Deal to purchase HP campus passes House, 65-5
Showing how quickly legislation can move at the tail end of a legislative session, HCR 29, on the state buying the H-P campus in West Boise, came up in the full House this morning – the same morning it emerged from committee – and passed on a 65-5 vote. It now moves to the Senate side.
Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, questioned Rep. Robert Anderst, R-Nampa, the measure’s sponsor, about why it had come up in the full House so quickly.
“I do know that the body across the rotunda needs time to act, and that’s part of the situation that we’re in,” Anderst responded. When Giddings persisted, asking Anderst who told him he had to present the bill to the full House today, House Speaker Scott Bedke intervened, saying only questions pertinent to the content of the bill were in order.
Rep. Karey Hanks, R-St. Anthony, said, “It appears to make sense to buy the place. … I actually heard about this on the radio a couple days ago, so I assume it’s been in the works. But I just feel like I’ve been blindsided.”
Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, requested a 10-minute recess so she could study the bill.
House Majority Leader Mike Moyle then made a motion for a five-minute recess, “so we can look at those bills.” He noted that that’s why he had warned House members earlier in the morning that the House planned to suspend its rules to take up specific bills this morning. Moyle noted that the delay could conflict with some lawmakers’ lunch plans. “There’s three bills on this list that we have to get to the Senate if we’re going to try to leave by Friday,” he said.
After the break, Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, said while he participated in the full committee hearing on the measure this morning, other members hadn’t had a chance to review it. “Bad legislation happens when we try to rush things through in the last few minutes,” he said. “The goal isn’t to get out of here on Friday. The goal is to get policy right.” Nate said for that reason alone, he’d vote against the bill.
HCR 29 is co-sponsored by every member of the GOP leadership in both the House and Senate.
“This shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us in the House,” said Rep. Rick Younblood, R-Nampa. He noted that it was highlighted in a front-page story in the Idaho Statesman on Friday. “I think this is a great opportunity for the state,” he said.
Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, said while she thinks the proposal is “headed in the right direction and we … should be looking for opportunities to save … I am going to vote against this bill just because of how fast it came through the process. I haven’t had time to vet it.”
Anderst began his closing debate with an apology, that those who weren’t involved in the discussions on the deal or on the relevant committee hadn’t heard more about it earlier. “The Department of Administration has been looking at solutions to this problem for a long time, even to the point that last year they went out for an RFP to the public to find solutions for the problems that we have in leasing space.” The state received 46 proposals. Many, Anderst said, were “substantially more expensive” on a per-square-foot basis.
He said of the HP deal, “It’s a great opportunity for the state.”
The five “no” votes came from Reps. Giddings, Hanks, Harris, Nate and Scott.
Giddings then objected to waiving full reading of the next bill, HB 315, forcing a full reading of the bill; by that time, it was past 12:30. After the reading, the bill, a companion measure to HCR 29 that authorizes the state to receive lease payments from private tenants, passed 66-1, with just Scott objecting.
