vision2020
LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER III January 20-26, 2001
Dear Visionaries,
Last week I reported about the family in Potlatch being held hostage by a
moose. Monday six of Fish and Games finest rolled into the rescue. However,
their sharpshooter missed the tranquilizer shot from 20 feet, and the moose
took off for the Potlatch River. The Moose Team immediately took off is
pursuit, but lost track of the moose along the river. On the way back to
Highway 95 the team was startled when an ostrich ran across the road in
front of them (probably an escaped ostrich from a game farm). The Moose
Team (instead of the A Team) then received a call that a wolf had been
spotted near Viola. One can't complain about wildlife diversity in Latah
County.
1. Highway 95 -- I've received a report from the Department of
Transportation indicating that about $346 million will be spent on Highway
95 through 2004. I will have the report and maps of the projects to hand
out next Saturday when Sen. Schroeder, Rep. Young, and I hold town meetings
in Potlatch (10:00 am) and Troy (1:00 pm - at the Elementary School). DOT
reports they are buying right of way land for a 4-lane highway from Moscow
to Lewiston.
2. Taxes -- There are a number of excellent components and tax features in
the Governor's package; however, a number of rural legislators and citizens
who feel that more property tax reduction should be included are developing
some initiatives. I support completing the property tax reduction
initiative started by Gov. Batt, and also the new proposal to eliminate
personal property tax on farm, timber, mining, and construction
equipment. This would have fiscal impact of about $16.5 million per year
and would help our depressed farming and timber industries. I'm also
supporting reducing the sales tax on groceries.
3. Minimum Wage for Farm Workers -- The hearing on the Governor's bill is
set for Tuesday. I suspect we will have over 200 people to testify. We
currently have 600,000 Idaho workers covered by the minimum wage. Farm
Bureau studies indicate fewer than 1% of farm workers are paid below
minimum wage and that it is no longer an economic problem for them -- so
why not include farm workers? Studies indicate that most farm workers are
below the poverty level and if the Governor wants to help stimulate our
rural economies then let's do the right thing.
4. Industrial Hemp -- I'll be introducing my industrial hemp legislation
next Friday. The basic bill is a concurrent resolution to send to the
Secretary of Ag and our Congressional delegation indicating that the
Legislature supports legislative initiatives to legalize the
crop. Industrial hemp is an excellent alternative crop for farmers and
environmental sound as well.
5. Education -- we heard SPI (Superintendent of Public Instruction)
Marilyn Howard present the Department's school budget this week and Monday
we will hear from the Governor's representatives about his education
budget. Beginning teacher's salaries are one of the big issues. Idaho
starts teachers at $22,000/ year. Dr. Howard recommends $24,500 and the
Governor less. Both Rep. Gary Young and I support a goal of $30,000 as the
starting salary. There will probably be several initiatives to make this a
legislative goal and come up with some creative ways to speed up the
process. Rep. Young and I have requested data on how many of our school
teachers are below the poverty level. We are losing more and more of our
teachers to other states that pay higher salaries and also offer signing
bonuses. I'm also co-sponsoring a piece of legislation that would help
teachers pay off part of their school loans. This would help both
recruitment and retention.
6. Idaho Public Television -- There are still some legislators that would
love to see Idaho Public TV go away. A recent study concluded that if IPTV
was privatized it would no doubt fail without further state support. The
study found the system to be one of the most widely viewed nationally for
the size of it potential audience, and it also gets more viewers to donate
more money to support operations than other public TV systems in similar
markets. The Governor has included over $6 million in his budget for
digital conversion. If this is not approved by JFAC then IPTV is basically
history. We will have more hearings this week, and, of course, I will be
supporting all efforts for IPTV.
7. Religious-Freedom Act -- Debates and arguments continue over Idaho's
Religious-Freedom Act. We have several bills which would provide for civil
rights and child protection concerns under the current law. Business
interests have concerns about zoning and planning and possible
employer-employee litigation. The interesting feature is that before this
law was passed that religious groups in Idaho generally got along well and
the Attorney General reported no complaints from citizens concerning their
religious freedoms. Now that the bill is in place, the various church
communities are divided over the issue.
A more serious aspect is that legislation that would amend the current bill
will probably not even be heard in committee. Sen. Darrington, Chair, of
the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee said he won't hold a hearing on
this topic that has generated more discussion and debate than any other
legislative matter this year. Although I understand that the legislative
chairs have the privilege to hold a bill, I also believe that to do so in a
case where there is such public debate and interest, infringes on our First
Amendment Rights. One of our early presidents said, "The demise of a
nation begins when free discussion and dialog over important public issues
are thwarted by the political process and those in power."
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.
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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