Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the reaction from lawmakers today to the governor’s plan to phase out state funding for Idaho Public Television over the next four years. “I just don’t see this committee doing that,” said Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, JFAC co-chair. “We’re not going to fund based on what we think is going to happen the next year or the year after that. … They’re going to be subject to the same level of reduction as everyone else.” IPTV had its budget hearing before JFAC today.

Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, the panel’s other co-chair, said, “It’s my personal feeling that they’re part of the education system.” Without any state funding, she said, the system couldn’t serve all of Idaho’s rural areas. Bell said she hopes the IPTV folks get together with Gov. Butch Otter and talk about “business plans,” as state Parks Director Nancy Merrill did, prompting Otter to drop his “conceptual” proposal to eliminate the state Parks Department. “I have a little ray of hope that they’re working with the governor’s office to try and find a business plan that may be more to his liking,” she said.

The Senate Resources Committee has voted unanimously to introduce legislation from Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, to make the state Board of Parks and Recreation advisory, and let the governor appoint the state parks director. The board now hires the director. Schroeder, the committee’s chairman, said he’s introducing the bill in hopes it won’t need to progress further. “We came close to losing a department that’s very dear to the hearts of Idahoans,” Schroeder said. “In my opinion there are management problems.” Schroeder said he wants Parks Director Nancy Merrill to be able to make the changes at the Parks Department that she and Gov. Butch Otter have proposed, without interference from the parks board. “I’m not going to allow that board to cut her off at the knees,” he declared.

Schroeder said, “We have an agency that said last year everything would be all right. In the interim, before the Legislature could even meet, they started closing down parks … such as Dworshak, near my district. … And then we discovered that they have financial reserves over there. .. It’s questionable when you’re closing down parks, whether you need that.” Schroeder said the bill is intended to send “a very strong message,” and said, “I want to ensure that she’s allowed to implement the plan.”

Lawmakers say they’ve been deluged with calls and emails asking them not to cut out state funding for Idaho Public Television. “There’s a lot of support out there, but we have to weigh it against the other needs and wants of the state,” said Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson. Said Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, “Nobody wants us to eliminate funding for public television.” Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said her constituents have been asking her “not to cut it - to find someplace else to cut.” Said Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, “The only emails I’m getting from my constituents are in support of public TV.”

Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, said, “I think we’ve all gotten hundreds of messages to support public TV.” Said Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said, “It’s pretty hard to go home and tell someone that your grandbaby isn’t going to be able to watch Sesame Street any more - maybe if you move to Boise. I don’t think the committee will have the stomach to do that.”

House and Senate Democrats held a press conference today to unveil a six-bill jobs package that includes fast-tracking renewable energy projects; setting up a new “jobs council” under the governor’s office; providing state help to expanding small businesses; offering a tax credit for venture capital investments; and creating a new tax credits for small businesses that add new, high-paying jobs.

“All are aimed at getting people to work again,” said Rep. Bill Killen, D-Boise, the House minority caucus chairman. “People with jobs can pay more in taxes than people without jobs.” The package includes three Senate bills, which were introduced last week before Friday’s personal bill deadline; and three House bills, for which Killen said he’s received assurances from committee chairmen that the measures will receive print hearings in the House.

Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, asked IPTV head Peter Morrill, “Could you just do regular commercial advertisements like any other television station?” Morrill noted that IPTV raises more private money than many of its peer networks. But, he said, “Idaho Public Television is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to be a noncommercial, educational entity. We are precluded by federal law to air commercials.” IPTV is also precluded by federal law from getting paid to offer its signal to cable and satellite providers, and must offer it for free; and is precluded from selling its airtime. In addition, the state owns its assets, “so our ability to get into the commercial television business, what we would call competing with private industry, there probably are significant limitations there because of those issues.”

Morrill said he’s not identified “any Statue of Liberty play from Roger Madsen and the Department of Labor to potentially assist us with this challenge and potentially replacing that kind of money.”

Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, asked IPTV General Manager Peter Morrill if he’d be allowed to come on IPTV to advocate for or against funding. “We really haven’t produced any TV programs about the funding issue for Idaho Public Television,” Morrill responded. “If we were to produce such a program, I would imagine you could be invited to be on the program.” Brackett then criticized Idaho Public Television for allowing legislators to come on its shows and express opinions, including about funding IPTV. “I think your programming can and does stand on its own merits,” Brackett said. “But when individual legislators come on to advocate, I wonder if that gives them a political advantage.” Responded JFAC Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, “Thank you, senator, I think that was a comment” rather than a question for Morrill.

The governor’s proposed budget for Idaho Public TV for next year is just $1.1 million in state general funds, down from $1.66 million this year. That’s a reduction of $550,700, “or minus 33 percent,” IPTV General Manager Peter Morrill told lawmakers. The governor proposes a four-year phaseout of all general funds.

Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, said, “I’ve been getting a lot of input from a lot of sources on the proposed cuts. My question would be, if this cut goes through, the loss of general funds … what’s the impact on districts like mine that’s for the most part rural?” Morrill responded that the state funding, about 25 percent of IPTV’s budget, goes to “the maintenance of that statewide delivery system.” That’s the toughest kind of funding to replace, Morrill said, because it’s easier to raise money for a specific TV show than for equipment to extend service to far-flung, sparsely populated areas. As a result, he said, IPTV would need to move from a public-service model to a more market-driven model. “We would have to focus on really our service to the more populated part of the state,” Morrill said.

Peter Morrill, general manager of Idaho Public Television, told legislative budget writers, “There is no statewide newspaper, there is no statewide radio system, there is no statewide commercial television.” There is just Idaho Public Television, when it comes to a statewide medium that links the whole state. “We’re the only locally owned and operated television network left,” he noted. IPTV also is the only provider of statewide emergency alerts. The public TV network is under the magnifying glass this year because Gov. Butch Otter has proposed phasing out all its state funding over the next four years. Most of IPTV’s funding already comes from private donors and federal grants, but the state money pays for the network of translators and transmitters that carries the signals throughout the state, including far-flung rural areas.

The College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls supported formation of the College of Western Idaho in the Treasure Valley, CSI President Jerry Beck told lawmakers, but it did cost CSI money - it’s no longer billing Ada and County counties for tuition for students who hail from there. CSI can’t give up part of its budget to boost the new school, he said. “We can’t share what we’ve got,” Beck told JFAC. “We’re dependent on every nickel right this moment, and we’ve cut to the bare bones.”

Bert Glandon, president of the College of Western Idaho, says the new Treasure Valley community college set a record nationally when it opened with 1,208 students. Most community colleges start up with no more than 200 students enrolling, he said. “We jumped to 3,600 in the first six months. Right now, today, unofficially, we’re looking at 4,837.3.” Amid laughter, he said, “It is the kind of thing that’s just become exhilarating, to see the kind of involvement from the local community.”

Glandon said, “It … is very clear that this was a community college that was long overdue.” The response, he said, has been “astounding.” As it starts up, Glandon noted, CWI is essentially borrowing the accreditation of the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, a level of cooperation between sister institutions that he said was refreshing and new to him. Plus, he said the transfer of the technical college functions from Boise State University to the new community college was “one of the smoothest I’ve ever seen between two institutions.”

“No community college has ever started up and had the kind of growth that we’ve had here,” Glandon told JFAC. “So we are conservatively projecting for this fall 6,000 students, and 6,600 for spring. … That is very conservative.”

Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, asked North Idaho College President Priscilla Bell about her support for a proposed $1.047 million additional allocation to College of Western Idaho next year for its enrollment growth. “I want to gauge your level of support - are you willing to support that workload adjustment if it means a lower appropriation to your college?” Cameron asked her. Bell responded that NIC supported the formation of CWI, and still does. “We were also assured that the funding for CWI would not come from the existing pie for CSI and NIC,” she said. Cameron replied, “We have worked very hard to make sure that is not the case, but I only have so many dollars in the pie.” Bell then said, “I submit to you that the state can make no better investment than investing in community colleges. … We are the workhorses of the higher education system. … I submit that investing in our three colleges is the best money that you can invest.”

JFAC Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, said it was “beautifully said,” and told her, “We truly do believe that there will be better days.”

North Idaho College President Priscilla Bell told legislative budget writers this morning that her college has no wish list for funding, recognizing the tight state budget. Students will, however, feel the impact of holdbacks and budget reductions, she said, as they come at a time of sharply increasing enrollment. “Community college enrollments are counter-cyclical,” Bell said. “The economy goes down, and our enrollment goes up.” For next year, Gov. Butch Otter is proposing a 4 percent cut in state funding for community colleges, and that’s after pumping an additional $1 million into the new College of Western Idaho to cover huge, unanticipated enrollment jumps, a move Bell said NIC supports.

In the short term, NIC is getting more tuition revenue than anticipated with the increased enrollment, and can handle holdbacks with “some position eliminations and deferred maintenance and that sort of thing, but over the long term, NIC students are going to feel the impact in a number of areas,” she said. One is the increased use of adjuncts and part-time faculty to serve the growing numbers of students, and those part-timers are becoming harder to find, particularly in areas like nursing and sciences. And since student advising is generally handled by full-time faculty, that poses difficulties as well. Community college students particularly need advising if they’re planning to transfer to a four-year college, Bell noted. She said for now, some staff and adjunct faculty are being trained in student advising. Building maintenance also is suffering. “We’ll have to catch up in the future, and it’s going to cost more,” Bell said. “Fixing problems in an emergency is always more costly than doing maintenance.”

She also highlighted various successes at NIC, including a 61 percent increase in the college’s online classes since 2005, which offer “the hallmark of community college - access,” Bell said. NIC also has seen a 91 percent increase since 2005 in dual enrollment, in which high school students take college courses. It’s now had students actually earn their associate degree a week before they get their high school diploma. “It’s pretty cool, because their parents are really pleased,” Bell said.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has received the report and recommendation from the Joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee, and voted unanimously to accept the report - which doesn’t mean it’s accepting that panel’s numbers for the state budget. “The process this morning is for us to accept the report,” said Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. “That does not mean that we’re adopting the report or adopting any number at this stage.” He then moved to accept the report, and the motion passed unanimously. Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, said the volatility of the current economy “makes this very hard to predict.” Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, said, “It is a concern, because it would mean severe cuts to programs that may not be necessary. … If we send the wrong messages to the people of Idaho, if we frankly make errors in the way that we budget and the way that we manage this year, that could be very dire. … It think it’s really a good thing that we have the opportunity to take the numbers as they come and adjust as needed.”

The revenue panel recommended numbers $69 million below the governor’s budget figures for the current year, and $59 lower for next year. If those figures were used to set the state budget, millions in additional cuts would be needed beyond what Gov. Butch Otter already has proposed.