For the last several years, we have tried to introduce a bill to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Idaho ratified the ERA on March 24, 1972 and rescinded its prior ratification on February 9, 1977. This past week, on my birthday, this bill was entered on the record again and read across the desk. Members from the National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood packed the gallery to show their support and commitment to furthering the rights of all people.
The legislature cannot continue to ignore the fact that women are paid less than men for the same work, experience high rates of violence, face additional challenges in their health care, and the list goes on. With the 100th anniversary of the Women Suffrage this year, it is well past time for the legislature to recognize women’s equality. We may not be able to get a hearing, but we will still remind the legislature that we will persist, no matter what, to fight for our rights!
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Higher Education Week in JFAC
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Rainbows and Unicorns....
For the first time, the presidents of Idaho's four colleges and universities provided a joint statement to JFAC sharing a new vision of unity and collaboration for higher education in Idaho -- the days of competition are over as they pursue a partnership for the future. The Community College Presidents shared their appreciation for this visionary leadership as each of them took the podium as well.
...turns into a Gloomy Forecast
The Idaho State University President, Kevin Satterlee says that almost 25% of Idaho students who pursue higher education are first-generation college students. All of the presidents acknowledged the importance of supporting these students, who typically need a little more support, and laud the governor's recommendation to boost the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship with an on-going appropriation of 7 million dollars annually. The presidents agreed to freeze tuition this year as an additional step toward making higher education more affordable to Idaho students. However, I asked President Tromp about the risk of increasing the number of students on the campus while the Governor cuts higher ed funding by 1% this year and 2% next year on top of the tuition freeze. One thing I know from my 25+ years in higher education is that getting more students on campus requires more support services, faculty, and staff to help them get through: if we are going increase student population, we can't cut the very support they need.
The state has drastically decreased support of higher education over the years. Boise State is the lowest on the ladder receiving only 18% of its funding from the state, which led my colleague, Senator Nye, to ask the question of the presidents: "why are you here asking the state for money...we've practically made you private schools." His point is well taken. At a time where the economy is booming, the Governor has pressured higher education to cut budgets to the point where LCSC President Pemberton discussed serious holes in staffing and cuts she will make in personnel.
I am very troubled with the cuts in higher education budgets; it just doesn't make sense to cut the economic engine of our state. I will continue to fight for better funding to support our students and the very future of our state!
A Word about K-12
Superintendent Ybarra shared her budget to the committee this week as well. She showcased the still modest increases to K-12 and thanked the Governor and the legislature for keeping our promise to build out the career ladder and continue to work on teacher salaries, which has taken almost a decade to build out; salaries still don't compete with those in the bordering state, and she emphasized that we are still in the midst of a serious teacher shortage.
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Celebrating MLK Human Rights Day
We kicked off this week with MLK Day and were honored to have Boise State President, Dr. Marlene Tromp, join us on the Capitol steps to celebrate. The event was a clear indicator that human rights are important to Idaho communities and provided even more inspiration for us to push to provide equal rights for all Idahoans.
Criminal Justice Reform
House Minority Leader, Representative Ilana Rubel, announced her much-needed bipartisan Clean Slate bill with Republican Senator Lent. The bill would allow some Idahoans with criminal backgrounds the opportunity to lead new lives. The Clean Slate legislation would give nonsexual, nonviolent offenders the opportunity to have their records sealed after they had finished their sentence and hadn’t reoffended in 3 years. The law exists in many other states, and we are excited to see Idaho move towards a fairer criminal justice system.
 Last week Senator Buckner Webb announced her bill for Fair Chance Employment legislation that would give people with a criminal history the opportunity to get their foot in the door for a job interview before they are written off based on a label. The bill would suspend asking the questions about criminal history until later in the interview process giving applicants a fair chance to get a job interview.
Update on Sexual Assault Kit Tracking
Matthew Gamette, Director of the Idaho State Police Crime Lab, released the 2019 annual report on sexual assault kit testing and tracking, which can be found on the ISP website. Our 2016 legislation created requirements for transparency, so every year, this report is shared with the public and the legislature. This data allowed us to amend the law last year to test all kits; now ISP is working on finishing the last of the kits that weren't turned in and working on increasing turn around times for evidence collection and processing. The rest of the country is looking to Idaho for leadership on this issue; I couldn't be more honored to work with this team.
Science Standards -- up for debate or attack again.
Idaho Academic Content Standards hearings resumed this week with testimony on the current science standards. Educators from across the state came to the Capitol to give testimony in support of the current standards. Many testified that the current Idaho Content Standards prioritize teaching long-term, problem-solving skills. After the debates on the English and Math standards last week, the Science standards are the last in line before the House Education Committee votes on the Idaho Content Standards. As you may well know, many of my legislative colleagues have been fighting against teaching climate change in schools. Check out some of the commentary from this past week.
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I stand with Planned Parenthood and these incredible young leaders!
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MLK Living Legacy group from Boise State organizes a march and rally in rememberance of Martin Luther King Jr.
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Dream team for medical residency programs in Idaho! Working hard with the legislature to expand residencies that lead to more doctors in our state.
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I enjoyed lunch with these wonderful city officials! Kristine Miller and I worked together at Boise State years ago!
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2020 District 19 Town Hall Meetings
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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)
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The Governor holds up his recommendations for K-12 spending as a serious investment, but it is no real investment. He is cutting STEM education monies to the STEM action center and we still are below per student funding considering growth and inflation. Ybarra requested 5.3% increase in state funding for next year, but Gov Little only recommended 4.1% -- 
