Things are picking up this week. I expect that we are about half way through the session. Bills are starting to make it out of Committees and we are beginning to see some really wacky ones.
Redistricting–I think we are finally done
I think that the redistricting process is done. The final map,drawn to meet the Supreme Court direction, was filed and it appears to be free from Constitutional challenges. So far. And Twin Falls County, who led the previous challenge says that they will not go to court.
The final maps resulted in three really huge districts, called helicopter districts by one pundit because you cannot serve it without flying. Now on to filing and candidates, which occurs the first two weeks of March.
Job Growth
Last week, we introduced the Idaho Jobs Opportunity Blueprint (IJOB) 2.0. This week the two tax committees met and heard presentation from a large number of groups who want tax cuts or funding increases. The Food Producers, IACI, the Chamber Alliance, the Dept of Commerce and others all presented their wish lists.
There were proposals for eliminating the personal property tax, lowering or even eliminating the corporate income tax, setting up a fund to give incentives to companies moving to Idaho. What I didn’t hear was rebuilding or repairing the Idaho infrastructure, putting money into higher Ed or technical education or trying to rebuild our now empty rainy day funds. Many of these proposals would have required that tax cuts take precedence over rebuilding or replacing lost services for years into the future.
My guess is that saner heads will prevail. I doubt (and hope) that “tax cuts” will be low on the priority list, and that handling things like deferred maintenance (now almost $500 million), education and restoring reserves make it to the top of the wish list. Especially since across the board tax cuts have not been shown to have significant effect on job development.
Health Insurance Exchange
Still no bill from the Republicans on the Health Insurance Exchange. They seem still caught up in the politics of being anti-Obama and anti-health reform with the benefits of a state-sponsored vs. federal exchange. The latest approach is to build one that is sort of compliant with the federal law, use State rather than Federal funding, and dare the Feds to say it is unacceptable. Sounds almost like a game of chicken, played with taxpayer money and the additional costs that might be laid upon premium payers.
Other Stuff
Bills have been introduced to remove the EPA from Idaho, have a Legislative Committee decide on Idaho acceptance of Federal Law on health and healthcare, and more. Nullification in another name. Here is the list of bills.
The bill to add sexual orientation to the Idaho Human Rights Commission protections, to prevent discrimination in jobs and housing, failed in the Senate State Affairs Committee Friday. Interesting that in Clarkston full protection for gays exists, but discrimination is legal in Lewiston.
There have been several bills on legislator privilege presented but not introduced. The bill on “pension spiking”, using time in the legislature and a few years in higher paid government position to acquire a better pension, was defeated. And there appears to be little progress on our ethics proposals, on the independent commission, revolving door or financial disclosure. I will be really disappointed if there is no progress this year.
Pizza and Politics Tour
I am writing this from the Road, up in Coeur d’Alene. The Democratic legislative leaders make an annual tour called the Pizza, Politics and Prosperity Tour. So far I have been to Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Sandpoint, Coeur d’Alene, Plummer and Caldwell. Tonight is Moscow and Lewiston Tomorrow.
It is a good time to listen to what people are concerned about, talk about our Democratic initiatives (ethics, jobs, and education) and answer questions. If you happen to be interested, Edgar Malepeai, Dan Schmidt and I will be in Lewiston at the Community Center downtown at 1:30.
Help me represent you…..
Bills are beginning to move through the system. TheLegislative Website lists the bills. You can sort by subject and find ones that affect you or are otherwise of interest. And be sure and keep me appraised.
Information and Contact Information
I will be trying to get a newsletter out weekly throughout the session. It is one of the ways I try to keep in touch, so feel free to pass these on through your friends and organizations.
Another way to keep track of things down here is through the papers and blogs (Betsy Russell’s Eye on Boise, Bill Spence (of the Tribune) Political Theatre, Dan Popkey (of theStatesman)Idaho Politics) are among the best.
And I again invite you to check out my healthcare/health politics blog Idaho Housecalls
You can call and leave a message at home (208-743-1339) but it often takes a while for Kay to get the message down to me. My Boise office is 208-332-1130. A better way is to email me and I will get back to you.
If you lose my email address, the Legislative website is another good access point, and has links to bills and committee meeting, agendas and minutes.
It continues to by my honor to serve as your representative.
