systems, as well as school remodels and renovations that will yield energy and tax savings for years to come.

In my mind, projects like these are the most efficient way to use this one-time money and stretch it out for our future through cost-savings in normal general fund expenditures. Although we are not out of the woods yet economically, I have incredible confidence in the ability of Idahoans to face adverse situations and come out triumphant and better than before. This will prove to be the case yet again. Yes, we are facing hard times and, yes, this recession may be longer than any of us initially thought, but I agree with President Obama, “We will rebuild, we will recover and we will emerge stronger than we were before."

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19) - Some days I walk myself to the statehouse in the dark, sit attentive through long committees, ask unwelcome questions, end up the sole no or yes vote on a bill, look at the long list of evening events we are supposed to attend and wonder what I am doing. I forget how many kind people have written to tell me how much better it makes them feel that I am here. I forget that on occasion I do make a change that affects lives, I give voice to what isn't heard or those who will be harmed. And that is something.
It is hard though.

Today when we heard a simple bill to mandate that insurance companies cover "elemental formula" as if it were medicine so that kids (whose lives depend on eating this formula instead of food) can afford it and can stay alive. So that you know, some kids can't eat regular food. At about two months their bodies reject their mother's milk and if they are lucky their doctor figures it out and puts them on special formula and then about 1/3 of them get better quickly, another bunch get better in a year or two and a very few need the formula for life.

But Idaho insurance companies don't cover this stuff. And after today's vote they still won't. ...
I sat there today and listened to those parents' stories. I can only ask what kind of nation makes people lose everything because someone in their family is sick? What kind of government tells them to get a divorce so they can maybe qualify for Medicaid so their child does not die? What kind of state makes people go through this? Run up tens of thousands on their credit cards, sell everything? What kind of people refuse to do anything because the insurance company lobbyists are really nice people and they promise us things if we will only agree not to make them do what they don't want to.

I'm disgusted because we have no backbone, because I work in one of the few places where we COULD fix some of what is wrong with healthcare and we won't. I'm disgusted because I work in one of the few places in the state where the people I work with mostly don't seem to think there is anything wrong with insurance companies or the way health care works. Or worse, they use how broken the system is to agree to do nothing at all. (See Nicole's blog here.)

Rep. Brian Cronin (District 19) - ... Renewable Energy: I am co-sponsoring a bill with Rep. Wendy Jaquet that will expand a property tax exemption currently extended to wind and geothermal energy producers to other forms of renewable energy (solar, biomass, landfill gas). The Revenue and Tax Committee agreed to print this bill last week.

Parents as Teachers: This is a highly effective program that operated in Idaho successfully for a number of years and was then suddenly and unjustifiably cut by Gov. Otter in 2007. This international program has proven successful in improving parenting practices, detecting developmental delays and health issues, increasing the school readiness and scholastic success of children, and preventing child abuse. This bill, which I’ve been working on with Rep. Branden Durst, will statutorily create the authority to re-establish this program, with the hopes that federal money and grants will be available to make it a reality.

Daycare Regulation: I strongly support SB 1112, sponsored by Rep. George Sayler (D-4) and Sen Tim Corder (R-22). This bill seeks to extend basic licensing and safety provisions to daycare facilities that care for 5-12 children. As a preschool owner, I have provided thes sponsors with input, which has made its way into the bill. And I plan to testify when the bill is heard in the Senate Health & Welfare Committee. This issue has been before the Legislature many times before and it has failed to act. This is an issue of protecting our children and it's time that our Legislature get on board. Fuel Mix Disclosure: This bill would have required utility companies to inform their customers of the sources of fuel (coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, etc.) by percentage on a semi-annual "bill stuffer." Strong opposition from utility companies meant I ultimately did not present the bill, though it appears the utilities have already gotten more serious about disclosing this information to consumers. ... (see Brian's blog here and watch one parent's story about Idaho day-care safety here.)

Rep. Phylis King (District 18) - I remain firm that I will vote “no” on raising fuel tax and registration fees at this time when families are hurting. We heard that Micron will lay off another 2000 employees—many live in my district. With the stimulus bill giving the average worker more money in his/her pocket, raising fuel taxes and registration fees at this time would effectively take some of that tax break away from those workers. Plus, all the stimulus money for transportation will keep the Idaho Department of Transportation plenty busy. ...

... I have received a lot of email about the increase on beer and wine tax bill. That bill failed in committee by 13 to 5. I have also heard about two education bills HB 117 and HB 118. HB 117 is being redrafted but may come out as a completely different bill. ... ... My largest endeavor is a rewrite of the Mobile Home Landlord Tenant act. It is dead for this year but two Republican legislators agree that this is an important issue and want to help me with future legislation. My plan is to draft a piece of legislation around each section/idea of the Act and let the committee debate several bills instead of just the one. Based on all the press that this issue is getting, I believe that this is a really important issue and is supported by many people and organizations.

We (there are five of us) have rewritten the Local Option Authority bill. We cannot seem to get this introduced. It is a sales and use tax that needs to be approved by 2/3 of the voters and absolutely NO constitutional amendment. It has been drafted with co-sponsors Rep. Grant Burgoyne, Rep Bill Killen, Rep Leon Smith and Rep. Elfreda Higgins.

Week 6: Legislators' reports

2009-02-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents during Week 6 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. John Rusche (District 7) - The daylight is getting longer and so are the days. We seem to have hit "reset" with regards to the budget with the new Economic Recovery Act.

President Obama signed the Recovery and Reinvestment Act and it looks like citizens in Idaho (and elsewhere) will receive some help. As I see it, about one-third of this money will be in the form of tax cuts, one-third will be for the purpose of funding shovel ready projects like building new roads, and one third will be used to backfill shortfalls in state budgets, primarily for public schools and Medicaid, the low income health plan.

Despite grumblings early in the week over whether he and the majority party would accept the help, Governor Otter has laid out a process for how to plug the economic recovery funds into our budgets. I am pleased to see that there is a reassessment of the position. Before either accepting or rejecting the money that we all have (or will) contribute in taxes, we need to know how best to use it for the families and businesses of Idaho. ...

... Governor Otter has created a "stimulus executive committee" which will guide his decisions. Each state agency will have until noon on March 4th to submit information to the Governor on how it anticipates using federal funds. After that the Governor's staff will go through the budgets and prepare a new budget proposal for approval by the Legislature. This will happen in mid-March. I am not sure if there is an opportunity to have much input in the development process.

As I said, this is basically like setting the reset button. It looks like our sine die date - the end of the legislative session - will likely be pushed into the middle of April. ...

Rep. Phylis King (District 18) - Now, in the sixth week of the session, the buzz is all about the Federal Stimulus package coming to Idaho. We have been told that Idaho may receive between $700 million and $1billion from the $787 billion stimulus law passed by congress last Tuesday. Idaho could receive a projected $300 million for Medicaid, $346 million for education, and $203 million for roads and bridges. Whether they agree with the package or not, be assured that the Idaho leadership will not turn down a penny of that money. ...
... Gov Otter will be traveling Saturday to DC to talk to Obama about Obama’s expectations of how Idaho should spend the money—wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall at that meeting? Otter will be back on Tuesday and will deliver this information along with his recommendations to a newly formed advisory committee. The advisory team includes three former governors - Cecil Andrus, John Evans and Phil Batt - and five former state budget directors. The team is equally split between Republicans and Democrats. This advisory committee will study state agency reports, consider their proposals, and provide its analysis to the governor by the close of business on March 19. The group has a lot of work to do in four weeks.

I am curious to know about the process. I know there will be a lot of letters flying back and forth from Federal agencies to Idaho. Ultimately Idaho will need to petition the federal Government for the money with an explanation of what our plans are for spending the money. I’ll let you know more next week.

As you can imagine, the prospect of an influx of new money has changed the pace of the session. All of a sudden, deadlines are not so strict and legislation that may have been put off for another session might be heard this session, and/or rewrites made. We may also have more time to lobby our colleagues about bills that we support. That’s good for me, because I have rewrites in the works for two of my bills; the “repair under warrantee bill” and my “manufactured housing” bill.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet (District 25; this is Wendy's Week 7 report, which came out today) - My experience on the Budget Committee has helped me see that the Stimulus legislation will be beneficial to the state. I wish we did not need it but with the current state of our economy - 50,000 people who are currently unemployed in Idaho and a 136% increase in our unemployment rates - I think we should take advantage of the help that has been provided to us.

You may have heard that the Governor has asked former governors to assist him in understanding the legislation. He has also tapped the former directors of the Division of Financial Management. His team will study the 1,000+ page legislation and he should have suggestions to the legislative budget committee, JFAC, by March 19. ... You can listen to (JFAC meetings) in your home by going to http://www.idahoptv.org/leglive/ and clicking on JFAC meetings on the right hand side of the page. We start at 8:30 most mornings.

There are two important guidelines that I think we need to keep in mind as we think about using these funds. The first is that we shouldn't be starting any new programs. This is short term funding, for two years, in most cases. When the stimulus money runs out, we don't want to be trying to fund a new program we can't afford.

My second guideline is to think of this money as an investment. We can invest in facilities funding for schools. We might want to invest money in making all our schools energy efficient. In the short run, the construction industry would benefit with more jobs. In the long run, the investment would have a good payback because school utility costs would decrease.

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - President Obama signed the federal economic recovery act this week. Idaho’s Republican leadership has expressed concern about the package and there were some grumblings early in the week about whether or not the Governor would accept it. We must be careful, however, about our next steps. Failure to take advantage of these funds will further harm Idaho’s economy and increase unemployment.

So far this Session, the Republican leadership’s strategy seems to have been to cut important services and raise taxes on Idaho’s families and businesses. Now they are threatening to make matters worse by threatening to refuse our share of the recovery act. If unemployment levels seem unprecedented now, this strategy will really lead us into dour economic times.

Regardless of whether or not we agree with this legislation, it will provide some relief for our State by helping to minimize unemployment and create more jobs for Idahoans. I wish we did not need it, but I believe we must be practical about using the help that has been offered. We need to protect and invest in the future of Idaho’s economy and families. It is the best opportunity we have to return to economic prosperity.

Information about the size of the recovery package and how it will be used is forthcoming. With monies from the recovery package we may be able to protect our schools from drastic budget cuts. This will help both K-12 public schools as well as Idaho State University. Besides being a major source of employment for Idahoans, education is an investment in our children’s future and in our State’s economic development and its success should be one of our top priorities.

There are no guarantees this funding package will get us back on track, but there is plenty of evidence that extraordinary measures are necessary. We need to get money in the hands of people who will use it, put Idahoans in jobs and get our economy moving again.

Rep. Elaine Smith (District 30) - The Idaho Legislature has just ended our sixth week with predictions that the Legislature is going to go until the middle of April due to stimulus discussions and setting budgets. I was a member of the 2003 longest session in Idaho Legislative history, so my goal is not to beat that record.

I am a member of State Affairs Committee, which dealt with many issues this week. House Bill 39 on state retirees insurance was held in committee. However, the compromise bill, House Bill 173, on state retirees insurance, which was endorsed by the Idaho Public Employees Association, did come out of committee with a do pass recommendation. Another bill that was very controversial last year was heard in State Affairs this week and received a positive print hearing pertaining to Midwifery licensing. For more information on this issue, go to the Idaho Legislative website, http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/, and you can read House Bill 185.

Another issue in this same committee pertained to putting the state's checkbook on-line to make government more transparent. The concept sounds fine, but I voted no in the print hearing because this searchable internet database has a $250,000 price tag. Our state does not have the money now, so I believe this isn't the time to do this project. ...

... I am the House Democrat on the Environmental Common Sense Committee which met this week on zebra and quagga mussel prevention in Idaho. These mussels have not been found in Idaho waters to date, but have been found in Electric Lake in Utah this past November, 180 miles from the Idaho border. The infestation of zebra mussel in the Great Lakes has an economic impact of more than $5 billion during a 6 year period from 1993 -99. Thus many western states are on high alert to contain, control and prevent the spread of these mussels in the West. So far, Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado and Utah have found these species in critical water supply systems. Many Idaho agencies are working together to prevent this infestation, which would have a horrible economic impact in Idaho.

Dems on the air in CdA, Magic Valley

2009-02-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

Rep. George Sayler, a Coeur d'Alene Democrat, will be on radio station KVNI (1080 AM in North Idaho) tomorrow - Wednesday, February 18 - at 7:35 a.m. Pacific Time. Rep. Sayler is once again working to bring better child care safety standards to Idaho. His bipartisan legislation is sponsored in the Senate by Mountain Home Republican Tim Corder. Read more here.

In other radio news, the Twin Falls County Democrats have a new Wednesday slot on KLIX (1310 AM in the Magic Valley). Tune in weekly from 8:30 to 9 a.m. Mountain Time to hear local Democratic leaders talk about the issues.

Week 5: legislators' reports

2009-02-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

Rep. John Rusche (District 7) - Remember when you had a secret Valentine? Secrets are hard to keep. In the end, it seems like almost all secrets get shared. That is true around the Statehouse too.

One secret related to the state's revenue numbers for the month of January, 2009. Rumors floated around the statehouse that the actual revenues for January are as high as $30 - $35 million short of what was projected. But no one really wanted to admit the truth and said to keep the estimate "quiet." It was sort of silly, given that the number was published in the Idaho Statesman, the Boise newspaper. ...

... The second secret relates to a bill that makes major changes in public school funding and policy. A group (comprised of legislators, the Dept of Education and other stakeholders) worked on a plan to find savings in the school budget while continuing to provide quality education. While the group was toiling away, a proposal was released by the Speaker, President Pro Tem, and the Education Chairs that went way beyond what was necessary, and I believe, could have seriously affected our schools and kids.

These bills (H117 and H118) were to have hearings on Monday, but after significant blowback (and realization that the drastic approach might not be necessary after all if the economic recovery money for education comes through), the Chairs reconsidered and will likely return to work with the stakeholders. I think that is the right approach. We really are all in this financial crisis together. We shouldn't do permanent damage for what is likely to be a short term problem.

... I have submitted bills on payday loans, expanding health insurance coverage (a bit) and a resolution supporting the proposed fiber optic connection between Riggins and Grangeville.

Rep. Phylis King (District 18) - Now, in the fifth week of the session, we are beginning to deal with legislation that is more controversial and substantive. On Tuesday, the Governor brought 5 bills to raise revenue for roads and bridges. The Democrats remain firm and will not vote to increase taxes on Idaho families. I voted to introduce the proposed bills out of respect for the governor, but I will not vote to raise gas tax and registration fees, especially in light of the fact that there is no local option tax allowed. Our bill for local option is waiting in the wings, so to speak—we have it ready and can introduce when the time is right. All of the “new money” from these bills would be put in a special fund called “Idaho Highway, Bridge, and Railroad Crossing” (IHBRC) fund and only be used to repair roads and bridges. ...

... In State Affairs, there was testimony about the legislation from the governor’s office to remove retired state employees from state health care plan. We have about 13,000 retirees and most have already moved to Medicare plus a supplemental since it is less expensive. However, about 400 remain on the state plan because they need the pharmaceutical portion.

I believe that most of the retirees were promised health care benefits throughout their careers and it is unfair for the state to change its policy now. Rep. JoAn Wood (R-Rigby) testified that she had paid into this plan for 27 years and had been promised full health care benefits when she retired. She opposes this legislation. Some private employers have made this same policy change, but when the private employers do it they usually offer an incentive for the employees. ...

I have 8 pieces of legislation that I am working on. My largest endeavor is a rewrite of the Mobile Home Landlord Tenant act. We have completed our meetings with the residents and owners. I am on the agenda to introduce the legislation on Tuesday in the Business committee. We (there are four of us) have rewritten the Local Option Authority bill and are showing it to interested groups. We will make it a sales and use tax that needs to be approved by 2/3 of the voters and absolutely NO constitutional amendment. It has been drafted, but we are waiting for the right moment to introduce it.

Rep. Brian Cronin (District 19, from Brian's blog, Citizen Idaho) - On a day when we saw troubling news come out of the House Education Committee, the Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee made the right call on a key issue for the Treasure Valley on Thursday.

In 2004, Sen. David Langhorst (D-Boise) and Rep. Mark Snodgrass (R-Meridian) joined forces to combat what was a growing problem in our region: deteriorating air quality that posed growing health risks to the public. After countless public meetings, task forces, iterations of bills, and real compromise forged over the course of four years, these two distinguished legislators got the bill passed. This was the critical step needed in recognizing that Canyon County is in the same air shed as Ada County, where vehicle emissions testing is already in place.

H482 gave the DEQ the authority to set up an emissions testing program in air sheds that are approaching federal non-attainment. The Treasure Valley has been dangerously close to non-attainment--it's only due to a confluence of favorable meteorological phenomena and last year's record gas prices that we were able to avert the designation.

Urgent action is needed to avoid the crippling sanctions that will stifle economic development if we fail to meet federal standards and the EPA takes over management of air quality. As I argued today in committee, this is why the region's Chambers of Commerce backed the bill. During a severe economic downturn, the last thing we need is to handicap local businesses by restricting our ability to grow and expand our transportation infrastructure. DEQ Director Toni Hardesty spelled it out clearly for a group of legislators back in December: once we hit non-attainment, the sanctions will go into effect and remain in effect for 20 years, despite whatever efforts we subsequently pursue to address the problem. ... (more here)

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19; from Nicole's blog, Notes from the Floor) - I walked into the House chairmen's suite Wednesday. I know "suite" sounds grand, but really it is a back corner area with cubicles where the Republican chairs of all the House Committees have their "offices." ... I found the two good Ladies from District 35, Lenore Barrett and JoAn Wood. Rep. Wood Chairs the house Transportation Committee and Rep. Barrett from my old home, Custer County, Chairs the Local Government Committee. ...

The two were sharing memories from the great depression. JoAn was just a girl but remembers licking the ration stamps and sticking them on the little cards. You needed full cards and money to buy your rations. They talked about the rations of sugar, shoes and gas.

The conversation led to box stores and the little local stores in their communities going out of business now.

This is not an every day scene, but it is. JoAn is the legislature's longest serving member. What she has seen and heard would fill books. Yet I realize even she remembers only echoes of the last time the economy took such a loss. We are in unknown waters trying to decide what of state government we need to fund and what we can do without.

This could be as bad as it gets. Or it might not be. The not knowing is what makes me cautious. Those who feel confident about a quick recovery may not agonize so much. But some of us will. This legislative session is just beginning. There is lots more to be seen. Lot's more struggling over conflicting realities, conflicting images of what's possible.

Unlike in the 30's we have a social welfare system. We are built to keep our nation's people from hunger. As long as we each remain generous, as long as we grow enough food in our collective American farm lands and can get our nation down from the endless war to a place of relative peace, we can survive anything. That's what I believe.

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - ... With unemployment rates at an all time high and a struggling state economy, one of our biggest tasks this legislative session will be to protect Idaho's public schools from severe budget cuts. Not only are schools an important source of jobs for many Idahoans, our schools are crucial to economic development. My fear is that in the process of trying to balance the education budgets, certain legislators are proposing legislation which may inflict permanent damages to solve a temporary problem.

Despite the fact that a bi-partisan working group made of Democrats, Republicans and education stakeholders has been working on a compromise bill with Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna and the chairs of the Senate and House Education Committees, far-reaching legislation was proposed this week which will harm our public schools.

House Education Chairman Nonini (R-Couer D' Alene) is proposing a package of bills (H117 and H118) that roll back the authority of local school districts by several decades, essentially removing much of the authority they currently enjoy in managing their local affairs and freezing it in statute. ... The biggest problems with these bills are that they provide permanent statutory changes for a temporary problem. If passed, these proposals will remain in place even when our economy and revenues recover in the near future. What is even more worrisome is that these changes are being pushed at a time when the economic recovery package is on the cusp of being signed by President Obama. We shouldn't be making hasty changes for their own sake. We must consider how the recovery act will change the landscape for education budgets.

Over the next week, I will be working with other legislators and education stakeholders on alternatives to these bills. As we do so, we will be seeking compromise that allows Idaho to continue to provide quality education to our children and keeps Idahoans in their jobs.

Make your voice heard on education cuts

2009-02-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

Update 2/16 - The hearings on possible cuts to education have been delayed as lawmakers assess the potential impact of the federal recovery money on Idaho's budget situation. Read coverage here and here about two bills introduced last week that threaten to use the current short-term crisis to do permanent damage to education.

***

In the face of upcoming hearings on cuts to public education, Idaho Democratic lawmakers this week urged Idahoans to contact state officials with ideas on how to minimize those cuts and preserve future opportunities for our state.

The Idaho Legislature’s House and Senate Education Committees plan three days of joint hearings February 16-18 to talk about budget cuts to public education and possibly enact legislation to allow those cuts. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna recently outlined $62 million in cuts for fiscal year 2010, which starts July 1, and he has said that deeper cuts may be necessary.

“Education is the best and most powerful road to economic opportunity,” House Minority Leader John Rusche said. “Yet it’s a road we won’t be able to travel if we make drastic cuts to public schools and higher education during this downturn.”

Democratic lawmakers have been showing leadership by meeting with superintendents, teachers and school boards statewide to learn how local communities will be affected by the education funding issue, and they are urging Idaho citizens to have their say as well. Luna has a “suggestion box” (http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/forms/SchoolsBudgetComments/default.asp) on the Department of Education website seeking public input on education funding, and citizens may want to use that and calls to state lawmakers to remind officials that amid the current recession, the Legislature and Department of Education must:

· Use any educational funding available in the federal recovery package. We cannot afford to pass it up.
· Use a greater portion of the rainy-day funds that Idaho taxpayers put away for times like these. It’s raining now.
· Focus on teachers and classrooms. Now is the time to forgo unnecessary testing and administrative burdens.
· Consider a temporary moratorium on new charter schools, rather than raising the cap on how many new charter schools may open each year.
· Make any major changes temporary so that they can be examined when we are not “under the gun.”
· Grant maximum flexibility to local school districts to address local needs.
· Remember that the Idaho Constitution has two important mandates: that the Legislature balance the state budget and “establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools."

“Like all Idahoans, we understand the need for fiscal responsibility at this time,” Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly said. “But we must guard against deep cuts that will result in a sharp decline in overall educational services. We need to remember that educational opportunity is the single best way Idaho can attract and keep good jobs during the downturn and once the recession is over.”

Week 4: Legislators' reports

2009-02-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents during Week 4 of the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. John Rusche (District 7) - The discussion on how to fund K-12 education has started. Unfortunately, significant cuts to our public school budget have been proposed; the governor proposed a budget cut of $80 million in his State of the State Address last month. The Superintendent has proposed $60 million in lower spending for next year, and using more of the reserve funds. It is a sad dilemma-- to fulfill constitutional duty to balance the budget and still fulfill our duty to our children's future. As best we can, Democrats in the Legislature will push to protect classroom teaching and work to give local schools discretion and flexibility to let them best meet each individual community's needs.

I am working on a bill to extend health insurance coverage for some people under age 25. Currently, people who are under 25, are financially dependent on their parents, and are also full-time students are can have coverage under their parents' health insurance plan. This bill would amend the law to make it so that being enrolled as a full-time student is not a requirement to have coverage. This will provide some relief to individuals losing coverage in this economy.

Rep. Sue Chew (District 17) - With the downturn in the economy, we depend more and more on our safety net for healthcare in our communities, the community free clinics. While we can meet the growing need by getting more health providers to donate their services at the clinic—it’s still a big cost! Medications are the main budgetary cost for these small clinics. The proposal would allow pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, other licensed medical facilities, and drug manufacturers, to donate unused medications to charitable clinics such as The Friendship Clinic operated from the All Saints Episcopal Church which resides within the borders of District 17 on the corner of Latah St. and Cassia St.

The donated medications would be subject to certain rules: they must be in the original sealed package, and the donation date must be more than 6 months prior to the expiration date. Of course, medication would only be given out based on a valid prescription. While this seems to be a straightforward and beneficial proposal - getting medication to those who can least afford it, at reduced or no cost - its implications need to be fully examined. That’s why it’s important to approach this collaboratively. Rep. Chew will be presenting the proposal to the State Board of Pharmacy this week.

Sen. Elliot Werk (District 17) - According to numerous studies – including a recent one from the National Safety Council, the use of a cell phone while driving – even if hands-free - dramatically increases the likelihood an accident. The study, from the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis, states that 6 percent of traffic accidents (or 636,000 accidents) occur each year because someone is using a cell phone. The study concluded that 330,000 people are injured and 2,600 people die as a result of these cell phone related accidents. In addition, many studies have shown that driving while texting (referred to as driving while intexticated) is completely irresponsible.

I have two pieces of legislation that I am co-sponsoring with Senator Les Bock. The first, SB-1030, prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving unless it is used hands-free. The second, SB-1031, prohibits a driver from sending a text message while driving (with some exceptions for emergencies and emergency responders). We were refused even a hearing to print these bills (i.e., turn them into a piece of legislation) so we submitted them as personal bills (we skipped the committee print hearing process). Now we are working on the chairman of the Transportation Committee (Sen. John McGee) to get a fair hearing of the bill - including public testimony. Please let me know what you think of these proposals. Your opinion is valuable to me (and was one of the factors that moved me to bring this to the legislature).

Sen. Nicole LeFavour (District 19) From Nicole's blog, Notes from the Floor - ... we have created a hollow economy, one built on fiction, on money none of us have, money that is promised against debt large enough to consume more wages than we may ever earn in a life time. And that is just the personal debt. Medical expenses, balloon mortgages, loans for new more fuel efficient cars, home equity loans, and everything from groceries to nick knacks stacking up on credit cards. The average person owes more than $10,000 in personal debt. That's the average. That means most Americans own nothing, or that someone else owns most or all of what we live in, eat off of or sleep on. It is a disturbing thought. Who owns it and can they take it back?

As a nation we have waged two wars on trillions borrowed from other nations. Dollars that a President and previous Congress pretended we had to spend. We have allowed American companies to manufacture everything elsewhere or to sell us nothing but goods entirely made by other countries. Our dollars flow out to buy little plastic plug-in fans that make rooms smell like lilacs, accent tables and CD holders made for pennies by children using whole forests of foreign trees. We pay dollars and companies owned by shareholders on several continents earn the rest. Our wages flow out of our communities for insurance premiums and every daily necessity, staying only in tiny portions for the hamburger flipper, the bus driver, the nurse, the teacher, the shop keeper. Local stores are shuttered and dark and their owners who once slaved for a decent wage, work now for people they don't know and will never meet, in a chain store selling goods from far, far away.

Our factories still stand there, and people who know how to run them are still alive because much of this has happened in the past eight years. We could fix this. Not by outlawing or taxing foreign imports but by recreating a sense of pride in what we make and a sense that our very survival depends on our buying what our communities produce. ... (Read more here.)

Rep. Wendy Jaquet (District 25) - Two weeks ago I toured the Corrections facilities with Director Brent Reinke and legislators. We looked at both the public and private facilities. On February 2, there were 7,245 inmates in the system. This is 600 less than projected for this time period. Prisoners have been returned from out-of-state and it is anticipated that the final out-of-staters will be back this spring or summer. Due to these reductions, the Corrections Department returned $4 million dollars back to the general fund and they are projecting further savings next year. Director Reinke says there is no silver bullet that he can point to for this success, but he does point to the following as achieving a reduced offender population growth:
• Over 1000 program completions: treatment pathways guide inmate movement according to program needs and coordinate treatment resources more effectively so that when inmates are eligible for release they are ready to go;
• An increase in parole releases;
• Fewer admissions to prison: more community-based diversions;
• Coordination of treatment dollars, Office of Drug Policy, Idaho Council on Substance Abuse;
• A decrease in probation violations;
• Misdemeanor probation training;
• Problem solving courts: mental health and drug courts;
• More partnering among agencies through the Criminal Justice Commission.
The Corrections budget growth has been a cause for concern for legislative budget writers. The Corrections Department has been taking funding from colleges and universities, k-12 education and health and welfare budgets. The above changes and success mark a new direction for the state!

Senator Jon Thorson (District 25, sitting in for Clint Stennett) - This week, the legislature has been considering legislation from the Governor’s office to reorganize some of our state agencies. For example, one bill moved the veteran education services outside of the Department of Education and into the Division of Veteran Services, so that veterans can go to this division for all their requests. Other bills have moved commissions outside of the State Board of Education, many of which have been running their own show for many years, such as the Idaho Commission for Libraries and the Historical Society.

Admittedly such legislation will have little impact on our daily lives, yet these changes permit agencies to be more focused on their core responsibilities and helps improve services offered to the public. The agency transitions have zero costs and may actually save the state money in the long run by increasing agency efficiency. While a few of these proposals still have to go through the process, those that have passed the Senate, I have voted for and am impressed with. Anticipation is in the air as legislators and administrators wait to see how Congress will act on the President and Congress’s economic stimulus plan.

The target date for a set budget to be presented to the House is March 13, but depending on the actions taken in our nation’s capitol that date may be pushed farther back. Working with the federal government may be essential for providing the necessary services to Idahoans over the coming years.

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - With this bleak economic outlook, the State Legislature is facing the prospect of serious budget cuts in order to balance the State's budget as is required by Idaho's constitution. With job losses on the rise, State revenues will continue to struggle because fewer revenues will come to the State through sales and income taxes. As your legislator, I have worked hard to be fiscally responsible. Unfortunately, that may not be enough this year.

The Legislature is going to have to make some tough decisions about where to cut. My guiding principle as we make these decisions, however, is that every effort must be made to keep Idahoans in their jobs. State budget cuts which result in lay-offs have a multi-faceted detrimental impact. First, they increase the number of our neighbors who will need to rely on State services at a time when those services are also being cut. Second, lay-offs compound our budget problems by decreasing the amount of money being spent throughout the State, thereby decreasing sales tax revenues. Third, lay-offs result in decreased income tax revenues. Fourth, they increase the amount the State must pay in unemployment benefits.

As the work of setting budgets continues, it is imperative that legislators keep these considerations in mind. Budget cuts that result in putting Idahoans out of a job should not be an option, especially when we do not yet know the status of the federal stimulus package.

Seeking guest worker solutions

2009-02-04T15:07:00.000-08:00

By Rep. Donna Pence

I serve on the House Agricultural Committee, which heard a presentation this week by the Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform. The coalition is comprised primarily of agriculture groups representing dairy and farm organizations that rely on immigrants to harvest crops, perform field work and milk cows. However, food processors, construction and the general business community also are involved in the coalition.

Much of the discussion concerned the H-2A Program, the only one available to bring in workers. There are 29 types of visas which allow people to come into the country. The H-A2 is the type most agriculture employers use. In it prospective employers are required to advertise the job first to local workers. If no one applies, then they can petition to begin the process of securing H-2A workers. Often this process take 45 days or longer.

Briefly the positive aspects the H-A2 program are:
1. Provides an adequate supply of seasonal workers at known terms and conditions of employment.
2. Benefits alien workers by providing a legal regulated way to work in the United States where their services are needed.
3. Assures U.S. workers have preference to farm jobs before workers are brought in.

Problems associated with the program:
1. Employers decline to take on the challenges of the paperwork involved in the process
2. H-2A labor certifications are often issued late, resulting in delays in approving visa applicants making workers arrive late, which often proves disastrous to perishable crops.
3. The program is designed for crop agriculture and does not take in to account the growing animal agriculture industries where work is year round.
4. Employers have no guarantee that experienced trained workers will be allowed to return to the farm in succeeding years.

Another problem involved is the E-Verify system recently put in place to electronically compare employee information on Form I-9 (a form workers fill out) to information taken from Social Security, as well as Citizenship and Immigration Services records of all new hires in businesses which participate in the system. Some states have made E-Verify mandatory for businesses and others are considering doing so. At present, there are a number of bugs in this electronic system designed to identify persons in this country illegally. This constitutes a definite burden on small businesses as well as legal residents of the U.S.

According to the coalition, employers in Idaho want to hire a qualified, dependable and legal workforce. They can, however, only hire those who apply for the jobs. Right now in agriculture the traditional domestic worker is not applying for employment in the Ag sector. The vast majority of the applicants are immigrants – legal or not.

The intent of the coalition is to promote debate of reforming the guest worker programs in the U.S. They have been traveling around the state since the first of the year discussing with employers the need for immigrant labor and how to improve the availability of such labor while insuring citizens first crack if they so choose.

This is an incredibly complicated issue and one that elicits a wide range of emotional reactions. I applaud the efforts of this coalition of businesses to seek rational discussion on this issue.

Pence, a Gooding Democrat, represents District 25 in the House of Representatives

Week 3: Legislators' reports

2009-02-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents during Week 3 in the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. Shirley Ringo (District 6) - I have spent some painful days on the Joint Finance Committee (JFAC) as we discuss reductions in the Idaho budget to respond to Idaho’s slow economy. Proposed reductions involve cutting support to struggling families, individuals suffering from cystic fibrosis, individuals suffering from epilepsy, severe cuts to higher education, public education, etc. It’s hard to think of raising fees for much needed work on highways and bridges with so many people losing jobs. I am happy to see Congress moving towards a stimulus package that should give a certain amount of relief. The notion of the economic stimulus is not unanimous (especially among the Idaho delegation), but I hope my colleagues in the Idaho Legislature will agree to use the opportunity to assist vulnerable citizens, protect education, and stimulate the economy.

Sen. Elliot Werk (District 17) - The story of the 2009 legislative session is lower revenue and how to balance the budget while maintaining critical services like education, worker retraining, economic development, and healthcare for the truly needy. It will be a very difficult balancing act to set the correct priorities and allocate funds accordingly. ... Over the last six years the legislature has wisely developed some rainy day funds. The balances of these funds total over $300 million. Governor Otter’s budget uses only 35% of these funds even though his own economic projections show an easing of the recession in the middle of the 2010 budget year (that year ends 18 months from now in July of 2010). The prudent and wise use of these funds is essential to maintaining critical services in 2010 and into the 2011 budget year. Right now the legislature is evaluating the Governor’s budget, trying to estimate what the FY 2010 revenues will be, determining what level of rainy day fund use is appropriate, finding ways to cut budgets while still maintaining critical services, and evaluating the best way to position Idaho for a quick recovery when this recession ends.

Rep. Brian Cronin (District 19, writing January 28 at his blog, Citizen Idaho) - The House Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee (on which I sit) met for four hours today, taking testimony on two controversial administrative rules. In the end, the Republican committee members voted to side with industry (and against the public interest, in my mind)--favoring a permanent groundwater exemption for the mining industry and joining the Realtors Association in rejecting a rule that would have brought septic system design standards into the modern age. The problem with the groundwater rule is that in allowing miners to contaminate groundwater for a designated area in perpetuity, you create the risk of that contaminated water eventually migrating outside the points of compliance, thereby posing a public health concern. ... With respect to septic systems, the DEQ was seeking to upgrade the septic drain fields dimensions/design parameters to correspond to today's typical household wastewater flow. Approximately 1 in 7 septic systems in Idaho are undersized--not large enough to accommodate the effluent flows that they're handling. ... In discussing the technicalities of this rule, we seemed to lose sight of the impetus behind the rule--protecting public health and clean water. It seems logical that septic system standards need to be revised from time to time, as we do with building and electric codes, in response to changing times and increased consumption and demands on such systems. I asked the DEQ representative how Idaho compares to other states; we learned that Idaho has the lowest standards in the country. ... (more here)

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - The Legislature is in its third week and the economic news gets grimmer each day. Twelve thousand jobs were lost in December, increasing the state's unemployment rate to 6.6%. As we face this economic downturn, our focus needs to be directed towards how to keep existing jobs and create new jobs for Idahoans, as well as economic development. Idaho's public schools are crucial to economic development and Democrats in the Idaho Legislature are working to minimize cuts to Idaho's Kindergarten through 12th grade budgets. Lost revenues this year have been replaced with a portion of the reserve ("rainy-day") funds to stabilize budgets. In order to balance the budget for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, as is required by Idaho's Constitution, it is estimated that we will need to make up about $80 to $120 million. As a result, the Legislature is going to have to make some very difficult decisions. My priority is to keep teachers in the classroom and to keep Idahoans in their jobs. Education is one of the keys to economic development in our state and although budgets must be cut we should not be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Cuts to the Department of Education that are not done with precision and care will result in a long-term detrimental impact to our youth and Idaho's economic stability.

Taking a stand for clean, safe water

2009-01-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Democrats on the Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee today raised objections to the majority votes on two Department of Environmental Quality rules on groundwater quality and sub-surface sewage disposal.

“Like all Idahoans, we want clean and safe water,” Senator Les Bock said. “The majority votes on these issues go against the Department of Environmental Quality’s charge to protect that precious resource."

On the groundwater safety rule, Bock and Senator Nicole LeFavour challenged how the rule revision allows mining companies a permanent exemption from state rules and standards protecting groundwater from contamination.

The Democrats expressed concerns that the rule does not provide a framework of how the operator or the DEQ will monitor the site in perpetuity. “The Idaho Legislature has entrusted DEQ with maintaining high-quality water supply, and we feel the new ground water rule does not provide adequate monitoring to ensure that safety for the public,” Bock said.

“It is very troubling to me that in this rule our state government is picking and choosing where it will enforce ground water quality laws and where it will not,” LeFavour added. “It’s also troubling that we set a precedent that allows economic considerations to trump the need to protect Idaho's clean drinking water for families and our children.”

The committee also voted to reject a pending rule on sub-surface sewage disposal, while Bock and LeFavour voted to uphold that rule, which revised the method for determining wastewater flow and capacity for the design, installation and use of septic tanks at residential structures.

DEQ proposed the rule to address an existing condition where wastewater is seeping into lakes and streams below substandard septic systems that were approved under previous DEQ rules. The rule was to address the health risks and remediation costs to taxpayers associated with fecal contamination of Idaho lakes, streams and groundwater.

“Developers and homeowners have been using creative ways to get around the intent of the law by designating bedroom spaces to non-bedroom spaces,” LeFavour said. “Again, DEQ is trusted with maintaining our state’s water quality. This new rule was designed to do that, and public comment before the ruling found that these changes were both reasonable and in the best interest of public health. We are disappointed that our colleagues on the Health and Welfare Committee did not agree.”

Rusche: Plan undermines Constitution

2009-01-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

Idaho House Minority Leader John Rusche had an op-ed in the Idaho Statesman yesterday about Rep. Steven Thayn's proposal to pay parents to keep their children home from kindergarten. Here's a snip:

Make no mistake - this is an assault on public schools, something Rep. Thayn and his ultra-conservative kind have been promoting for years. But his plan is worse than foolish. It is a dangerous attack on a core American value: common public education.

Public schools and the values of fairness and opportunity that they offer are so important that the founders of Idaho placed them in our Constitution:
"Article IX: Education and School Lands.
"Section 1. Legislature to Establish System of Free Schools. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools."

If anything, a "general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools" is even more important now - in this difficult economy and amid global competition for jobs - than it was at Idaho's founding. Idaho needs leaders who will look toward 2050, not 1950.

Read the whole op-ed here.

Update, January 28: It looks like House Leadership isn't taking Thayn too seriously.

Week 2: Legislators' reports

2009-01-24T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here are excerpts from some of the e-mail newsletters that Idaho Democratic lawmakers sent home to their constituents during Week 2 in the 2009 Idaho Legislature. If you would like to receive regular updates from your legislators - Democrat or Republican - be sure to let them know.

Rep. Liz Chavez (District 7) - Education is the backbone of our country ... and educators have seen lean times before. The difference this time is that the economy hasn't stopped falling yet, so it's hard to know what to expect or how to compensate for the loss of revenue. The school districts in Legislative District 7 have dedicated personnel who are working every day to meet the needs of our children and somehow find the money to keep the lights on. I'm doing everything I can do to convince the Governor and others that using more of the emergency funds now may hold off disaster for many small school districts. ... Transportation is taking a lot of energy, and while I know that funding creates jobs, raising registration fees right now when people have to have a vehicle to get to work seems counter -productive. This is especially true if we are cutting Medicaid therapy hours, education and other services needed by the most vulnerable of our citizens.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet (District 25) - The Office of Performance Evaluations via the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee released the long awaited Idaho Transportation Performance Audit on Monday. The consultants said our highway program situation is "untenable." They indicated that the Idaho Department of Transportation, ITD, funding is not enough to catch up and match the expected costs of maintaining and preserving state highways and bridges; our highways are deteriorating faster than resources are available and the costs to do road construction are rising faster than inflation; they said that $137 million dollars is merited and probably understated; they criticized the department because they believe ITD's programs are reactive in nature; that the department doesn't have a strategic vision and that there is no coordinated long term/infrastructure management plan.

Sen. Jon Thorson (District 25, sitting in for Clint Stennett, who is on medical leave) - Last year, Sen. Stennett introduced a bill to provide more oversight for the placement of major power plants throughout the state. Currently, merchant power plants can be built without state oversight, and it falls to the consent of two out of three county commissioners. I, along with my fellow Democratic Senators, have introduced this legislation again so that all stakeholders in energy plant development can be represented in the decision making.

Rep. James Ruchti (District 29) - As you are aware, Idaho families are being hit hard by the effects of the economic downturn. Just as Idaho families must tighten their belts, so too must Idaho government. Budgets must be cut; however, we must act carefully and with an eye towards the future. I will work to preserve government services that are necessary in your lives while finding ways to be more efficient with taxpayer money. Job creation must be our first priority. At the same time, we must continue to invest in economic development and education at all levels.

Rep. Elaine Smith (District 30) - On Thursday, the entire Idaho House of Representatives voted to reject the pay increase and per diem increase, which was the only correct thing to do since Idaho families are struggling. This House Concurrent Resolution now goes to the Senate side. I believe as a legislator that I should not have a pay increase in this turbulent time of our economy, especially when the Legislature is looking at budget cuts to agencies and universities.

Dem senators list priorities

2009-01-22T16:37:00.000-08:00

As reported on the Idaho Statesman's legislative blog, the Senate Democratic Caucus today proposed five pieces of legislation that would be priorities for the 2009 Legislature if Democrats (now just seven of 35 lawmakers) ran the show:

• Fair Elections Act: The bill would allow voluntary public funding in legislative elections as is the case in Arizona and Maine. The Democrats claim elected officials "would be holden to no one" and it would open the process for individuals of lower economic means to run for office. The bill would add a fee to court filings and fines to generate money for publicly financed elections and potential candidates would have to meet certain thresholds to qualify.
• Major energy facility siting: The bill calls for more deliberate planning of major energy facilities, such as coal and nuclear.
• Move homeowners' exemption to $150,000
• Sunset sales tax exemptions so that they can be reviewed by the Legislature: The Democrats said that tax exemptions are not reviewed by the Legislature after they are approved to find out if they are serving their purpose of "enhancing the economy." "Every exemption should be up for review," Elliot Werk said, adding that it did not mean the exemptions should be taken away, only that they should be reviewed.
• Prohibiting campaign contributions to legislators while in session: Because the state's "bribery laws are toothless," Kate Kelly said, she is proposing a bill that would prohibit legislators from taking campaign contributions from registered lobbyists while in session.

Democrats get slot on KBOI

2009-01-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

Idaho Democratic legislators will have a new slot on KBOI starting Friday, January 16, when Senate Minority Caucus Chair Elliot Werk and Assistant House Minority Leader James Ruchti visit with Paul J. Schneider and Chris Walton from 8:30 to 9 a.m. The show can be heard in the Treasure Valley at 670 AM or on the Internet at http://www.670kboi.com.

Be sure to tune in as James and Elliot talk about how Idaho Democrats are challenging the governor's budget priorities of valuing potholes more than people. Call 336-3700 or 1-800-529-KBOI (5264) to have your say.

Do you know of another Idaho radio station that takes guests on local call-in shows? Make sure we know, too. Send the details (station name, town, dial position, and time and date of local talk shows) to julie@idaho-democrats.org. And watch Working for Idaho for news of other Democrats visiting KBOI on what will be a weekly slot each Friday during the 2009 Idaho Legislature.

Misplaced priorities, missed opportunities

2009-01-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

In a response to the governor's State of the State message, Idaho Democratic leaders today questioned Gov. Butch Otter's priorities in seeking tax hikes for transportation while making deep cuts to public education.

House Minority Leader John Rusche said that Democrats recognize that the economy is in crisis and that state government must tighten its belt just as Idaho families and businesses are having to do.

But Democrats said the current fiscal crisis has been compounded by years of inertia from the legislative majority. "A year ago, we stood here and spoke about the 'do-nothing legislature of 2007' and how it left town with few real solutions to the serious problems facing Idaho," Rusche said. "Well, in 2008 the legislature again failed to address our most pressing problems. Last fall, however, our chronically unfinished business collided with the worst economic downturn in decades, and now the crisis we all face is much worse. This year, as the Governor said, the legislature must take responsibility to preserve critical services for Idaho families and empower people to decide their own futures."

Democrats called on the legislature to reconsider using only 35 percent of the state's emergency funds, especially if using the money now could help the recession be "shallower and shorter," according to Rep. James Ruchti, Assistant House Minority Leader.

Senate Assistant Minority Leader Kate Kelly gave examples of misplaced priorities within the budget holdbacks made so far, as well as in the governor's 2010 proposal. "For example, was it wise for the Idaho Tax Commission – at a time of plummeting revenues – to lay off 65 employees who were chasing after tax cheats? Is it wise to slash the Department of Commerce budget at a time when we need to attract new jobs and keep the ones we have? Is it smart to ask Idahoans to pay more for road maintenance while cutting school resources, the best engine we have for our future economic security?"

"The Governor’s proposed budget is a lose-lose for the people of Idaho – cutting education and healthcare while raising taxes to fill potholes. In these troubled economic times it is just plain wrong," Rusche said. "It’s wrong for Idaho’s struggling economy and its wrong for struggling Idaho families and businesses. Our goal this session will be to help our colleagues in the Majority face the issues responsibly. We will encourage the state to use Idaho taxpayer dollars for their highest and best use. We will not sacrifice our state’s long-term future for short-term gain, nor will we turn away ready resources that can equip Idahoans with the tools we need to quickly pull out of this recession."

"Taking responsibility also includes trusting the people," Kelly added. "Why can’t the legislature trust Idaho’s citizens and local communities to decide for themselves what local road and transportation projects to fund? Like most Idahoans, we believe in local control, local decisions and local responsibility. It’s time for this legislature to remove this roadblock to local road projects and approve local option authority without an unneeded and unwise Constitutional amendment."

Democrats also noted that the governor paid scant attention to energy and economic development in his remarks. "We are far behind our neighboring states, which are much better positioned to take advantage of the coming new energy economy with good, high wage jobs that will reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil tyrants while growing our economy," Kelly noted.

"The governor also didn’t say much about the need to extend broadband to rural communities where unemployment rates are running as high as 10 percent above the state average. These are areas that deserve our attention now," Rusche said. "If we can use this current crisis as a time to draw the players together and face these long-neglected issues, our communities and families will emerge stronger from this recession."

People vs. potholes

2009-01-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted from Rep. Branden Durst's Idaho18 blog

So what do we mean when we (Democrats in the Idaho Legislature) say "people versus potholes"? Simply stated, we mean that in a time of economic downturn, it doesn't make sense to us to raise taxes on already-hurting Idahoans to build roads while cutting critical services like education and professional technical programs.

Oh, but Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John McGee says "People AND Potholes," so maybe there isn't any conflict. Well, let's consider his reasoning. According to McGee, potholes represent job creation. He is right: They do, but not necessarily for Idahoans. You see, Idahoans aren't required to get the contracts for road jobs and there is quite a bit of very recent precedent to suggest they won't. I for one don't want to advocate for a tax increase on my constituents so that we can employ people that aren't going to help stimulate our Idaho economy.

Let's not miss something. Do roads need improving? Yes, yes and yes. Unfortunately, as I stated above, without any certainties that Idahoans would be employed, this isn't the BEST use of our money. Idahoans will see more benefit and for a longer period by keeping education strong and building up our workforce. We need to stop looking at the short-term and start thinking about our future.

Dems will respond to State of the State

2009-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Gov. Butch Otter will deliver his 2009 State of the State address at 3 p.m. Mountain/2 p.m. Pacific today at the Boise State University Special Events Center. (The public can attend; arrive by 2:30.) The speech will also be carried live on Idaho Public Television and on other TV and radio stations, as well as on the IPTV website.

Democratic House and Senate leaders will hold a news conference to offer their response to the speech at 10 a.m. Tuesday in room 228 of the Capitol Annex.

Honor Rep. Jaquet on January 10

2009-01-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

Come Honor Rep. Wendy Jaquet and our new Democratic legislators at an Idaho Democratic Legislative Caucus reception set for 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 10, at The Modern Hotel, 1314 W. Grove St. in Boise.

The event will pay tribute to Jaquet, who served 10 years as House Minority Leader and is now taking a seat on the important Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. We'll also honor new state Representatives Grant Burgoyne, Brian Cronin and Elfreda Higgins and new state Senators Les Bock and Nicole LeFavour.

RSVP to Randy Johnson at (208) 869-3902 or randyidlc@gmail.com. Suggested donation is $50, payable at the door. (Please make checks payable to the IDLC.) Can't attend? You can still donate by sending a check to the IDLC, P.O Box 445, Boise, Idaho 83702

Hosts for the event are Boise Mayor Dave Bieter; United Transportation Union Idaho Legislative Board; Benton, Ellis and Assoc.; Roy Eiguren; Roger Seiber and Jerry Deckard; Bill Roden; and the Idaho Hospital Association.
If you are interested in being a host for this event please contact Randy Johnson.

Schools are Idaho's economic engines

2008-12-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

By Reps. Liz Chavez, Branden Durst and Donna Pence

Our state and nation are facing the worst budget crisis we’ve seen in several decades. News reports indicate that the Idaho Legislature may be forced to do something it has never done: decrease year-to-year funding for our public schools and perhaps even scuttle state mandates for funding education. As parents, educators and legislators, we will be asking hard questions about what such unprecedented moves would mean for our state’s future.

It’s clear that times are difficult, and Democratic lawmakers recognize the need for frugality. Gov. Butch Otter has ordered a total of 6 percent in planned and possible budget holdbacks for the current fiscal year, and he has asked state agencies to plan for similar cuts in the 2010 budget, which the legislature will set this winter.

John Goedde, the Senate Education Committee chairman, says the state will probably take $60 million from the Public Education Stabilization Fund for 2009 to avoid cuts to public education in the current fiscal year. With the fund standing at $113 million, that would leave just $53 million in the fund. That probably won’t be enough to cover anticipated shortfalls for 2010, if (as expected) the economy continues to sputter. With that in mind, House Education Committee chairman Robert Nonini recently told the Coeur d’Alene Press that the legislature may need to cut public school funding for 2010 below 2009 levels and perhaps even change state statutes that make public education funding mandatory.

First of all, let’s be clear that Republican tax policy is a big reason we’ve reached this crisis. In 2007, at the behest of Gov. Jim Risch, the GOP-dominated legislature eliminated the public school maintenance and operations levy and replaced the money by increasing the state sales tax to 6 percent from 5 percent. Although the same measure made a one-time contribution to the Education Stabilization Fund, the tax shift wreaked havoc on the long-term health of our state’s education funding formula - and that was before the current economic downturn sent sales tax revenue spiraling downward.

We’re stuck with that bad decision. Bearing the current economic conditions in mind, however, Idaho Democratic legislators will insist on three things:

First, a portion of the Education Stabilization Fund must be used to keep K-12 education whole in the current budget year. Despite the recession, we need to be sure that Idaho’s children continue to receive a quality education. Idaho consistently ranks near the bottom of all 50 states in its funding for public education. Our children often use decades-old textbooks in some of the nation’s most crowded classrooms. We cannot afford to fall further behind.

Second, as people lose their jobs, retraining for displaced workers becomes an ever-more critical issue. The Legislature must find ways to minimize cutbacks to colleges, universities and vocational-technical schools to continue providing the work force development that’s necessary for our communities.

Third, hard economic times are no excuse to overturn the state’s mandate to fund public education. Our schools and colleges are key engines of our state’s economic recovery. We cannot allow short-term economic distress to change our longstanding policy of investing in our children to create good jobs for the future.

The State of Idaho needs to balance its budget, but we must not do so on the backs of our state’s future: our schoolchildren and our adults who are training for new jobs in a tough economy.

State Reps. Liz Chavez of Lewiston, Branden Durst of Boise and Donna Pence of Gooding are members of the House Education Committee.

Idaho Dems nix pay raises

2008-12-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

Idaho Democratic legislators will introduce a resolution next month rejecting the 5 percent pay raise recommended for state lawmakers in the 2009-2010 Idaho Legislature.

“Simply put, we are unwilling to take the pay raise recommended by the compensation committee at a time when so many Idaho families and small businesses are hurting,” said Sen. Les Bock of Boise, who plans to introduce the resolution in the Senate.

“Idaho is dealing not only with a worsening national economy but from a lack of political leadership on issues impacting Idaho families and their jobs and small businesses,” said Rep. Anne Pasley-Stuart of Boise, who will co-sponsor the resolution in the House. “This is one step we can take right now to say that we get it, and that we will be tightening our belts, too.”

In June, the Idaho Citizens Committee on Legislative Compensation voted to recommend that state lawmakers get a 5 percent raise – from $16,116 to $16,921 – for the period starting December 1, 2008.

“We’ve seen a continued economic downturn since June,” Bock said. “Tens of thousands of Idahoans are without jobs and many people who are working – including state employees – will either be doing without raises or taking pay cuts. We cannot, in good conscience, accept a raise at this time.”

“It would be irresponsible to accept a pay raise,” Pasley-Stuart added. “When I went door to door during the campaign, the economy was the number one issue that came up.”

Let's seek smart corrections solutions

2008-12-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

By state Sen. Nicole LeFavour and state Rep. Donna Boe

Idaho’s prison population continues to grow at a great cost to our state budget and our society. A recent slowing in our state’s prison population growth has been credited to better treatment services inside and outside of our prisons. As we approach the coming legislative session, Democratic lawmakers will be looking for creative, cost-effective ways to stretch our state’s corrections budget and better serve Idaho families.

Governor Otter has ordered across-the-board cuts to help balance Idaho’s budget, but we believe targeted cuts are smarter and better for our state’s long-term finances. In particular, Idaho Democrats realize that cutting mental health and substance abuse services for short-term budget gain would create a surge in prison costs that will dwarf any immediate savings.

It is time to allow judges to use community-based, treatment-focused alternatives to mandatory minimum sentences. Current Idaho law forces a minimum prison sentence of 3 to 25 years for anyone caught with certain quantities of a controlled substance, regardless of their need for treatment and circumstances of the case. This is true even though the Idaho Department of Correction’s own data indicates that a sentence of six months to one year - followed by a period of treatment and support - is the most effective way to prevent new offenses among people whose primary problem is addiction.

We agree that people who set out to make money selling drugs should go to prison, in many cases for a long time. But for people primarily struggling with addiction, and with no history of violence, the state should not be warehousing inmates at a cost of almost $20,000 a year per person. By investing to improve treatment and prevention services, detox centers and recovery support in all parts of the state, Idaho will save money and lives and improve public safety. We will also reduce the number of inmates shipped to costly, out-of-state private prisons.

Of course, every prison sentence carries impacts for families and communities that go far beyond the term served. People who serve time close to home are better able to stay close to their families and other support. Statistics show that children of incarcerated parents are seven times more likely to someday wind up in jail themselves. We need better counseling for children of Idaho inmates. Keeping family communication open helps both parent and child, and reduces the likelihood that a child will eventually end up in jail, too. Videoconferencing can be a simple, low-cost interim way to keep families in touch.

In this tough job market, let’s also be sure our inmates have opportunities to train for better, more productive futures – and let’s be sure the options are equitable. Too often, men in Idaho’s corrections system learn trades like electrical work, plumbing and carpentry while women are relegated to training for low-wage service jobs.

Knowing that the state is facing serious budget cuts, it may be necessary to adjust Idaho’s taxes on beer, wine and liquor – some of which haven’t been raised in over 20 years. A modest increase could help ensure that Idaho meets current needs for substance abuse treatment.

To resort to short-sighted cuts in treatment services this year will mean more Idahoans end up in prison rather than in treatment and more offenders will return to prison due to lack of recovery support. Our legislature must be wise as we craft budgets and corrections policy. Bringing inmates home to better programming and family support is smart, but we can’t allow Idaho’s mental health and addiction services to be cut. Doing so will simply deepen the challenge of managing prison populations and maintaining public safety in the difficult economic year ahead.

State Rep. Donna Boe of Pocatello is currently the ranking Democrat on the house Judiciary and Rules Committee and is a member of Idaho’s Criminal Justice Commission. State Senator Nicole LeFavour of Boise served on the House Judiciary and Rules Committee for four years, where she introduced legislation to increase treatment-focused sentencing alternatives.

Idaho needs stronger ethics laws

2008-12-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

This op-ed by state Sen. Kate Kelly has been appearing in newspapers across the state. It ran on the front page of the Idaho Statesman's Sunday Insight section on December 7.

Once again, Idaho ranks near the bottom of a national survey of state ethics laws. The Better Government Association recently rated Idaho's statutes 44th among the 50 states on an "Integrity Index."

The authors write that reviewing laws on open meetings, whistleblowers, campaign finance, open records and conflicts of interest "gives us an indication of how important ethics are to each state." In light of Idaho's dismal showing, the authors express their hope that "legislators and leaders in Idaho will use the Integrity Index as a tool to spur reform and upgrade their laws." I hope so, too.

One area where Idaho ranks particularly low on the Integrity Index, and where our citizens could benefit from more sunshine, is in our conflict of interest disclosure laws.

Idaho's top officials adopt and enforce laws and regulations, spend large amounts of taxpayer money, and give out appointments to influential positions. Almost every other state and the federal system have a requirement that public officials file a statement of their personal financial interests. This can expose or head off conflicts of interest. Idaho has no such law.

When a public official makes a decision about where a road should go or whether a business should get a tax break, it is appropriate for the public - on whose behalf the official is sworn to act - to know the official's business interests and the location of any real estate holdings.

The vast majority of Idaho's public officials are ethical public servants who operate with integrity and take their jobs seriously. But you shouldn't have to wonder whether an official might have a conflict of interest.

Attempts to amend Idaho's conflict of interest laws in recent years have failed. In 2007, a simple financial disclosure bill brought by myself and other Democratic senators was rejected in legislative committee on a party-line vote. Last year, we brought the legislation again and didn't even get a hearing. Proposed revolving door restrictions for lobbying and public contracting have met the same fate. We'll bring these proposals back in the upcoming legislative session. In light of the bad publicity about our ethics laws, maybe my colleagues will reconsider. Maybe they'll wonder whether continued inaction is best for our state.

Why are ethics reforms rejected? Because even if it's a good idea, those in authority are reluctant to change a system that brought them to power. Let me restate that: The people with the power are reluctant to risk losing that power by changing a system that works for them. If only the system worked for the people of Idaho.

There have been relatively few scandals in recent Idaho memory. Could this be because our state sets the ethical bar so low? As the latest survey demonstrates, facts that would merit attention, investigation or even penalties in other states may never come to light - and pass as business as usual - in Idaho.

Why should we wait for a corruption scandal to rock our boat and prompt wholesale change when we can heed the warnings and fix the law now?

There are some relatively simple steps that can be taken to toughen Idaho's ethics law. But if Idaho citizens don't demand change, it's unlikely to happen. Our state will remain relatively unprotected against abuses of power and stay near the bottom of the Integrity Index.

If you believe Idaho needs stronger ethics laws, let your public officials know.

Democratic Sen. Kate Kelly represents Boise's District 18.

Idaho Democratic lawmakers elect leaders

2008-12-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Idaho Democratic Legislative Caucus elected new leadership at its organizational meeting in Boise tonight. Clint Stennett (D-Ketchum) remains Senate Minority Leader while former House caucus chair John Rusche (D-Lewiston) was elected House Minority Leader. In addition to Stennett, the Senate leadership will include Kate Kelly (D-Boise) as assistant minority leader and Elliot Werk (D-Boise) as caucus chair. In addition to Rusche, the House leadership will include James Ruchti (D-Pocatello) as assistant leader and Bill Killen (D-Boise) as caucus chair.

Meanwhile, longtime House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet begins a new chapter in public service as a member of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee. Jaquet (D-Ketchum) became House Minority Leader in 1998. During her decade in the job, she increased the size of the caucus, established a year-round caucus operation with a professional staff member, started the popular statewide “Pizza and Politics” series and helped build the Democratic brand across the state. But she has been interested in JFAC since her first run for the legislature in 1994, and she said the time is right to move into that role.

“JFAC, with key members of both the Senate and House, wields enormous power in the state, deciding which agencies and programs receive adequate financing and which are left to struggle,” said Jaquet. “These funding decisions are critical to the success of many issues that concern us all, and I'm looking forward to this new challenge.”

Leaders Stennett and Rusche are also members of the bipartisan Legislative Council. Joining them will be Kate Kelly and Nicole LeFavour from the Senate and Anne Pasley-Stuart and Donna Pence from the House. Here are brief biographies of each lawmaker in leadership:

Clint Stennett (Senate Minority Leader) – Raised on a dairy farm in southern Idaho, Stennett attended the College of Southern Idaho and graduated from Idaho State University with a degree in journalism and a minor in marketing. He owned and operated several media companies in the Wood River Valley, where he has lived since 1979. He is one of the founders of the First Bank of Idaho and served as a director of the Ketchum/Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce for nine years. Currently representing the four northern Magic Valley counties as State Senator, Stennett was recently elected to his 10th term in the Idaho Legislature.

Kate Kelly (Assistant Senate Minority Leader) – A 22-year resident of District 18, Kelly was a manager at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and served six years as a deputy attorney general before her 2004 election to the State Senate. She is a graduate of the University of Idaho College of Mines, the University of Utah College of Law, Boise State University’s Program for Management Development and the Program for Emerging Political Leaders at the University of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.

Elliot Werk (Senate Caucus Chair) - A member of the Idaho State Senate since 2003, Werk has served on the education, health and welfare, local government and taxation, commerce, and finance committees. Werk is the president of the Borah Neighborhood Association and is very active in quality of life issues in Boise and the Treasure Valley. He also serves as board chairman of The Friendship Clinic, a free medical clinic located on the Boise Bench.

John Rusche (House Minority Leader) - Born in Wisconsin, Rusche is an engineering graduate of Notre Dame and the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. Drs. John and Kay Rusche started practice at Valley Medical Center in Lewiston in 1980. In 1995, Rusche moved to BlueShield of Idaho (now Regence) as Medical Director, retiring in 2006 as the Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Regence BlueShield of Idaho and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. His community involvement includes the United Way, Lewis-Clark State College Artist Series, Northwest Children’s Home, and CASA (Court Appointed Child Advocates). He was elected to the Legislature in 2004 and ran unopposed for reelection in 2006 and 2008.

James Ruchti (Assistant House Minority Leader) – A West Point graduate, Ruchti graduated from served as an Army military intelligence officer from 1993-98 before being honorably discharged as a captain. While in the military, Representative Ruchti served in Germany, Arizona, Georgia and Kuwait. He graduated from law school in 2001 at the University of Idaho and currently practices law with Cooper & Larsen, Chartered, a law firm in Pocatello. Ruchti was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives from Bannock County in 2006 and re-elected in 2008.

Bill Killen (House Caucus Chair) – A Northwest native who grew up in Washington and Oregon, Killen attended Stanford University on an ROTC scholarship. He served four years in the U.S. Navy, then went to work for Hewlett Packard while earning a master’s degree in electrical engineering and administration at Stanford. He later attended law school at the University of Idaho, then settled in McCall, where he practiced law for 28 years and served on the City Council and as mayor of McCall. He also served on the Idaho Personnel Commission from 1987 to 1993. Killen moved to Boise after his retirement and was elected to the Legislature in 2006.

Transportation remains a priority

2008-12-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

By Phylis King, Shirley Ringo and James Ruchti

All over Idaho, families and small businesses are relieved that gas prices have come down – for now, anyway. But a growing backlog of road and bridge projects amid serious revenue shortfalls have Idahoans wondering how we’ll pay for our state’s current transportation infrastructure needs and advance better transportation options for the future.

Democratic lawmakers will be listening intently when Gov. Butch Otter talks about transportation in his State of the State address next month. Will he propose ideas that raise money from a variety of sources, or will most of the pain fall on middle-class families and small businesses? Will he buck his party’s legislative leadership and endorse local-option taxing authority as an effective tool to solve transportation needs? Idahoans also will be watching to see if President-elect Obama follows through on his campaign pledge to give state governments at least $25 billion to help build and fix highways, roads, bridges, airports and rail systems.

The road ahead is uncertain – on both the state and federal level - and it’s too soon to speculate over the specifics of what we’ll be discussing two months from now. But we will keep several goals in mind as we approach the coming legislative session.

First of all, the Treasure Valley – our state’s primary economic engine - needs help. Transportation planners say it now takes 35 minutes to drive I-84 from Caldwell to downtown Boise, saddling Canyon County residents with a longer commute than residents of Salt Lake, Seattle and Portland. Accidents, bad weather and construction can make the trip take twice as long. Better public transportation would vastly improve the situation, yet the state’s Republican leadership last year rejected a local-option taxation proposal crafted by a statewide coalition of local governments, businesses and chambers of commerce.

Ada County Highway District residents voted by a two-thirds majority in November to raise vehicle registration fees to help pay for local infrastructure. State government needs to give citizens the local-option tool to make similar decisions on a regional basis. Otherwise, drivers will continue to lose productivity and family time while sitting in traffic; small businesses will suffer as time-strapped drivers pass by; and businesses of all sizes will think twice about locating in a region beset by gridlock and declining air quality.

Second, we must maximize transportation funding so it puts Idahoans back to work in good-paying jobs to meet infrastructure needs all over the state. President-elect Obama’s proposed aid to states may help, since it would reportedly be targeted toward projects that have been approved and are ready to go. We will also look at stretching our transportation dollars through matching fund pools, and pursuing efficiency while maintaining quality and safety on road- and bridge-building projects.

Third, while it appears certain that some fee increases will be necessary, they should be modest in size and phased in as the economy improves so middle-class families won’t feel any more pain than they’re already shouldering. Let’s bear in mind that although gas prices are down for the time being, people are struggling with overall inflation as well as declining home values and job uncertainty.

As legislators, we know we can’t afford to delay action on Idaho’s transportation needs, but nor can we afford to waste time or taxpayer money. We look forward to working with the governor and our colleagues to create innovative, cost-effective transportation solutions that help Idaho families and small businesses and put our state back on the road to prosperity.

Representatives Phylis King of Boise, Shirley Ringo of Moscow and James Ruchti of Pocatello all serve on the House Transportation Committee.

Democrats call for targeted cuts

2008-12-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

The Idaho Democratic Legislative Caucus leadership responded to Gov. Butch Otter’s order of a possible total of 6 percent in budget holdbacks with a call for responsible, targeted cuts that protect critical services to middle-class Idaho families. “Times are hard and the state clearly is facing a bleak budget picture,” House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet said after speaking with Otter and Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett early Monday, before the cuts were made public.

“We need to be as prudent and fiscally responsible as possible. The holdbacks give us all an opportunity to look at what we’re doing and how we are spending and whether we ought to do things differently,” Jaquet said. “But we also need to cut carefully. For example, Idahoans who’ve recently been laid off need opportunities to retrain for new jobs, so this is no time for drastic cuts to vocational and secondary education programs.”

Stennett said the Democratic leadership appreciated the chance to talk with the governor before his public announcement. “We are grateful that we have reserve funds set aside for education and retraining, given the tough economic times we are facing. Tough economies give us a chance to trim where we can, and look for additional savings,” Stennett added. “However, we need to be thoughtful and prudent in our approach to budget cuts.”

At his news conference, Otter indicated that cuts to K-12 public education would be offset through money from the Public Education Stabilization Fund. But Democratic caucus leaders said the anticipated $61 million total K-12 education budget holdback would take more than half of the fund’s reserves, leaving it largely depleted for FY 2010 and beyond.

“We realize that times are tough and that the state needs to tighten its belt just like Idaho families,” said state Sen. Elliot Werk, echoing a statement Otter made in his press conference. “But Democrats will work hard to ensure the efficient delivery of critical services to our citizens and protect middle-class families from any further tax shifting.”

Health care: A scalpel, not a chainsaw

2008-11-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

By Elliot Werk and John Rusche

The current global economic crisis is wreaking havoc across all sectors of the economy, but for most families and small businesses, health care remains the most persistent roadblock to real security. Before the housing crisis hit, medical bills forced more than half of all bankruptcies. Skyrocketing catastrophic care costs mean that most people are just one serious illness away from bankruptcy – even if they have health insurance. And with growing numbers of unemployed people unable to get insurance, the crisis will only worsen in the coming months and years.

Since change on the federal level may take years, what can the Idaho Legislature do in the current tight budget environment to help the middle-class and small businesses get the most affordable, accessible health care available in these tough times? Plenty.

To address Idahoans’ health care needs during this budget crunch, Idaho Democratic lawmakers will work with the Governor, state agencies and our colleagues to ensure that critical services are protected. Where cuts are needed, we will fight to ensure that a scalpel, not a chain saw, is used. We will also employ innovative ideas to maximize the efficiency of state health care funding. Here are some examples:

Protect State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): With an 80 percent match of federal dollars (Idaho gets $80 federal dollars for every $20 we invest) SCHIP is a no-brainer. This program should be used to help workers at small businesses, and even governmental agencies, provide health insurance for their children. Idaho must have the vision to join other states – including neighboring Washington – in efficiently using our federal funds to help businesses and organizations make sure that their employees’ children have adequate health care coverage.

Control costs and increase access with buying pools: Pooling for buying power and to spread the cost of catastrophic losses makes sense. The Idaho Legislature must finally pass a bill to set up a user funded prescription medication buying pool. Such pools, when combined with pools in other states, can lower prescription drug costs by up to 40 percent - at no added cost to the state! In addition, insurance pools can be used to help Idahoans spread the cost of catastrophic health expenses as widely as possible. We must do what we can, where we can, to help families and businesses maximize their health-care coverage at the lowest possible cost. Insurance works best when it shares costs over a broad pool of people.

Boost small business: To grow our state’s economy, Idaho needs to help its small businesses offer excellent benefits to prospective employees. Small businesses compete with large corporations to attract highly qualified employees. The legislature must find innovative ways to enhance small businesses’ buying power so they can lead the way out of our current financial difficulties and set Idaho on the road to prosperity.

Hard times demand creative solutions. We owe it to middle-class Idaho families and small businesses to protect necessary services and do whatever we can to expand health-care efficiency, access and affordability. Democrats will be there every step of the way advocating for innovative and effective policies to protect the middle class and small business.

State Senator Elliot Werk of Boise and State Rep. John Rusche of Lewiston are members of their respective chambers’ Health & Welfare committees in the Idaho Legislature, as well as the legislature’s Health Care Task Force.