Good Things Come To Those With Clout

Thu., March 2, 2000

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

Try as it might, the Idaho Legislature no longer can ignore the North Idaho delegation. After years spent on the outside looking in, local legislators now hold key positions and seniority.

That was clear earlier this month when state Rep. Don Pischner persuaded a House committee to introduce a bill that would provide a tax credit for North Idaho College patrons. The Coeur d’Alene Republican coaxed four fellow members of the powerful Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee to help him lobby for the bill. Ultimately, the reluctant House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to introduce the bill on an 11-4 vote.

“Somebody changed their mind,” Chairman Dolores Crow, R-Nampa, said to smiles from Pischner and his allies.

For the first time in recent memory, North Idaho legislators not only are an integral part of important committees but they’re being heard on crucial regional issues. The quality of their work this session is a strong argument against term limits.

Sens. Jack Riggs of Coeur d’Alene and Shawn Keough of Sandpoint are leading the charge to fix school buildings. Working with Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Riggs helped introduce legislation to establish no-interest loans for school districts with critical safety problems. Keough introduced a bill that would allow districts with limited tax bases, like those in Bonner and Boundary counties, to tap $15 million in sales tax revenue to repair schools.

Rep. Hilde Kellogg, R-Post Falls, scored the biggest victory so far this session when the House overwhelmingly approved her sales tax redistribution bill. The bill would correct an antiquated system that denies fast-growing areas, like Kootenai County, a bigger share of the sales-tax revenues. The bill had languished for years.

North Idahoans have introduced or played a key role in bills that would: require builders to be licensed (Sen. Gordon Crow); clear up the relationship between school districts and charter schools (Rep. Jim Clark); toughen standards for day cares (Rep. Jeff Alltus); cap tuition hikes at four-year state colleges at 3 percent (Rep. Jerry Stoicheff); and require instruction in citizenship at elementary and secondary schools (Rep. Wayne Meyer).

Also, Crow deserves credit for his bill that would require the state Transportation Department to identify the 10 worst stretches of Idaho roadways annually. This would draw statewide attention to dangerous stretches of Highway 95 that need to be fixed.

North Idaho boasts four representatives on the powerful budget committee, one committee chairman and several vice chairmen. With redistricting sure to help growing North Idaho in two years, the region’s clout is only beginning to be felt.

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