Talking dirt in the House

Rep. Tom Trail had support from 4-H leaders, FFA advisers and members, and a bunch of fourth-graders for his bill to declare an official state soil in Idaho, but a House committee turned him down flat.

“I ran into a real buzz saw with that,” said Trail, R-Moscow. “We’ve got a state tree, we’ve got a state trout, state horse and so forth. … So why not a soil? … Twenty states have official soils.”

Trail brought proposed legislation to declare the Threebear type soil as Idaho’s official soil, a unique soil type that’s found across much of the state, mainly in Idaho’s forests. “Soil scientists are very clear that the dominant type of soil we have is … Threebear,” Trail said. “It was named after an area in Latah County.”

The problem: That’s not the type of soil found in southern Idaho’s farm fields, from which many state legislators hail. “Everybody seemed to say, ‘Well, gee, my potato farmers wouldn’t be very happy, because this is not the soil type they have,’ ” Trail said.

The House State Affairs Committee refused even to print and introduce Trail’s bill, which means it won’t get a hearing. “It would’ve been nice to have it printed, so I could get those fourth-graders and FFA members here to make the case,” Trail said. “I didn’t get that opportunity.”

Goedde: Wedding bells, re-election plans

Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, says a rumor that’s hot and heavy in Coeur d’Alene is that he’s getting married and moving away, and it’s not true. Goedde, the Senate education committee chairman and a fourth-term lawmaker, is getting married. He and fiancée Terri White have set the date for June 16. She’s “lived in Kootenai County off and on for the past 16 years,” Goedde said, and recently moved back to Coeur d’Alene, where the couple plan to make their home. “It is too early to formally announce that I am running for re-election, but I have every intention to announce in a timely fashion,” Goedde said.

Commerce director goes on leave

Gov. Butch Otter this week granted a request from his state Commerce director, Jim Ellick, to immediately begin an indefinite leave of absence “for personal reasons.” The governor’s office reported that Don Dietrich, administrator of the Department of Commerce’s Division of Economic and Community Development, will be acting director in Ellick’s absence. Jon Hanian, Otter’s press secretary, said, “It’s personal reasons and that’s all I can say.” Ellick dropped from sight after making public statements about how Idaho should plan in its state budget for the possible departure from the state of Micron Technology, the state’s largest private employer and a powerful Idaho political player. He canceled several public appearances after his comments were reported.

Senators looking to oust three from board

The Senate Education Committee, which has expressed strong concerns about budgetary blunders at the state Board of Education and plans to grill all eight board members about it, also may push for ousting some of the board’s members. “I’m not going to be satisfied until two or three members of the board are removed,” said Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden, who noted that the Senate has subpoena powers. “This is not something that should be just swept under the rug.” The senators’ ire is focused on three former presidents of the board – Blake Hall, Rod Lewis and Laird Stone – on whose watch the budget problems occurred.

Mayors want local-option tax bill considered

Mayors from around the state joined transportation advocates to speak out for consideration of legislation to allow local-option taxes to fund transportation improvements, from roads to transit. The bill is being held up, they said, because some in House GOP leadership are insisting on a constitutional amendment instead – even though that would require an unlikely two-thirds vote of both houses plus a vote at the next general election, holding the whole process up at least a year.

Idaho already has some local-option taxes that have been upheld in court, the mayors noted, such as resort-city taxes and county jail taxes, and they said there’s no constitutional issue with their bill.

“If you delay it by one year … think what one year’s inflation cost is going to mean to communities around the state,” said Twin Falls Mayor Lance Clow. Rexburg Mayor Shawn Larsen said, “We just want to get this out to the citizens … and not just hold it up in committee where it doesn’t see the light of day.”

Caldwell Mayor Garret Nancolas said, “This is all about taking this back to the citizens, letting them have a choice. Right now we can’t even give ‘em a choice.” Said Nampa Mayor Tom Dale, “We need to trust the voters.”

The measure, backed by a statewide coalition calling itself Moving Idaho Forward, would require a two-thirds supermajority vote to impose local-option taxes to fund transportation needs identified by local communities. Said Larsen, the Rexburg mayor, “This is about letting the people decide. … If they don’t want it, it’s not going to pass by a 66-2/3 majority.”