Betsy Z. Russell: Debates growing more exceptional

Just before Wednesday’s vote on the tribal fuel tax bill, House Bill 249a, Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, asked to have the Senate put at ease and a big brouhaha among leaders from both parties ensued, with rule books waving.

The problem? Sen. Lee Heinrich, R-Cascade, the sponsor of the bill, had used “exceptional words” in his closing debate, Stennett charged. That violates Senate Rule 41, which was vigorously invoked last week by Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, against Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, after Werk used the phrase “by God” during a debate against a bill. Darrington called that “profanity,” and Werk was sanctioned by having the misstep noted in the Senate’s journal. Heinrich used the phrase, “God forbid.”

“I don’t see how that differs from ‘By God,’ ” Stennett said.

But this time, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, who was presiding over the Senate, overruled the objection, saying the only penalty for using “exceptional words” is to have to yield the floor and stop speaking. Stennett waited until Heinrich finished before lodging the protest – but so did Darrington last week when he criticized Werk’s wording. When told of that difference in handling the issue, Risch said he wasn’t there the previous time – and said if he were pressed, he’d rule that Heinrich’s words weren’t “exceptional.”

The other difference: Last time, it was a member of the minority party who was the target of the protest, while this time it was a Republican senator. Stennett said, “What I’m trying to get is some fairness in rulings.”

Risch did warn the Senate “to be cautious and use circumspection while debating.”

Do not remove this TAG

Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, told the Senate that in going through materials regarding a National Guard bill he was sponsoring, he encountered a confusing array of military acronyms. “I spent about an hour trying to figure out what a TAG was,” Jorgenson said. The answer? “A TAG is The Adjutant General.”

Nothing personal

Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said of Gov. Butch Otter’s veto of the bill to ban smoking in Idaho bowling alleys, “I don’t think it has anything to do with me.” Hill, the Senate tax chairman, was the lead Senate sponsor of the smoking bill – his name was on the bill. He also had spoken out against Otter’s proposed means-tested grocery tax credit on tax policy grounds – criticism Otter bristled about in his veto message on the bowling/smoking bill. Hill said he never used the phrase “social engineering,” but said, “I talked about we shouldn’t set social policy with tax policy. … I just felt like social policy should be set with social services.”

An awkward position

Here are a few North Idaho lawmakers’ reactions to the governor’s veto of the grocery tax relief bill:

Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, said, “I think should this veto survive, it might give more impetus to considering real grocery tax reform down the road,” such as completely removing the sales tax from groceries. “It’s an awkward position to be in, because you want to get anything you can for the citizens of Idaho,” he said. “Clearly this was a compromise, and it’s better to get something than nothing. That’s why I voted for it in the first place.”

Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, said he’d vote to override the veto. “I promised our constituents up there that we would enable some relief under grocery tax, so I would absolutely do that,” Henderson said.

Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, said he was “disappointed” by the veto. “I understand it isn’t what he wanted, but if you look at all the different iterations that started in the House and what came through … I would assume some kind of a compromise is better than nothing at all.”

Here and gone

The House convened Friday morning, passed one bill – a new appropriations bill for the state Lottery to replace the earlier, defeated one (it’s the same except for being for $500 less) – and adjourned until Monday. “We’re basically caught up,” said House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley. “We’ve got to go work out a way to get out of here.” Legislative leaders are scheduled to meet with the governor this morning.