Sexual Assault Protection Act introduced - H383
On Wednesday, I introduced H383 in House Judiciary and Rules, which allows for a survivor of sexual assault to petition the court for a protection order. Protection orders are widely used interventions to reduce the risk of future harm from one person considered to be a threat to another person. Currently, victims of domestic violence, stalking and even phone harassment can file for a protection order, but most people sexually assaulted cannot. This bill would fill that gap and finally allow someone who suffered a sexual assault to petition for a protection order. Protection orders don't guarantee success, but they act as a legal "trip wire" to allow police to intervene and when someone is not abiding by orders of the court to stay away from the victim. A full hearing will be on Feb. 11 or Feb. 13, so stay tuned!
|
|
Daycare Bill Fails 
On Tuesday, the Idaho House voted down a bill that would have increased safety requirements for daycare facilities which included things like ....
- putting children in safety restraints if you are transporting them anywhere,
- placing infants under 12 months on their backs to sleep,
- inspecting facilities each year instead of every 2 years,
- increasing training hours from 4 to 12 for daycare workers.
The bill aligns regulations with federal laws that provides 2.5 million dollars over the next 2 years to support day care facilities in Idaho.
How would such a reasonable bill fail, you ask? Politics! The Idaho Freedom Foundation scored the bill a negative 7 on their Freedom score which probably impacted legislator votes who care about this score. Unfortunately, politics and fear get in the way of reasonable measures all the time. We will try to bring back another bill to ensure we receive the federal funds that support daycare facilities and to ensure more safety for our kids. Idaho is 45th in the country in daycare licensing requirements.
Need for long-term planning in Corrections
This week, the Office of Performance Evaluations presented a new study on managing correctional capacity to the joint Senate and House meetings of Judiciary and Rules. Since 2018, our inmate population has grown 18 percent and this growth has outpaced the overall growth of Idaho's population. Further, our inmate population has significantly exceeded in-state capacity at the nine facilities owned and operated by the Department of Corrections.
Ironically, the Governor's budget gives an 18 percent increase to Corrections despite reductions in nearly every other agency and department. Unfortunately, this increase does not come with a comprehensive, long-term plan for improvements defined in the OPE report.
For example, the Department still lacks a system-wide staff model for correctional officers. Also, significant deferred maintenance and under-capacity at our facilities are of equal concern. Substantial deferred maintenance adds up to $58.6 million dollars. This does not include smaller deferred maintenance projects, which would add considerably to that tab. These issues are causing the State to house inmates in county facilities and in out-of-state private facilities at substantial cost, to the State and to counties.
This is like paying rent instead of buying a house. The savings from properly managing our prison population could be used to improve our systems and build a new prison.
Idaho has a higher incarceration rate than the six surrounding states, as an example, double that of Utah. In addition to investing in correctional planning and facilities, we need to look at ways to reduce the prison population. One statistic that caught my attention was the sharp increase in people on parole going back into prisons since 2016. We need to zoom into the report and ask important questions about this spike to get to policy solutions. Sentencing reform, eliminating mandatory minimums, programs to provide for more successful re-entry to society, and reducing recidivism are all criminal justice reforms that would reduce pressure and cost in our corrections system.
|
|
Redistricting: Defending Fair Elections in Idaho
Thursday, Feb. 6
Egyptian Theatre in Downtown Boise
7:00pm (Doors open at 6pm)
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $30 or
Renown author of Rat F**ked: why your vote doesn't count and expert on gerrymandering, David Daley, will present his ideas on how to make redistricting more fair and representative for all Idahoans. Book signing after the lecture.
|
|
|
|
|
Buy Idaho Day -- met Correctional Industries and discussed creating equal access to employment training in prisons between men and women.
|
|
|
Buy Idaho Day -- Rep Sally Toone talks with Wild Rose Farms about their honey products along with the important role bees play in agriculture.
|
|
2020 District 19 Town Hall Meetings
|
|
Please join me, Senator Cherie Buckner-Webb, and our newly appointed Representative Lauren Necochea, for a town hall meeting during the session. We will take your questions and share our ideas at these events! A sign language interpreter is available upon request. Please submit a request for accommodation no later than 5 days prior to the town hall meeting by emailing Chrystal Allen at allen.chrystal@gmail.com.
- Town Hall #1: Tuesday, February 11th, at 6 pm - Shadow Hills Elementary School (8301 W Sloan St, Boise, Idaho 83714)
- Town Hall #2: Tuesday, February 18th, at 6 pm - Roosevelt Elementary School (908 E Jefferson St, Boise, Idaho 83712)
- Town Hall #3: Tuesday, March 3rd, at 6 pm - Hidden Springs Elementary School (5480 W Hidden Springs Dr, Boise, Idaho 83714)
|
|
|
|
|
|
