Rep. Maynard Miller, Sen. Gary Schroeder, and I can be reached at: Tel:
208-332-1000/e-mail--infocntr@lso.state.id.us or fax 208-334-5397. My
evening
e mail is mjmaxwell@juno.com
1. 60% SCHOOL BOND ELECTION BILL DEFEATED--This bill presented by
Rep. Fred Tilman, Rep. Donna Boe, and myself was defeated in State
Affairs (my guess would be on a 11-10 vote). The bill if passed
as a
Constitutional Amendment on the November ballot would have allowed
school districts to select the primary and general election dates
only
if they went for the 60% target. Since 1990 there have been 143
bond
elections in Idaho. A total of 98 have been unsuccessful.
Since 1995
20 bond elections have failed although they all achieved higher
than a
60% turnout. The latest is the Wilder School District election
where they
failed to get the 2/3rds vote by 3 votes. Governor Batt lent
strong support to
this election.
We presented this bill as one part of a number of potential
solutions. We
still have a great backlog of facilitiy improvements and building
to catch up
on. Reps. Jim Clark and Dennis Lake estimate we have a backlog of
$350,000,000 in school construction and the Department of Education
estimates a total of over $700,000,000. There was excellent
testimony at
the hearing, and we will be drafting an improved version for next
year.
2. HIGHWAY 95 BILL--This bill should be looked at as an entire state
transportation
bill. I talked with Sen. Evan Frasure (Chair of the Senate
Transportation
Committee) this afternoon. He reported the bill had been amended
and
passed by the Commitee, and was now on the Senate Floor for
debate.
AAA, IACI, several insurance companies and the Boise Chamber of
Commerce all support the bill. Jim Dalton, U. of I. student
lobbyist spoke
up about the safety concerns of Highway 95. The next two weeks
will tell the tale.
3. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TAKING COLLEGE CREDITS--This excellent
bill sponsored by Rep. Wayne Meyer smooths out the laws allowing
high school students to take college courses. The bill would
insure
that school districts maintain their funding level for juniors and
seniors
who leave campus to attend colelge classes. The bill goes to the
Senate.
4. SCHOOL FACILITIES INTERIUM COMMITTEE--The Senate passed a
resolution calling for an interim study on school facilities. The
resolution
now goes to the House.
5. SCHOOL BOND CONSOLIDATION--Sen. John Sandy's bill could possibly
save millions in interest on school construction bonds if the state
guaranteed
the bonds. This bill cleared committee and will be voted on by
the Senate.
If the bill becomes law every school district in the state that
issues a
construction bond would have a AAA bond rating--which could mean a
lower
interest rate. No school district has ever defaulted on a bond.
This looks
like an excellent bill to help school districts and it won't cost
the state a cent.
6. LIMITING MINORS ACCESS TO TOBACCO--This bill is sponsored by the
PTA and would make it tougher for minors to get tobacco. The bill
would
require retailers to place tobacco products out of customer reach
and would
ban tobacco vending machines and would fine employees who sell
tobacco to minors. There is strong pressure from the Tobacco
Lobby
to amend the bill.
7. BEER AND WINE TAX BILLS--All three bills introduced which would have
used taxes to fund treatment and substance abuse education programs
failed.
8. HELP FOR DISABLED VETERANS--The House passed a bill and sent it
to the Senate allowing veterans with at least a 40% service related
disability to exclude that income from consideration for a property
tax credit.
This could enable an additional 3,000 veterans to qualify.
9. FUNDING FOR LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICES--Rep. Hornbeck's bill
was approved by the House Transportation Committee. The bill will
hike
driver's license by $4 to pay for ambulances and equipment of
emergecy
medical services at the local level. This would generate about
$910,000
and allow the purchase of 54 emergency vehicles and equipment.
This is
an excellent bill for our rural areas.
10.PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION BILL--A bill which would have subsidized
public transporation for basically rural areas of the state failed
in the
House by a 32 to 38 vote. Rep. Miller and I voted for the bill
11.FINAL FLOOD ACCOUNTING--The final cost for highways, etc. for the
floods of the past two years amounted to almost $107 million. Of
this
the federal government payed about $96 million and the State $9
million.
Rep. Tom Trail/Dist. 5
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