1. COMMUNICATIONS--This week I received about 127 e mails concerning
legislative issues. Rep. Miller, Sen. Schroeder, and I also
hold a
teleconference with the Moscow Chamber of Commerce each Wednesday
noon. The conference is held in the conference room at
Gritman. There will
be no conference this week since the Chamber will be in Boise.
We've also
talked with Bill Thompson, Doug Whitney, and our Latah County
Commissioners.
2. LEGISLATIVE ISSUES OF DISTRICT NOTE--Two issues this week were
those
of leading interest. These included increasing truck weights
on Idaho
highways and the gifted and talented legislation proposed by
Rep.Miller,
Rep. Donna Boe, John Alexander, and myself.
The proposed legislation for increasing weights would increase
truck weights
to 129,000#s. One of the demonstration routes would be from
Grangeville
to Moscow. Jim and Zoe Cooley from Troy point out that the
Federal Highway
Administration notes that with no axels added, boosting the
allowable weight
to 97,000 #s would cut the lifetime of bridges and overpasses
from 50 years to
29 years. Our Highway 95 North infrastructure simply cannot
take the weight
limits recommended in the legislation. Highway 95 is a very
unsafe highway
with death rates 2 1/2 times those of other major highways in
the state. Until
the Highway 95 bill passes and our roads are improved, there is
simply no
support in the northern end of the state for the legislation.
About 12 individuals sent me excellent comments concerning the
proposed
gifted and talented legislation. There is widespread support
for the
proposal, but there is variance in terms of how such a program
should be
implemented. We have widespread support from a number of
organizations.
We'd like further comments. I have the bill in RS form on my
homepage
http://www.infotrail.com/idaho/idaho for your review. Check
the sidebar
that says--gifted and talented update.
2. HB 487--The Takings Bill--the proposed legislation would add to
existing
to provide a claims and arbitration process when local government
actions
affect the value of real property in certain instances. Our
local county
commissioners are opposed to the bill. They feel there is
adequate protection
of property rights already existing in taking case law. The
proposed
legislation would cause protracted and expensive litigation given
the existing
protection of property rights. The bill is opposed by the
Association of
Idaho Counties and Cities. One writer noted that it is
appropriate to pay people
for value lost because of government decisions. Then it would
also be
appropriate for those who benefit from a change in vlaue because
of a
government decision to pay that to the government.
3. RS07512C3--Phonics Bills--These were introduced by Dr. Ann Fox.
The first
would require elementary teachers to take a three credit course
in phonics
in college. The second bill would require elementary teachers
up through
grade 3 to provide 45 minutes of phonics instruction a day.
There are reading problems among Idaho students especially in the
comprehension area; however, research clearly indicates that
instruction
should match the learning style of the student. Some children
learn better
with phonics; others learn better with other approaches or a
combination of
approaches. Many feel that local control should be honored
instead of
mandated. There will be a great deal of discussion on reading
and what
to do about in the coming weeks.
4. CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM--One of the proposals would require
legislative candidates to raise at least 20 percent of their
contributions from
within their respective districts. Rep. David Callister, R-Boise
said, "If you
are an individual who is not reflective of your district, you will
not be able to
raise money." It would also limit groups and indi viduals to
$2,500 down
from the current $5,000. Personally I can support the
legislation if it gets
out of the State Affairs Committee.
5. CORRECTIONS REFORM--State tax returns are above the Governor's
projections.
Some legislators feel that good financial times means that few
steps may be
taken this session to curb prison growth. Prison growth directly
takes money
away from education and other programs. Rep. Maynard Miller has
introduced
legislation that would provide lesser sentences for DUI's.
Prison
sentences would be replaced with workcamp experience, electronic
monitoring,
spending nights in the local jail and working during the day, along
with other
less costly procedures. If the bill passes it is estimated that
more than
$10,000,000 could be saved when fully implemented. The problem
will
not go away, and legislators should have the courage to pass
meaningful
legislation to cut costly prison growth.
These are some of the current issues being discussed. You can reach me
by
e mail in Moscow at ttrail@moscow. com and in Boise at mjmaxwell@juno.com
or ttrail@house.state.id.us
Rep. Tom Trail/District 5
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