I have been working diligently with stakeholders on draft legislation this week as well as preparing presentations for many agency bills going through the Senate. Things are substantially quieter this week after the facts were revealed about the difference between health orders and the Governor's authority in a declared emergency. I will keep you posted.
My committees in the Senate:
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Legislative Update
SCR102: Closed Captioning passes 
I co-sponsored Sen. Aggenbroad's bill, SCR102, a resolution to encourage businesses to activate closed captioning on TV screens to increase access to information and improve communication for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Steven Snow, Director of the Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, testified to the benefits of this free service since TV's are built with this feature and can easily be activated by a simple flip of a switch.
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$900M in Federal Aid Dollars Still Being Withheld 
On January 21, JFAC was briefed on $200M of rental assistance relief in a $900M relief package for Idahoans impacted by COVID19, but they still haven't acted on it. Unfortunately, my GOP colleagues are more interested in their own power instead of what ordinary people need in this crisis, leaving the money just sitting in the Idaho Treasury since Day 1 of the legislative session. Click here for the story on KTVB.
After complaining all summer that they wanted to have some say in the spending, my GOP colleagues are failing and can't even make a decision to introduce legislation for this funding. They say they need time to consider all the information to make the best decision about money that would help people, but they can fast track a $4M appropriation to the Legislative Defense Fund and another bill to increase the legislative budget by 26%. So, they can make quick decisions in their own interests, but can't seem to make up their minds when it comes to serving the very people that elected them. And this legislature wants power to call itself back into session? Their not instilling a lot of confidence in the people.
$900M in new federal aid is just sitting in our treasury for rental assistance, higher education, K-12, Meals on Wheels, Child Care and more. Contact House and Senate leaders including JFAC members if you want to see this aid go out. Check out this analysis by Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy.
Constitutional Amendment Passes Out of the Senate 
Unfortunately, SJR101 passed out of the Senate on a 24-11 vote. With one more vote, the bill would have failed since a 2/3 vote was required. This bill will permanently ban medical cannabis, and under current code even most CBD oil, as any product containing any quantity of THC is still a Schedule 1 drug in Idaho. We would very likely end up in a scenario where medical cannabis, CBD and other “psychoactive drugs” are legalized federally, legalized in 49 other states, but Idaho would be constitutionally prohibited from allowing even highly regulated, controlled medicinal use.
I voted against SJR101 because 1) it would prohibit medical cannabis; 2) according to Article III, Section 17 of Idaho's Constitution, "every act or joint resolution shall be plainly worded, avoiding as far as practicable the use of technical terms," and this resolution is overly technical and incorporates code references into the constitution which may not be legal; 3) the overwhelming number of emails I received from constituents were asking me to vote no. Thank you for your input. There is a chance that this will fail in the House, so send your concerns to the House State Affairs Committee.
Budget Update -- well ahead of revenue projections again...
General Fund revenue collections for the month of January were $415.0 million, which was $58.5 million more than anticipated by the Division of Financial Management’s revenue forecast. For the first two months of the revised forecast, General Fund revenues have exceeded the forecast by a total of $94.6 million, leaving an estimated ending balance of $662.5 million. JFAC has acted on some supplemental appropriations and a cash transfer and more will be considered that will impact the bottom line, but this is a HEFTY SURPLUS that could be used to invigorate K-12, boost higher education, and cover health care costs of Idahoans in need.
We have hit the cliff -- we can't do more with less and less and less. The Governor plans on Tax Cuts when we need to invest in services and programs in a state of rapid growth. This mindset of cutting services when revenues grow and population increases isn't working and will cause problems as demand for services grows.
 The Governor has wild plans for his Idaho Future Budget Plan where he wants to put money towards a variety of projects including income tax cuts. What the Governor isn't saying is that much of his plan is built on the 5% holdback from state agencies ($96M) and the cuts he made to K-12 education ($98M) last summer. There was a presentation in Senate Transportation for a supplemental bill to run through JFAC to cover $123M for his transportation plan, which means that the Governor's plan is to take money from other state agencies already hurting and build roads and bridges on the backs of state employees and the expense of other services that are going under-funded in the current year. I support transportation projects, but we need to create a comprehensive transportation plan that includes public transit for our urban areas. For every inch of road we build, we have to find additional money to maintain them. It makes more sense for our district to try to get some cars off the highways and focus on public transit, too.
A Win for Medicaid: Luckily in JFAC this week, the Department of Health and Welfare pulled back its $118M cost containment plan to cut the budget and use savings the state received due to a larger federal match. The first week of Senate Health and Welfare, a bill was introduced and quickly killed that would have accomplished this savings on the backs of provider cuts, which means cuts to services of some of our most vulnerable citizens including people with developmental disabilities. I'm happy to see that in the midst of a pandemic, this strategy has been abandoned...at least for now.
More on Revenue: To date, year-over-year revenue collections are up $355.6 million or 16.3%. Individual income tax collections are up $219.5 million compared to last year, while sales tax collections and corporate income tax collections are up $124.1 million and $24.2 million, respectively, compared to last year. Product taxes are up $4.2 million, but miscellaneous revenues are down $16.9 million compared to last year.
For additional detail regarding General Fund revenue performance versus the current forecast, please see DFM’s website here: https://dfm.idaho.gov/publications/eab/
You can find additional budget information on our website: https://legislature.idaho.gov/lso/bpa/
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This summer, during the height of the pandemic, many people would have really benefitted from a law like this, to allow women to get more than 1 to 3 months of prescribed contraceptives at a time.
Last Tuesday, I introduced legislation in Senate Commerce and Human Resources to allow women to receive up to a 12 (twelve) month supply of prescribed contraceptives if they so choose. Currently, many insurance plans reimburse for only a 1 (one) to 3 (three) month supply of contraceptive supplies. This legislation will require any health benefit plan issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2022, that covers contraceptives approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, to provide reimbursement for up to a 12 (twelve) month refill supply obtained at one time by the enrollee.
This is the fourth time this bill has been introduced; Sen Buckner Webb did a great job over the past three years to bring us to this point. In the past, it seems that my colleagues somehow thought that this bill opened the door to other things....but we have worked very hard to keep the language plain and hopefully it will pass this time.
If you would like to show your support of this bill, please send your support to mwintrow@senate.idaho.gov.
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BSU Annual Survey
The School of Public Service at Boise State University continues a polling tradition in Idaho with the Idaho Public Policy Survey. The annual survey asks a statistically significant sample of Idaho adults about public policy issues of interest to researchers, the media and the public.
The survey provides a wealth of Idaho-specific information. Notable results in this year's survey include:
- 49% of Idahoans believe the state is headed in the right direction, down from 56% last year.
- 76% believe Idaho's elections are secure.
- Education is again at the top of the list of issues Idahoans want the Legislature to address, then jobs and the economy, and then healthcare.
- 55% of Idahoans would get a covid-19 vaccine today if it were available to them.
- There is majority support for a statewide mask mandate.
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Idaho’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: Effects of HB528 on Sexual Assault Clearance Rates
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This week talented stakeholders who worked with me to pass the Sexual Assault Kit Legislation joined reporters to discuss the results of a recent study that was released by Boise State University. We discussed recommendations to improve services which included training for everyone working with victims about trauma and how that impacts reports and reporting AND the need for state resources for victims of sexual assault.
More to come next week.....
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District 19 Town Halls
Our first town hall was a great success! We had over 60 constituent participants join us virtually and were able to cover a wide variety of topics.
Special Guests
Rebecca Severson, the Principal of Roosevelt Elementary school shared how teachers and students are navigating the ongoing pandemic. It was an emotional few moments as she spoke about the hard work of the teachers and resiliency of students. I am continually reminded and humbled by the bravery of our essential workers. I want to specifically take a moment to thank the teachers who have worked tirelessly to adapt to the demands of social distancing and virtual learning. Our kids and our communities are indebted. Take time to thank the educators in your life.
Elke Shaw-Tullock, joined us from the Department of Health and Welfare to share the current status of COVID19 vaccines in Idaho and explain helpful resources on how to navigate the system. To access weekly press briefings every Tuesday at 2:30PM, refer to the events calendar found on their website.
Join us for our upcoming town halls on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 6pm.
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In its 21st year bringing financial awareness to women across the region, Smart Women Smart Money will occur virtually this year on Friday February 19th and is FREE for all participants. Keynote speaker Tammie Jo Shults, one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy, will join other presenters on topics such as: budgeting, debt reduction, starting a business, retirement, home ownership, and more.
Visit www.smartwomensmartmoney.com/Idaho to register and learn more about this year’s conference!
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Alzheimer's Call to Action
Advocates with the Alzheimer’s Association met with legislators this week urging them to support efforts to establish a system-wide oversight entity and create an ongoing dementia coordinator position tasked with addressing the needs of Idahoans living with dementia and their caregivers.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2020 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, more than 27,000 Idahoans are living with Alzheimer’s disease and an estimated 88,000 family members provide over 99 million hours of unpaid daily care for people with the disease. A report released by the Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations noted while Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in Idaho, dementia, when all forms are combined, becomes the third leading cause of death, coming in behind heart disease and cancer. In addition to the human toll, the fiscal impact of Alzheimer’s disease is staggering.
In 2020 Idaho Medicaid costs for caring for someone with Alzheimer’s was $149 million with an estimated increase of nearly 32 percent over the next 5 years. Nationwide, the cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias was $305 billion just this year. Advocates shared that, “many people with dementia, suffer from multiple chronic conditions and the need for support is great. As the number of Idahoans living with dementia continues to increase, there is a significant, urgent call for a comprehensive strategic approach.”If you would like more information regarding Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, please contact the local Alzheimer’s Association office at (208) 206-0041 or visit alz.org. The full OPE report can be accessed here.
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This week's Minority Report covers Rep Rubel's introduction of a bill to legalize medical cannabis and Rep Necochea discusses the "upside down" of the House Tax Committee where they just can't get priorities of our citizens in order.
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