Otter on Blaine Amendment changes, public defense, Medicaid expansion…

Among topics Gov. Butch Otter has addressed in response to questions from reporters this morning:

BLAINE AMENDMENT: “I am very, very cautious about fussing with the Constitution,” Otter said. “Time to time, there’s a need. But there’s never been any confusion about that, as far as I’m concerned.” The proposal is to amend Idaho’s Constitution to ease the restriction on using public funds for religious schooling, with the argument that it would head off future problems with state scholarships used by students going to religious colleges. “Maybe the folks that are proposing that see some future problem,” Otter said, “but we have done that for a long time.” He said, “I think they’re probably picking at an old scar, and they’re probably going to make it a sore next.”

PUBLIC DEFENSE: “No greater mistake can be made by the person that does nothing because they think they can only do a little.” He said when Judge Molly Huskey was the state appellate public defender, and one he highly praised, “Molly Huskey came to me and told me that there was a brewing problem out there, that would cost us not only a lot of money in our lawsuits, but it would cost us in our integrity.” He said, “The 6 ^th Amendment is just as important as the rest of ‘em.” The governor said, “The Legislature responded with three years of study. It’s time to quit studying. … I’m grateful that we’re finally having those discussions now,” and that lawmakers are “actually starting to put numbers together.”

MEDICAID EXPANSION: Asked if he was surprised that the Senate Health & Welfare Committee held a hearing on Medicaid expansion bills, Otter said, “I’m grateful that we finally are having a discussion on it, after my task force decided that that was a good idea twice. … The pushback was always we’re not going to start another federal program, we’re not going to get hooked on all the federal money coming into the state. So between Fred Wood and Sen. Heider and a lot of other folks, led by Dick Armstrong, we came up with this Idaho solution.” That’s the Primary Care Access Program, which is up for introduction in the House committee this morning. “Now if they’re going to push Medicaid expansion, they’re going to have to get a whole lot more encouragement than I’ve ever gotten, for outright Medicaid expansion,” Otter said. “I as a Republican governor can’t get a Republican legislature to do it. … The question right now is do we provide the Idaho solution, which is preventative care, a step forward, or do we go … to 138 on Medicaid.”