Tight Budget Tied Legislators’ Hands Some Achievements, But Session Gets ‘Warm Milk’ Label Overall

Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, is bringing home promises that the Senate will “take a hard look” at the school funding formula, which she believes shorts her district’s schools.

Rep. Don Pischner, R-Coeur d’Alene, says he managed to win state money for worthy projects - including maintenance of the Coeur d’Alene Parkway and construction of a new state Lands Department building in Coeur d’Alene - during his first year’s service on the Legislature’s budget committee.

Sen. Jack Riggs, R-Coeur d’Alene, helped persuade some of his fellow senators to vote to lower the drunken-driving limit to .08 blood-alcohol content, and Sen. Gordon Crow, R-Hayden, points to significant changes in Idaho law on telecommunications, managed care, campaign finance and voter initiatives.

But overall, the legislative session that closed this week “was like warm milk,” said Rep. Jim Stoicheff, D-Sandpoint. “They give you warm milk to put you to sleep. That’s what this session did, all session.”

With a state budget so tight that lawmakers eliminated funding for Gov. Phil Batt’s proposed 2 percent raises for state employees, the Legislature didn’t have much leeway to act.

“I think they did a very good job under difficult circumstances,” Batt said. “They were faced with some fiscal stringencies.”

Here’s what the Legislature did - and didn’t do - in some key areas:

School construction

The Legislature did not act. Idaho is still the toughest place in the nation to build a school, with school bond issues requiring a two-thirds vote and local taxpayers footing the entire bill.

State Superintendent of Schools Anne Fox proposed a half-cent sales tax increase to fund school construction, but the idea died in committee. Other lawmakers talked of eliminating sales tax exemptions to raise money, but the talk never led to anything.

The state may be forced to act soon. A lawsuit by school districts against the state, charging that it has failed in its constitutional obligations by not adequately funding schools, goes to trial in November.

Property tax relief

Though this was a frequent promise in legislative campaigns last fall, little significant relief was enacted by the Legislature this year. Bills were passed to give relief to two groups - needy senior citizens, and builders of speculative homes - but everyone else will pay a little more to make up for those breaks.

The bill for needy seniors would defer their property taxes until they die or the house is sold. County commissioners would decide whether to offer the deferral, and would set eligibility standards. The bill awaits signing by Gov. Phil Batt, who has expressed some reservations about how it would work.

The builders’ bill exempts newly built speculative homes from property tax for up to a year after completion or until they’re sold and occupied. Batt met this past week with supporters and opponents to settle questions he had about the measure, then signed it.

At Batt’s request, the Legislature also agreed to replace $1 million of the property tax funding for Idaho’s two community colleges with state general funds. That means a $500,000 property tax break for Kootenai County, home of North Idaho College.

Lawmakers rejected a sweeping plan to raise sales taxes and cut property taxes, and also rejected a half-dozen attempts to increase the homeowner’s exemption or index it to inflation.

“I’m obviously disappointed that we didn’t have additional property tax relief this year,” said Sen. Crow.

Election reform

Responding to a challenge from Batt - and to threats of voter initiatives - the Legislature passed Idaho’s first-ever limits on campaign contributions. The bill also prohibits conversion of campaign funds to personal use, requires reporting of independent expenditures over $100, and requires political committees that use payroll deduction to get written consent from each member, every year.

That final clause aroused the ire of the Legislature’s tiny Democratic minority, which said it was a swipe at the Idaho Education Association, a major funder of Democratic campaigns. The IEA charged that the clause is unconstitutional and said it will sue.

The governor, while noting that he had pushed for campaign contribution limits twice as strict, praised the Legislation for moving ahead with campaign reform.

The Legislature also enacted sweeping restrictions on the initiative process - a controversial move opposed by many North Idaho lawmakers. The restrictions include a requirement that signatures to qualify initiatives for the ballot be gathered in at least 22 counties - half the counties in the state.

Batt said the measure may go a little too far, but he signed it into law.

Indian gaming

Batt proposed legislation aimed at restricting Idaho Indian tribes in their gambling operations. But none of it passed. Lawmakers instead sent Batt a resolution encouraging him to appoint a committee to study gaming issues, which he had already said he’d do.

The state and tribes still disagree over whether gambling machines being operated in tribal casinos are legal under state and federal law. But lawmakers said that’s an issue for courts to resolve.

During packed hearings on the proposed legislation, tribal representatives from around the state testified that gaming is allowing them to lift their members out of poverty.

Business issues

Deregulation of local telephone service attracted more lobbyists to the Statehouse this year than any other issue. After extensive hearings and negotiations, the Legislature passed a bill that sets guidelines for opening up local phone service to competition. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission would continue to regulate rates of existing phone companies until their market becomes competitive. Then, regulation would end.

Additional developments are expected on that issue next year.

The Legislature also passed a bill to regulate managed care in Idaho, including provisions for a grievance system for patients and bans on incentive programs that encourage medical providers to withhold care. The bill, like the telecommunications legislation, was the subject of long negotiation.

In this case, doctors, hospitals, the insurance industry and state agencies were among the players. A legislative interim committee studied the issue last summer.

“I came in as a legislator on the tail end. I was amazed at how good this piece of legislation is,” said Sen. Riggs, a physician. “I think other states will be looking at this. … I think this bill is very good for patients.”

Prisons

Idaho is adding 400 prison inmates a year. Desperate for space, the state prison system has hundreds of inmates housed in county jails and in costly out-of-state prisons.

Lawmakers easily approved legislation allowing Idaho, for the first time, to contract with private companies to build and run prisons in the state. They also OK’d legislation allowing the Corrections Department to go through the state building authority for bonds to finance prison construction, if that proves cheaper.

Prison officials expect to have a proposal ready for private companies to bid on within 30 days. Current plans call for a 1,250-bed private prison with expansion space to bring it up to a total of 3,000 beds.

“It is with great reluctance that I recommend building any prisons,” Batt said. But, he said, “We’ve got no choice.”

The House unanimously approved legislation this year to eliminate the charge of felony driving without privileges - a relatively minor offense for which more than 100 inmates are now serving time in prison. The bill would have made the crime a misdemeanor. But it died on a technicality in the Senate before getting a vote.

The growing inmate population, along with the growing Juvenile Corrections Department load, prompted those areas to receive the biggest funding increases in the state budget, while growth in public education funding was held to a bare minimum.

Said House Speaker Mike Simpson, “I wish we could do something about it.”

, DataTimes