Ross Borden, whom many lawmakers know as  a former legislative budget analyst and who is now the director of intergovernmental affairs for the city of Boise, told the House Transportation Committee today that HB 480, Rep. Joe Palmer's bill to turn off all parking meters around the Capitol when the Legislature is in session, wouldn't actually make it easier for folks to get to the Capitol to testify at legislative hearings. "The fact is that unregulated free parking in high-activity areas such as downtown Boise would actually make parking much more difficult to find," Borden told the committee. "If all the meters were deactivated, every spot would be filled all day long, and I promise you they would not be filled by your constituents." Instead, they'd mainly be filled by people who work downtown, he said.

But the committee voted 9-5 to pass the bill, which now heads to the full House. Palmer, the new chairman of the Transportation Committee, opened the hearing by saying, "I think today you'll probably hear some testimony that might be against it, I don't know why. I don't think it's a controversial bill at all." He added, "Just for the record, I have had parking tickets."

Laurie Boeckel of Nampa, a child advocate, testified in favor of the bill, saying the current time allowed on the meters is too short for people to attend committee hearings without getting tickets. "This is the people's house," she said. "I just know that what is in place right now is not right."

Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, asked Borden if the meters could be switched to four hours maximum parking time rather than two, and he said they could be reprogrammed. "With longer periods of time there is less turnover, that's the trade-off there," Borden said. He said the current system accomplishes the goal of frequent turnover; on his way in to the hearing today, he said, he counted eight open paring spaces.

Palmer said, "The question here is accessibility." He said lawmakers have been hearing complaints all session from people who say their lawmakers aren't accessible to them. "The way it is now, we have mad people," Palmer said. "We have tried to get solutions." He urged the committee to pass the bill on to the full House, saying, "I think that's only going to open up more dialogue over the process."

Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, said, "I agree with you that at least this is a starting point," and he made the motion to approve the bill. Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, spoke against it. "I worry that people would abuse this," he said. House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said, "I think that sometimes to solve a problem, it's got to get bigger, and that's where we're at." He joined the majority in supporting the bill.