House Appropriations Chairwoman Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, said
she’s seen lots of attempts to eliminate the Idaho Women’s Commission over the
years in JFAC.“It seemed like there
were always those, especially the males on the committee, who did not see the
value of funding the commission. And frankly, there are some women on there now
who feel the same way.” Former Sen. Mel Richardson, R-IdahoFalls, often objected that Idaho had no men’s
commission. “I remember remarking one time, ‘Well, you have a Sheep
Commission,’” Bell
said. “That didn’t go over too well.” Bell,
who served a term on the Women’s Commission under Gov. John Evans, said, “I
guess I don’t have anything against it, to be right honest with you. But it just
seems that there were so many people who really couldn’t see the value in it.”
In 2006, four female legislators on the joint budget
committee, including Bell,
revamped and trimmed back the commission’s budget, winning a rare unanimous
vote for its funding that year. “That was absolutely to keep them alive,” Bell said. The changes
included cutting the commission’s director to one-sixteenth time, and targeting
most of the budget into services, such as the book on Idaho family law that the commission produces
and distributes every other year. Since then, the director has inched back up
to one-third time, while the budget has dropped by $10,000.
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.