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"Every person in a well-ordered state is fully conscious of both his responsibilities and his rights.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
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WEEK 1 -- LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The Senate has been quiet this week, with only a few organizational committee meetings and chamber convenings. I used this time to continue to fine tune my legislation and collaborate with stakeholders to be sure we are prepared to request committee hearings.
Unfortunately, even as Omicron Covid cases increase, the committees I have seen have scrapped social distancing seating and have put the committees back to pre-covid spacing with additional audience seating. I believe that the Senate will continue to allow for remote testimony, but I will have an update on that next week. I continue to mask up and get tested; I'm trying to do all I can to stay healthy so I don't have to leave my post at such an important time. I know of at least 5 members of both parties who have tested positive, so it's important to stay as vigilant as I can.
Let's welcome our newest member who was appointed when Sen Rabe stepped down:
Senator Carrie Semmelroth (District 17). 
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REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE DEFY IDAHOANS WISHES ON TAXES
Instead of addressing the property tax crisis, the House has introduced an income tax cut, $600 million, that would most benefit those who need it the least and siphons sales tax funds away from your local governments. GOP politicians passed a law several years ago to direct internet sales tax revenue into a separate fund ($180M), side-stepping the formula we use to distribute a portion of this revenue back to local gov't, which is required by statute to provide services that working Idahoans rely on everyday, such as safe roads and bridges, fire fighting, law enforcement, and safe water to drink.
I am disappointed that the first move the legislature has made this session is to present an income tax cut so less money is available to do what Idahoans want: real property tax relief, more funding for education, improved roads and bridges, and other infrastructure investments.
If we are going to cut taxes, how about REMOVING THE TAX ON GROCERIES, which would help more people!
PULLING THE CURTAIN BACK
When state politicians deny locals their fair share of tax revenue to use at their whim for income tax rebates that no one is asking for, this hamstrings local leaders and makes it very difficulty to fund the services we need. When you pull back the curtain, you can see what is happening: state politicians want to go into their elections touting tax relief, but don't tell you that they are doing so on the back of our local governments and constituents. Last session Sen Rice introduced a bill to cap local budgets and reduce spending on vital services. That didn't pass, so let's do it another way by limiting the revenue that cities, growing at unprecedented rates, need and deserve to fund emergency services, fire, water, etc!
Maybe we need to work harder at DOING OUR JOBS instead of KEEPING OUR JOBS.
Tune into Idaho Reports to hear Rep Lauren Necochea (D19), member of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, talk about taxes
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The "surplus" isn't really a surplus if you haven't paid the bills nor invested in services needed to match the unprecedented growth we have experience.
DEMOCRATIC PRIORITIES
- Full Day Kindergarten to increase preparedness and literacy
- Early Learning Programs to get kids prepared socially and emotionally for learning
- Child Care so families can get back to work
- Property Tax Relief
- Proper Staffing and Support in Child Protection Services
- Repairing crumbling infrastructure and invest in more public transit opportunities
- Public Employee (and teacher) salary increases so we can retain quality staff and services
- Protect Access to Our Public Lands
- Supporting CTE and Higher Education Funding
- Affordable Housing
- Quality Healthcare Services
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STATE OF THE STATE--$1.9 BILLION SURPLUS
The Governor provided the State of the State to the Idaho Supreme Court, the Idaho Senate, and the Idaho House of Representatives on Monday, announcing a $1.9 billion surplus.
The Governor also proposed income tax cuts, without acknowledging that the surplus Idaho currently has was built partially on the backs of the frontline workers, nurses, doctors, and so many more who continued working under difficult and dangerous conditions with little to no protection from the State during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our policy efforts should economically support hard-working Idahoans and enhance public health and safety.
The Governor touted education as a top priority, providing 10% teacher pay increases, $1,000 bonuses for all teachers in the current year, 5% pay increase for classified staff, increased contributions to health insurance premiums for teachers and classified staff, investing in literacy programs, and more funding for grants to parents. His budget targets investments in higher education with a 7.1% increase for universities and a 4.8% increase for community colleges.
I fully support increased spending on education, and I'm thankful that I'm finally seeing some substantial increases recommended by the executive branch. However, the Governor's proposals do not go far enough to dig us out of the hole we created over years of underfunding, especially considering that Idaho ranks dead last in education spending. We need to fund full-day Kindergarten in all of Idaho. We need to improve Idaho school facilities without putting undue burden on property taxes. And we need to compensate teachers and staff fairly and sufficiently to retain them.
The Governor also proposes funding for behavioral health initiatives, increased social workers, paying off the state building fund debt, money for water infrastructure, money for deferred maintenance for roads and bridges, and increasing the number of police troopers, among other items.
I have been doing a lot of work on the issue of child protection, including elevating and addressing concerns raised by the Citizen Review Panels we created 2 years ago. There are extensive gaps in funding and support in this area.
As we address child protection, it's so important for Idaho citizens to understand the great tension we face in doing what is "in the best interests of children" balanced by "rights of parents." Our state, in particular my far right conservative GOP colleagues, places high value on parental rights to the point that we forget about the rights of children, in my opinion. I have been a part of the Child Protection Oversight Committee for many years, and I will continue to advocate for systems and services that support our children and families so children's needs and rights are prioritized. So I'm glad to see an infusion fo funds to increase pay and recruitment efforts of social workers. The next thing that would be beneficial would be an Ombudsman Office to deal with complaints and grievances so we can continue to improve things for our kids.
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GOP Legislators Adopt Lowball Revenue Estimate to Engineer Future “Surpluses”
The Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee met Thursday to adopt a revenue assessment. The committee’s recommendation was then accepted Friday by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) for budgeting purposes.
The Republican legislators on EORAC voted to adopt the governor’s forecast, which was lower than almost every committee member’s, as well as the various modeled projections from experts. House Democratic Caucus Chair Sally Toone made a substitute motion to adopt a realistic revenue estimate: the average of projections from EORAC members and experts. Her motion failed on a near party line vote with Democrats supporting it.
For Fiscal Year 2023, EORAC adopted a revenue estimate of $5.464 billion, even though the committee’s average projection was $5.515 billion. Since JFAC adopted the recommendation Friday, there will be $51 million less available for budgeting during the current Legislative Session. The State Tax Commission projects revenue at $5.693 billion for that year. If the committee had adopted the Tax Commission projection, the legislature could have put an additional $229 million to use to meet the needs of Idaho communities.
For this current year, the governor’s forecast adopted by the committee is just 3.6% growth, while the Tax Commission predicts 7.2%.
“Idahoans deserve transparency and honest math when it comes to our budget. We know GOP politicians like to take credit when revenues come in above projections, as they are doing now with the so-called ‘surplus.’ But that’s just celebrating bad math,” said Toone, a former math teacher.
“When we politicize and lowball the revenue estimate, we take opportunities off the table. Boosting property tax assistance for seniors is just one critical priority that the governor excluded from his budget. We can more easily identify dollars to reduce property taxes if we use an accurate revenue estimate that balances what the Tax Commission, other experts, and the members of this committee project,” said Rep. Lauren Necochea, the assistant House Democratic leader. “An artificially low revenue estimate places unnecessary limitations on what we can accomplish for Idahoans.”
EORAC also accepted a lowball revenue last year, which contributed to the current gap between actual and projected revenues. The GOP is touting it as a “surplus” even as basic responsibilities go unmet. For example, inadequate state funding for schools translates to schools needing supplemental levies just to maintain basic operations.
“We’ve been putting off fixing our ‘roof,’ and now, we have the money to do it and more,” Sen. Mark Nye said. “Our deferred maintenance alone approaches nearly one half of the so-called surplus. We have to take care of what we built — and this is after we take care of our kids.”
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Meet The Attachés!
I am delighted to have Bella and Nataiia working with me this session. These very bright college students will provide administrative support, constituent outreach services, and research. I hope to introduce these young leaders to a variety of issues so they might continue their engagement in government!
Bella - Hi everyone, my name is Bella Rupe and I am beyond excited to work this legislative session. I am a first generation college student and a senior at Boise State. I will be graduating with my BA in Social Work this spring. I am looking forward to helping the senators to the best of my ability and learning this legislative session!
Natalia - Hello, my name is Natalia Cruces. I am currently a first-generation student in my senior year at Boise State. I am majoring in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice. I have lived in Idaho the majority of my life, but moved to Boise for college. One of the reasons I came here was to be able to work at Capitol. I’m so excited to be able to work for the senators during this legislative session!
Bella Rupe, Senator Melissa Wintrow, Natalia Cruces
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District 19 Virtual Town Hall – January
THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022 AT 6 PM
Hear from your District 19 legislators Senator Melissa Wintrow, Representative Lauren Necochea, and Representative Chris Mathias, on how the 2022 legislative session is going. Please email idahod19democrats@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.
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IN THE COMMUNITY: VIRTUAL AWARD CEREMONY
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I was honored to join this presentation of the Silver Star award for bravery and service to two parole officers who risked their safety to save a man who was going to jump off a bridge. They acted quickly and compassionately to rescue him and connect him to the support services he needed. Thank you, Officers!
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Local news resources to stay updated on the legislature
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