The Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Benewah County have reached an “agreement in principle” on cross-deputization, according to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, so the committee today will consider holding the tribe’s law enforcement legislation in committee pending that deal. “I think it’s a good deal, and I think the committee was helpful in bringing the parties together,” Clark said. “I think sometimes it takes legislation to bring all parties together. They do have an agreement in principle, and I think it’s a great outcome for public safety.”

The House Judiciary Committee has now voted, unanimously, at the request of tribal legislative director Helo Hancock, to hold HB 500 in committee.

Young dancers with “Irish Dance Idaho” filled the fourth-floor rotunda of the Capitol today with clicking, tapping and festivity on this St. Patrick’s Day.

A new version of emergency surcharge legislation to help fund Idaho’s courts through the economic downturn was introduced in the House Ways & Means Committee today and sent directly to the House’s 2nd Reading Calendar. It replaces HB 524a, the earlier version, which originally sought to impose a $25 surcharge on all convictions for the next three years, to raise $5.1 million a year. That was amended to a $20 surcharge, raising $4.3 million; the new version replaces that with a tiered surcharge of $10 on infractions, $50 on misdemeanors and $100 on felonies, raising $4.1 million a year. The courts still would be short $723,000 next year, under the budget already set by JFAC.

“It was thought by many that the tiered approach was the more appropriate approach,” said Patti Tobias, administrative director of the courts; the committee vote was unanimous.

The House Ways & Means Committee has introduced legislation sought by Boise State University that would free state universities to follow their own purchasing policies, rather than go through both their university processes and the state’s purchasing process. The University of Idaho already can do that, because it predated statehood, but the duplicative process has long been a complaint of Boise State University President Bob Kustra. “This will make the universities more nimble, if you will,” said House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, who presented the bill to the leadership committee. Former House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, now a BSU lobbyist, attended the meeting but left the pitch to Bedke, the bill’s lead sponsor; Bedke said it’ll allow universities to better deal with grants and accreditation concerns. It was introduced on a unanimous vote.

There were lots of questions first, particularly from Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, but the House has voted unanimously, 68-0, to pass HB 656, the Idaho Hospital Assessment Act. The negotiated bill, which will last for two years, calls for private hospitals to pay an extra $25 million a year for Idaho’s Medicaid program, which would then attract $100 million a year in federal matching funds for the program, which provides health coverage for the poor and disabled. The bill was anticipated when the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee set the budget for Medicaid for next year, which still faces tens of millions in shortfalls even after the infusion from hospitals. The bill now heads to the Senate.

The “conscience” bill on abortion, emergency contraception and end-of-life care has won final passage in the House on a 51-18 vote, but it wasn’t a straight party-line vote. Democrats Branden Durst of Boise and James Ruchti of Pocatello voted in favor of the bill, along with most House Republicans; while Republicans Tom Trail of Moscow and George Eskridge of Dover voted against it, along with most House Democrats; Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, missed the vote. The measure, SB1353, earlier passed the Senate, so it now heads to the governor’s desk. It permits any licensed health care professional, from pharmacists to nurses, to refuse to provide any treatment or medication that violates their conscience if it relates to abortion, emergency contraception, end-of-life care or stem cells. “They would not have have to provide a service that was not in agreement with their conscience,” said Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, the bill’s House sponsor.

Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, a physician, said, “Certainly issues of conscience are important to all of us and should be respected.” But he said in his opinion the bill conflicts with existing laws on medical treatment. “The bigger issue in this is really who’s watching out for the patient,” he said. Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, said Idahoans will see the bill as “an extraordinary intrusion by government into their private lives … trampling on their right to be left alone to make their own decisions about life and death.”

An earlier attempt by House Democrats to divert the bill for amendments to remove the end-of-life care part failed on a near-party line vote. As written, the bill would permit a nurse, for example, to refuse to disconnect a feeding tube that a dying patient wanted removed, if doing so would violate the nurse’s conscience. The bill was written by anti-abortion advocates with the group Idaho Chooses Life.

1st District GOP congressional candidate Vaughn Ward has announced that Lori Otter - Idaho’s current first lady - and Patricia Kempthorne, a past Idaho first lady, will co-chair his “Republican Women for Ward” group, which Ward said now has more than 300 members. Said Ward, “These remarkable women have done many wonderful things for the state of Idaho during their careers and I appreciate their help as we reclaim Idaho’s 1st congressional district for the Republican Party.” Ward is running in what’s turning into a rather crowded GOP primary contest for a chance to challenge Democratic 1st District Congressman Walt Minnick; you can click below to read his full release on “Republican Women for Ward.”

Continue reading Ward taps Otter and Kempthorne - that’s Lori Otter and Patricia Kempthorne »

The Senate State Affairs Committee has passed Rep. Mike Moyle’s voter I.D. bill, but only after lots of discussion and many questions from Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly, D-Boise, who said, “I have concerns about its implementation as well as its constitutionality, and I’ll be speaking to the Attorney General about that.”

Moyle, R-Star, the House majority leader, wants to require voters to show photo I.D. at the polls before they vote; his bill, HB 496, earlier passed the House on a 64-6 vote. Said Kelly, “It’s unnecessary - the existing system works. There’s virtually no evidence of fraud in Idaho, and it’s an unnecessary burden on voters and election officials as well.” She added, “There was a lot of talk about public perception of voter fraud, but in fact there isn’t voter fraud.”

House and Senate Democratic leaders say the latest unemployment figures underscore the need for economic development legislation like the 10 bills their party has proposed, including six as part of their “IJOBS” package, but none of those bills has passed; just one had received a public hearing before today, while a second is up for a hearing this morning. “Democratic legislators understand that the number one issue for Idaho’s citizens is jobs,” Senate Assistant Minority Leader Elliot Werk said in a news release. “While the Majority has focused on playing politics with a series of memorials and bills that will do little more than force the state to defend costly lawsuits, there has been precious little discourse about how we can help the private sector create jobs for Idahoans.”

You can read the Democrats’ release here, and a full report here from reporter Brian Murphy in today’s Idaho Statesman, in which House Revenue & Taxation Committee Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, says, “Any bill that passes out of committee, I want it to pass on the floor and if I don’t think it’s going to pass out of the committee, I’m not going to have a hearing on it. Some of these bills that come up are strictly for political reasons or trying to pat or scratch somebody’s back. My job is to sift that stuff out.”

The Senate has given final passage to HB 533, legislation raising the fee for invasive species stickers for non-motorized or out-of-state boats by $2 apiece. The non-motorized stickers would jump from $5 to $7; out-of-staters would pay $22, up from $20. “We are asking to increase the fees just a little bit,” said Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home.

Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, asked if it was true that the state hasn’t even gone through a full year with its current fees, and Corder confirmed that. The additional boost in the fees is to pay a vendor fee, Corder said. Said Mortimer, “I have objections to raising a fee when we really have no track record. … There were a lot of my constituents that were very concerned about the fee to begin with.” Corder said, “It is true, we don’t have a track record - except that we don’t have mussels.” The sticker fees help fund prevention efforts to keep invasive quagga and zebra mussels out of Idaho waterways.

Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, said he’s heard from local boy scouts concerned about a huge impact given the number of canoes they have at scout camp, so he voted “no.” The bill passed on a 21-14 vote, and now heads to the governor’s desk.

Among the additional candidates filing for office this afternoon are incumbent Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who is seeking a full term in office to which he was appointed by Gov. Butch Otter; and “Pro-Life,” the frequent candidate previously known as Marvin Richardson before he legally changed his name to the slogan, who is running for governor as an independent. You can see the full list here.

Gov. Butch Otter has been quietly signing bills into law, but to date - as of the 65th day of the legislative session - he hasn’t held a single public signing ceremony. He’s now scheduled his first for tomorrow, for HB 391a, the “Idaho Health Freedom Act.” The bill, which bans enforcement of any federal mandate for Idaho residents or businesses to purchase health insurance and requires the Idaho Attorney General to go to court to fight any such requirement, drew heavy objections from minority Democrats, and passed the House on a straight party-line vote, while three Republicans joined Senate Democrats in opposing it. Otter will hold his signing ceremony at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, along with GOP legislative sponsors Reps. Jim Clark, Raul Labrador and Lynn Luker, and Sen. Monty Pearce.

In his opening debate on a bill in the Senate this afternoon, Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, made this comment: “This portion of the bill really sucks, in my opinion.” That brought an immediate objection from Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, who makes a point of objecting when Senate protocol is violated, including through the use of “exceptional words.” Rather than lodge a formal objection, Darrington told the Senate he just wanted Siddoway to consider himself warned. Siddoway was presenting HB 416, a bill that earlier passed the House unanimously, and was sponsored by Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, a former Idaho Fish & Game commissioner, to clear up conflicting wording in the law governing wasting of edible portions of game animals. Despite the dust-up, the bill then passed unanimously.

All three proposed constitutional amendments on municipal indebtedness - for airports, publicly owned hospitals, and municipal power systems - have now passed both houses of the Legislature with more than two-thirds support, and will go on the ballot for voter approval in November. The Senate passed the final two this afternoon. David Frazier, the citizen activist whose lawsuit resulted in an Idaho Supreme Court decision in 2006 limiting municipal indebtedness, told the Associated Press today that he’s fine with the power cities amendment, but opposes the other two. Lawmakers contend the amendments ensure that taxpayers won’t be on the hook for unpaid bonds if a project fails. Click below to read a full article from AP reporter John Miller.

Continue reading All three debt amendments clear Legislature »

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — House Democrats failed to narrow a bill that seeks to give health workers’ permission to abstain from giving care they find morally objectionable. Democrats proposed an amendment on Tuesday to strike a provision that frees nurses, pharmacists and others from having to provide end-of-life treatment for dying patients, if it violates their conscience. Ketchum Democrat Rep. Wendy Jaquet says this would complicate cases involving elderly patients by allowing nurses to back away from providing care at a crucial time. But just one of the chamber’s majority Republicans, Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, joined the Democrats’ push to alter the bill, which has already cleared the Senate, while one minority Democrat, Rep. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, voted with the Republicans. The bill is intended to shield nurses and pharmacists opposed to providing treatment for end-of life care, abortions, emergency contraception and stem-cell therapy. State law now affords doctors conscience protections involving abortions. The House will likely debate the bill this week.

Among today’s candidate filings, so far, is Robert Vasquez’ new bid to run against Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, in the May GOP primary. The former Canyon County commissioner, unsuccessful congressional candidate and vocal anti-illegal immigration activist makes the primary a three-way race, as GOP challenger Greg Collett of Caldwell already had filed, along with the incumbent. Democrat Leif Skyving also has filed for the seat. Also, state Controller Donna Jones has picked up a primary challenger, Todd Hatfield of McCall; Rep. Anne Pasley-Stuart, D-Boise, has withdrawn from the Senate race in District 19 and incumbent Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, is back in, seeking re-election; and Democrat David Cadwell of Boise has filed for Pasley-Stuart’s House seat.

Rep. Chuck Coiner, R-Twin Falls, has drawn a primary challenger, Lee Heider of Twin Falls; and Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, faces Harold Mohlman of Rupert in the primary. Republican James Stivers of DeSmet has joined the District 3 GOP Senate primary, making it a three-way race, as Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, already faces Dennis Engelhardt of Sagle. Steve Vick of Dalton Gardens, a former Montana state legislator and House Appropriations Committee chairman, hasn’t officially filed yet but announced today he’ll run against Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, in the GOP primary. You can see the full list here at the Idaho Secretary of State’s Web site, which is being updated twice a day as candidates file; the filing period runs through Friday.

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A House committee will take a little more time before voting on a bill bringing the state a step closer to taxing online sales. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee decided Tuesday to postpone its vote on a bill authorizing the Tax Commission to study tax code changes needed to impose a 6 percent sales tax on Internet sales. Those revisions are necessary for Idaho to join 22 other states that collect revenue from online sales across state lines from major retailers like Best Buy, Walmart and Target. House Majority Leader and Star Republican Mike Moyle said he was concerned about spending money to revise and simplify the tax code. The Senate passed a similar bill unanimously earlier this session. But the House committee introduced its own version because all tax legislation traditionally starts in that panel. The House has killed three similar attempts since 2007.

The Senate Commerce & Human Resources Committee was so enthusiastic about HB 604 this afternoon - the bill to ban pension-padding retirement bonuses like those paid to three state employees in the past year, including the retiring state human resources director - that the panel not only passed the bill unanimously, it sent it to the Senate’s “consent calendar,” which is reserved for bills with wide support that need little debate and will all be passed in a single vote. HB 604, sponsored by Reps. Anne Pasley-Stuart, D-Boise; Elfreda Higgins, D-Garden City; and Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, and endorsed by GOP Gov. Butch Otter, earlier passed the House on a unanimous, 64-0 vote. The Otter Administration said while it had given the bonuses in the past, it no longer felt they were a good use of taxpayer dollars, particularly with the state’s tight budget.

Soil conservation districts from around the state set up displays in the 4th floor rotunda of the Capitol today, to show lawmakers what their districts do.

Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today’s Land Board decision to hike cabin-site rents on Priest and Payette lakes by an average of 9 percent a year for the next five years, or 54 percent, plus impose new surcharges when the leases change hands. The Land Board voted 3-2 in favor of the plan, which will take effect when all of the state’s cabin-site leases on both lakes come up for renewal on Dec. 31st.

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Senate passed the first of three constitutional amendments to allow Idaho cities and publicly-owned hospitals to sign long-term financing contracts without a vote, if no taxpayer money is pledged to repay debts. Senators supported the amendment, 34-0, to allow hospitals more flexibility. The chamber is due to take up the remaining measures Tuesday afternoon. To be successful, all must pass voter muster next November after receiving at least two-thirds support in each house of the Legislature. In 2006, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the state Constitution forbade the city of Boise from building a new airport parking garage without residents’ approval — even though the city planned to use parking revenue, not taxes, to pay off the building. Cities and publicly-owned hospitals say that decision has hurt their ability to buy snow plows, enter into long-term electricity contracts or even purchase medical equipment.

The charging of “premium rent” when state-owned cabin sites - on which private renters build and maintain their own cabins and other improvements - change hands is designed to recapture part of the gain in value of the premium lakefront lots for the state, rather than having all the appreciation go to the cabin owner who sells. The idea is that if the state really is charging market-rate rents, there’s essentially no value in the leasehold itself, the right to rent the land. That, instead, is paid through yearly rents. However, leasehold values have skyrocketed over the years. In fiscal year 2009, 10 cabins on state endowment leased land sold. The state received $305,901 in premium rent, at a 10 percent rate. That means the sellers collected $2.75 million in gains on their state-owned leaseholds, according to the state Department of Lands.

That’s why a state Land Board subcommittee originally proposed to hike premium rents to 50 percent over the next five years. The subcommittee’s report says, “Since 2003, cottage site owners have realized in excess of $25 million for the use of state endowment lands while the endowment received only $2.7 million” in premium rents. The problem with that approach was illustrated in a letter to the Land Board from cabin site lessee Karl Klokke, who said he and his wife bought their Payette Lake lakefront cottage site leasehold in 2005 for $750,000, then spent another $100,000 to demolish existing buildings, build retaining walls and make other site improvements to prepare for a new home - which never was built. Now, Klokke says, he’d be lucky to sell his leasehold as-is for $300,000. If the state took 50 percent of that, it’d take $150,000 and, rather than tapping anyone’s profits, just compound his losses. Klokke suggested the state charge premium rent only on the increase in value of the leasehold - the net, rather than the gross.

The final proposal from the subcommittee, approved today on a 3-2 vote, offers an either-or: The state would charge either 10 percent of gross leasehold value when the lease changes hands, or 50 percent of net leasehold value - compared to what the seller originally paid for the leasehold - whichever is better for the state. For those who acquired their cabins decades ago or had them passed down through their families, though, that’d be a steep hit.

Chuck Lempesis, attorney for the Priest Lake cabin owners, said that’d be enough to stop anyone from wanting to either sell or buy one of the leases. “The marketplace is already in catastrophic condition,” he said. “This is probably its death knell, at least for the short term, because of the instability.” Bud Belles, president of the Priest Lake cabin owners’ association, said, “I think they’ve truly taken an action that will reduce the value of the property at Priest Lake.” But with rising rents, he said, “We have a lot of lessees that just cannot afford it any more.”

The Idaho Land Board has voted 3-2 in favor of Secretary of State Ben Ysursa’s motion on state-owned cabin site rents, with Ysursa, Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna and Gov. Butch Otter voting in favor, and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and state Controller Donna Jones voting against.

Secretary of State Ben Ysursa has moved to adopt the subcommittee’s recommendation - rents for state-owned cabin sites on endowment land to be set at 4 percent of the average value over the past 10 years, phased in over a five-year period, plus a premium rent of either 10 percent of gross leasehold value or 50 percent of net, whichever is better for the state. The result would be rent increases of an average of 9 percent a year for the next five years, or about 54 percent total over that time period, he said. Still, he said, the state won’t be collecting full market-rate rents as the state constitution mandates. “Why aren’t we at current? We, everybody on this board, has voted for a freeze at least one time, some of us two times. We are complicit in the problem that we’re at.” Currently, because of the freezes, he said, the state’s not even at 2.5 percent of current value in its rents - and it still wouldn’t be with the proposed increases.

State Controller Donna Jones spoke out against the motion. “I don’t think it’ll bring us to a true market rent,” she said. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said, “We have an obligation to obtain the maximum long-term return. I do not feel we’re fulfilling that obligation with regard to this motion. … I’ll be voting no.” Gov. Butch Otter said, “I believe there’s a great value in stability.” Most importantly, he said, he wants the state to “get on a program” to “in some way trade ourselves out of, auction ourselves out of, sell ourselves out of these lots. And I think I’ve made myself clear on that.” State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna said, “We’re never going to maximize earnings for these properties until we sell them … or trade them for other assets.”

Laurie Boeckel, legislative vice president of the Idaho State PTA, urged the state Land Board to keep in mind the beneficiaries of the state endowment when it makes its decision on cabin lease rents, urging the board to “act in a manner that has the undivided loyalty to the beneficiaries, which are the children in public education now and in the future.” She also requested that if the process goes into mediation, the PTA be invited to participate. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden thanked Boeckel for participating in the meeting, saying the beneficiaries’ interests are key.

Former Idaho Attorney General Tony Park, speaking on behalf of Payette Lake cabin owners, urged the state Land Board to go into mediation on the remaining lease issues rather than decide the issue today. “Mediation shouldn’t take more than a few days,” he said. Gov. Butch Otter responded, “What’s to stop us” from entering mediation even after a decision? Park said, “I’m fearful … that will unleash the litigation mode. … If we set aside another 30 days to try to mediate these four sticking points and hopefully reach agreement on those four sticking points, and include those in the new lease, we don’t have that, we obviate the need for litigation.”

Gov. Butch Otter, responding to cabin owners’ concerns, said, “This is going to give us at least a point of beginning, and … I’m willing to do anything to divest ourselves of these headaches (which drew laughter from the audience), these cabin leases. I never felt that that was proper. … They were all done for good and pure purposes. But I’m going to stick with the subcommittee’s recommendations now, and if for no other reason to move forward, beginning today.” Otter indicated he may or may not be chairing the Land Board a year from now - an election lies between now and then. “If that’s changed a year from now, whoever changes it, fine, but I’m going forward,” he declared.

Chuck Lempesis, attorney for Priest Lake cabin owners, urged strongly against the Land Board’s new premium rent proposal. “This will destroy the marketplace, I am telling you,” Lempesis declared. “Who in their right mind would buy anything, particularly in the next year, with the word out there” of a possible 50 percent premium rent on future sales, he asked. “And who would sell under those circumstances?” If 50 percent of net proceeds go to the state, he said, once taxes and transaction costs are taken out, “There is nothing, or hardly anything that the seller gets.”

Lempesis urged the board to just approve one-year leases for the next year, and keep premium rent as-is. “The people who will suffer the most if you impose today the 50 percent … will be the beneficiaries of the endowment,” he said. “It will drive down the values substantially of the properties. … If you go to 50 percent of net you’re going to take that market down.”

The state Land Board has begun the cabin-site rent issue; subcommittee Chairman Ben Ysursa, Idaho Secretary of State, noted that at its last meeting, the board voted to work toward eventually getting out of the cabin-site business, through selling or exchanging the properties. The board also voted to go with a 10-year lease when all its state-owned cabin sites at Payette and Priest lakes come up for renewal on Dec. 31, 2010. Since then, Ysursa said, the subcommittee has met again with cabin-site owners, and discussed a new proposal on premium rent. The subcommittee still is sticking with its previous rent proposal of 4 percent of value, based on an average of the past 10 years’ values, phased in over five years, and recalculated every five years. “We have not gotten off the 4-10-5,” Ysursa said.

The new proposal for premium rents, which are paid when the state leases change hands, would set it at either 10 percent of the gross leasehold value - where it is now - or 50 percent of the net leasehold value at sale. Originally, the subcommittee had been looking to phase in a 50 percent premium rent. “We are in a disposal mode,” Ysursa said. “The least amount of chaos or disruption would be the way to go while we’re in this transitional mode.”

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers have scheduled a hearing on Wednesday morning for a bill aimed at reforming the state’s urban renewal laws, first passed 45 years ago to help cities improve blighted areas and boost economic development. Existing districts fear some of the 26-page bill’s proposed changes could hamper their ability to sell bonds for their projects by triggering a requirement for them to ask voters first. Meanwhile, urban renewal agency critics say the measure falls short of boosting public oversight of districts they believe horde their cash to help them expand beyond their original purposes. Rep. Scott Bedke, a Republican from Oakley, conceded that it may not be possible to make everybody happy. Bedke says, “You’ve got to let the dogs bark, but at some point, you’ve got to let the caravan move on.”
On the Net:
— For HB 672 http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2010/H0672.htm