With lawmakers gone, Otter decides the fate of their work

BOISE – It’s Gov. Butch Otter’s turn, as the Legislature left town with hundreds of bills awaiting his signature or veto.

Last week, the governor signed more than 100 bills into law, including a bill that provides $52 million from the state’s current-year budget for emergency road repairs around the state. He signed that bill on Thursday. Because the bill includes an emergency clause making it effective as soon as it’s signed into law, money can be distributed immediately around the state to help with winter- and flood-damaged roads and bridges.

Also last week, Otter signed the seven bills that make up the public school budget into law, though he’d complained about differences between his proposal and the slightly lower one lawmakers approved, which reflects a 6.3 percent increase in state funding for K-12 public schools.

“There were things I would’ve liked to have seen in that budget that weren’t there,” Otter said. “But on the sum, there was a whole lot more good in there.”

A key item included in the budget: Full funding for the third year of Idaho’s five-year plan to improve schools and raise teacher pay. Increased funding for the teacher “career ladder” next year came to $62 million.

“Whatever we didn’t get this year is a good place to start next year,” the governor said.

He also signed into law an array of budget bills, including the budgets for the state’s four-year colleges and universities, the Department of Commerce, the state prison system, the Idaho State Police, Medicaid, parks, community colleges, career-technical education, and the Department of Agriculture.

“Those are essential and proper roles of government – they need to go forward,” Otter said.

Money for wolf board

Otter also signed the budget bill for Idaho’s Wolf Control Depredation Board, which is due to get another $400,000 in state tax funds next year to kill problem wolves, even though it already has more than that amount on hand. That aroused some controversy in the Legislature this year, as some lawmakers argued the board could continue its role without any additional funding.

“There’s nothing wrong with a healthy account for that,” Otter said. “That is one of our major responsibilities that the federal government, after five years being on probation, the federal government finally said, ‘OK, it’s all yours.’ I think there’s additional efforts that are being contemplated about wolf control other than lethal. And I think that’s important, for that consideration. So if that takes a little extra money, they’ll have it. If they don’t spend it all, then we can be a little more stingy next year.”

Vetoed: Forfeiture reform, species administrator, cosmetology bill

Otter also broke out his big, red “VETO” stamp last week, vetoing four bills: Two regarding funding a new policy adviser in the governor’s office for invasive species, to the tune of $142,700; one that was a hard-fought compromise in the Legislature on changes to cosmetology licensing; and one that was widely supported bipartisan legislation on civil asset forfeiture reform.

Otter said the invasive species administrator in the governor’s office wasn’t needed, and he issued an executive order to formalize the work of the Invasive Species Council, which the new position would have overseen. He said the state Department of Agriculture, which got a big budget increase this year specifically for the effort to keep quagga and zebra mussels out of Idaho, should continue to oversee that push.

Otter was highly critical of the cosmetology bill, which he said in his veto message departed from proposals from stakeholders and was developed “without input from interested parties or due regard for the health, safety and welfare of the public. Idahoans deserve better.”

On civil asset forfeiture, the governor insisted there’s no problem in Idaho to fix, but lawmakers and news reports suggested otherwise. Among the reforms in the bipartisan bill was preventing the seizure of cash from people who haven’t been charged with a crime. Otter cited law enforcement opposition to the bill.

NC’s convention loss is Boise’s win

Boise’s downtown convention center, the Boise Centre, has landed its biggest convention ever, after the event was moved from North Carolina in the wake of that state’s controversial bathroom law.

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists will hold a 1,400-person confab in Boise in June, according to the BoiseDev blog, after North Carolina passed legislation last year requiring transgender people to use bathrooms in public facilities that match their sex at birth, rather than their gender identity. The legislation prompted a wave of boycotts and the state lost millions in conventions and other events. North Carolina repealed the law two weeks ago, but questions persist about the legislation that replaced it. Just days ago, the NCAA lifted its six-month ban on holding college championship events in North Carolina, but said it did so “reluctantly” and would continue to review event scheduling in the state on a “case-by-case basis.”

Nine downtown Boise hotels already are sold out for the June 4-8 epidemiologists convention.

Candidates, candidates…

Among additional candidates filing for Idaho’s 2018 election: Troy Minton, who was a plaintiff in a high-profile anti-panhandling lawsuit, is running as a GOP candidate for governor. He lists a Boise homeless shelter as his place of residence.

Already in the GOP race are Lt. Gov. Brad Little, former Sen. Russ Fulcher, and Boise physician and developer Tommy Ahlquist. No Democrats have filed yet.

Republicans Kelley Packer, a GOP state representative from McCammon, and Janice McGeachin, a former GOP state representative from Idaho Falls, have entered the race for lieutenant governor. Already in the race was GOP Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian. State GOP Chairman Steve Yates told Idaho Politics Weekly last week that he also is considering a run.