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Legislative update II - Jan 12-19
LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER II
January 12 - 19, 2001
This past week was filled with some interesting events back in District
5. I received a phone call and some correspondence from a farmer near
Troy. He is President of the Idaho Emu Association, and he wanted
assistance in getting Governor Kempthorne to issue a proclamation
highlighting April 15th - 22nd as Idaho Emu Awareness Week. I forwarded
the request to the Governor. Emu farming is an important part of our Idaho
diversified farm economy.
The second call came on Friday. A rural farm family near Potlatch was
being held hostage by a moose. The moose had been around the house since
January 7th and had destroyed many shrubs and plantings. There was also
concern that it might injure members of the family. The moose had chased
the children and harassed them on their way to catch the school bus. The
game warden came out and chased the moose over the Washington border but it
returned the same day. The Fish and Game Dept. out of Lewiston was
scheduled to come on Friday to remove the moose. They called up and said
the roads were too bad. I called the Director of the Fish and Game
Department and expressed my concerns, and later that day got a call back
from their Lewiston office. They will send a team up to remove the moose
on Monday. This gives you several examples of calls that a legislator
receives during the session. All requests are important. Now on to
specific legislative issues.
1. Tax Cuts - The Governor's $140 million tax cut package was approved
for printing by the Revenue and Taxation Committee. It is a very complex
package and, if enacted, will help many segments of the economy. Many
rural legislators applaud the Governor's initiatives to stimulate rural
growth but are afraid it will not be enough. I believe that we should
support several tax initiatives not included in the Governor's
budget. These include:
a) Reducing the sales tax on groceries from 5% to 3%. This would save
Idaho citizens about $40,000,000/year, and the money would be spent in the
local communities.
b) Take $60,000,000 from the surplus and pay off 10% of the school
districts' bond indebtedness. Idaho has about $600,000,000 of outstanding
school bonds. This would also be a $60 million property tax cut, which
would benefit everyone.
c) District 5 constituents report that property tax relief is what
they need. We should complete the property tax relief started by Governor
Batt. I'll also be supporting taking off the personal property tax on farm
machinery. This will be a help to farmers.
2. Minimum Wage for Farm Workers - This issue is really heating
up. Some 500 farm workers and supporters completed a 20 mile march on the
Capitol in support of covering all farm workers under the minimum wage
bill. This is the bill sponsored by Senator Gary Schroeder, Representative
Gary Young and myself. The Governor's bill, which will be presented at a
public hearing on January 30th, is cosmetic and does nothing to help farm
workers.
The facts are that about 600,000 Idaho workers are covered under minimum
wage. Farm
workers are involved in the second most dangerous work in the U.S. The
Governor's bill would exclude 40% of Idaho's farm workers who are paid for
piece work. Everyone supports piece work because of incentives, but we
want everyone doing piece work protected by the minimum wage. The Farm
Bureau now claims that only 1% of farm workers are paid below minimum wage
- so what's the problem in covering everyone? It is the fair thing to do,
for economic and social justice.
3. Pay for Idaho State Workers - As a member of the Changing Employee
Compensation Committee (CEC), we are recommending a 5.0% pay increase for
state workers. That is over the Governor's recommendation of 4.5%. We are
also recommending a $750 across the board increase for all state workers
who have received at least a satisfactory rating. This would leave 2.8%
for merit increases.
4. Education - The review of the Education budget starts this week,
and it looks like there will be efforts made to reduce both the Department
of Education's and the Governor's recommendations. More details on this
subject next week. Representative Roger Chase and I will be introducing a
bill to provide a program for repayment by the Board of Education of
student loans incurred by certified teachers. The maximum loan payoff for
one year would be $5,000 and not to exceed $20,000 maximum for one
teacher. Teachers would have to teach for an agreed period of time to
qualify for the program. This program would be an excellent recruitment
and retention tool.
5. Tax Credit for Prescription Drugs - I'm sponsoring a bill that
would grant Idaho Seniors 65 years or older who have a gross income of
$15,000 or less a $100 tax credit on their Idaho income tax. The average
Idaho Senior is now paying over $700 a year for prescription drugs. The
issue continues to be debated on the national scene, but this is a case
where we can act now to help the most needy among our Seniors.
6. Eliminating Sales Tax on Mandatory Textbooks - This is a bill
supported by students and their families from around the state. It is an
effort to make education more affordable. Eliminating sales tax on
mandatory textbooks would save students and their families about $1
million/year.
That's all for now. You can contact me at ttrail@house.state.id.us and my
phone number is 332-1202. I'm gearing up for the Minimum Wage for Farm
Workers battle, and plan on introducing a number of bills this week.
Rep. Tom Trail, district 5
ttrail@house.state.id.us
I would like constituents to contact me by e-mail me with their ideas,
comments and recommendations.
ttrail@moscow.com
Legislative newsletters and additional materials and information can be
located on my web
and home page http://www.infotrail.com/idaho
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