Outnumbered Democrats Push Personal Bills

When the deadline for “personal” bills in the Senate approached Friday, Democratic senators rushed in eight.

The reason? The tiny band of five senators knows that in many cases, that’s the only way they can get a bill introduced.

“Recognizing that there’s only one Democrat on each committee, we might not even get a second” on a vote to introduce a bill, said Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum.

Personal bills don’t need a second to receive preliminary consideration.

Sighed Jean McNeil, staffer for the Senate Democratic caucus, “At least we’ll get a minimum-wage bill signed this year.”

One of the Senate Democrats’ eight personal bills would raise Idaho’s minimum wage to match the newly increased federal wage. Gov. Phil Batt said this week that he also expects a Republican bill aimed at the same end, and that he’ll sign whichever one makes it to his desk.

Idaho’s Legislature is 85 percent Republican, but the numbers are even more overwhelming in the Senate, where just five of 35 senators are Democrats.

In the House, there are just 11 Democrats among 70 representatives. But at least that’s a larger group.

Stennett joked ruefully about his party’s shrunken circumstances during a committee hearing Friday. He suggested that a Fish and Game commissioner nominee who had listed “none” as his political party affiliation must mean Democrat.

“We feel like we represent a broader constituency than what is represented here,” he said later. “If you look statewide, about 40 percent of the people voted for Democratic candidates. Given that, there should be 15 of us down here, but that didn’t work out.”

Unfortunately for the much-reduced Senate Democratic caucus - which only six years ago held half the Senate’s seats - the group still doesn’t speak with one voice.

Of the eight personal bills introduced by Friday’s deadline, only three carry all five senators’ names. Two of the bills are backed by three of the five, while the other three are Stennett’s alone.

“I think as a whole, everyone brought forward what they felt was important in their district,” Stennett said. “We need to establish a presence and define who we are.”

Here are the Senate Democrats’ eight personal bills:

SB 1004 - Allows civil suits against drug dealers by those who have been injured by their activities. Sponsored by Marguerite McLaughlin of Orofino, Bruce Sweeney of Lewiston, Stennett, Lin Whitworth of Inkom, and Betsy Dunklin of Boise.

SB 1009 - Allows schools to charge impact fees to help fund construction of new schools, within limits. Sponsored by Stennett, Whitworth and Dunklin.

SB 1005 - Partially restores the “public trust doctrine,” a legal concept that was eliminated last year through Republican legislation designed to crimp environmental protests of timber sales. This bill wouldn’t apply the doctrine to timber sales on state land or appropriated waters. Backed by Stennett, Whitworth and Dunklin.

SB 1006 - Creates a citizen commission to oversee the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, replacing current oversight efforts that are funded by the lab’s contractors. Sponsored by Stennett.

SB 1011 - Requires disclosure of employers of campaign contributors. Sponsored by all five senators.

SB 1012 - Allows increased property taxes owed by elderly residents to be deferred until the property is sold. Sponsored by Stennett.

SB 1013 - Another Stennett bill, this one grants property tax exemptions for riparian land voluntarily taken out of production.

, DataTimes