Senator Melissa Wintrow
Power and control dominates the legislative agenda. The majority of the House and Senate won't give up on restricting the Governor's authority, while giving itself more power. Not surprising, the power grab continues as S1110, which limits the people's power to pass a ballot initiative, has passed out of committee.
Still no focus on real property tax relief NOR how to invest excess revenue in Education and other vital services.
My Committees:
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Legislative Upside Down
Where Power Instead of People is the Priority
The Majority Wants to Restrict the People's Power
Idaho’s Initiative/Referendum process is being restricted again in SB1110 requiring 6% of registered voter signatures from all 35 legislative districts in order to go to the ballot. Idaho already has the most restrictive initiative process in the nation for participating states and this doubles the number of counties which doubles the signature gathering. If 34 districts gather enough signatures, but one doesn’t, this bill gives veto power to the one district and no voice to the rest. Medicaid Expansion gathered only qualified 21 districts, not 35, yet notably, 8 of the districts that did not qualify the petition voted in favor of it in the election for a total of 61%.
The argument that rural districts are under-represented is simply false. The Governor is from Emmett, the Secretary of State is from Midvale, the Superintendent of Public Instruction is from Mountain Home. Most of the leadership in the House and Senate, committee Chairs, and legislative bodies are all rural. Remember, roughly 65% of the state is public lands. Land mass does not equal number of registered voters. Our Constitution says that all political power is inherent in the people and they have the power to initiate laws. SB 1110 would restrict that right significantly. If the Legislature wants to change our Constitution, they should be willing to propose a constitutional amendment and submit it to the voters. The bill will be debated on the Senate floor next week.
I OPPOSE S1110 because it takes power from the people and puts it into the hands of legislators who are not fully connected to the needs of the people.
This bill will be debated on the Senate floor soon. If you want to share your thoughts about this bill...
Terrible Tax Bills Turned Out in House and Senate
Senate Rev and Tax churned out a terrible bill (S1108) to cap local budgets and eliminate programs that allow growth to pay for itself instead of on the backs of long time residents. The bill would restrict infrastructure start-up and expansion costs paid for by new construction, limit ongoing repair and replacement of capital infrastructure -- ultimately leading to less economic prosperity and opportunity for our communities. If we want real property tax relief we need to adjust the homeowners exemption that was capped in 2016 and shifted property tax liability unfairly from commercial to residential property.
House Rev and Tax introduced yet another proposal (H199) that would cut income tax, corporate tax, and sales tax rates as well as eliminate the grocery tax credit. Under the proposal, most tax benefits would go to households with an annual income above $103,000. To mitigate the negative impact on households whose taxes are increased by eliminating the grocery credit and who do not benefit from the income and corporate tax rate reductions, the bill includes a reduction in Idaho’s sales tax. However, the overall impact of these provisions together are very small tax cuts for Idahoans earning up to $66,000 and very large cuts for Idahoans earning $103,000 and up.
Click here to read the entire analysis from the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy
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SOME POSITIVE PLANS FOR FAMILIES UNVEILED BY DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS
The House Minority Caucus unveiled its “Idaho Working Families Agenda,” a comprehensive plan to deliver tax benefits to working families and boost critical education investments to help Idaho children learn basic skills, including reading.
House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, presented the proposal during a virtual news conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday with members of the media. The plan is both fiscally responsible and sustainable, leveraging the Idaho Tax Relief Fund. It achieves two goals: growing a thriving middle class by boosting working families as well as providing much-needed funds for our schools and kids.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ...
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Progress on My Legislation
- S1098 -- Increasing Access to Prescription Contraception: On Thursday, I presented S1098 to the Commerce and Human Resources committee, but due to time limitations, testimony was postponed until next Tuesday when a vote will be taken. This bill will revise the existing law related to health insurance provisions of the medical prescription of contraception, to require insurers to provide up to 12 months of contraception at a time.
Click here to read why this is so important...
- S1089 -- Repealing Idaho Code 18-6107, Rape of a Spouse: I was able to present this bill in a full hearing this week, where committee members were very receptive to repealing this code section. There was a small error in the bill, so it was sent to our amending order where it will be amended and then heard on the Senate floor. I will keep you posted.
- H212 -- Property Tax Relief for In Home Care Givers
I have a hearing on Monday at 9am in House Revenue and Taxation.
This legislation would allow someone who is low income and a homeowner of a Certified Family Home (CFH) to apply for the "circuit breaker" property tax relief program by exempting the payment they receive from the state for caring for someone with a disability in their home from the income counted toward the application. If you are a homeowner and your annual income is below $31,900 and you meet one of the eligibility requirements (over 65 years of age, or a veteran, or you have a disability, or meet one of the other eligibility requirements), you can apply for property tax relief of up to $1,320.00. What I discovered is that Idaho code requires the CFH to count the payment they receive for caregiving (average under $20K) towards their income, which would prohibit many people from being able to even apply for relief. This bill exempts that income; it's not appropriate to count that towards income since the federal government doesn't count it towards income taxes AND CFH's save taxpayers millions of dollars each year. We are so thankful for the love and care adults with disabilities receive in these home instead of being placed in institutions.
- S1097 - Promissory Notes and Unfair Debt Collection Practices -- Still Working! Not Giving UP!
This legislation clarifies the duration of time in which a junior lien holder may bring an action for deficiency resulting from the sale of a secured property. Idaho Code does not specify the time period in which such action may be brought; the results are extremely inequitable situations where junior lien holders are able to bring such actions at any point during the duration of an installment contract which could be up to 30 years. This bill was brought to me by a constituent who is an attorney and has directly observed how this loophole has created surprising and very traumatic consequences for people.
This bill has hit some roadblocks -- some industries are concerned about the overall impact to lending. I continue to meet with stakeholders to find a balanced solution as not to harm lenders, but to create more transparency and fairness for consumers.
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S1085 -- I Will Oppose 6 Week Abortion Ban
Debated on Senate Floor on Monday 2/22
This bill will finally be debated on Monday, and I will oppose. It is a blatant attempt to take aways a women's right to a safe and legal abortion, which is unconstitutional. I have provided committee testimony from Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, State Director for Planned Parenthood Votes in Idaho, because it eloquently outlines the legal and ethical problems with the bill.
"SB 1085 is a callous attempt to end abortion access in Idaho. This bill would enshrine into Idaho law an extreme and unconstitutional restriction on abortion starting at approximately six weeks of pregnancy--before most people even know that they are pregnant. Put another way, this bill could take away a person’s right to make their own medical decisions before they even know that they have a decision to make.
Forty-eight years ago in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court held that states may not ban abortion before viability for any reason. The Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed this conclusion, including in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 and most recently in June Medical Services v. Russo, in 2020. A ban on abortion before viability, regardless of any exceptions, is blatantly unconstitutional, and six-week bans on abortion in states like Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, Iowa, Ohio, and Tennessee have been struck down as such every time they have been challenged.
Recognizing that Supreme Court precedent and the Constitution of the United States do not permit states to ban abortion before viability, the sponsors of this bill seek to pass a ban on abortion at six weeks of pregnancy that would go into effect if a federal Court of Appeals were to ever uphold a similarly stringent and dangerous ban from another state. This is a nefarious attempt to side-step federal law and Supreme Court precedent by passing a law known to be unconstitutional, and it runs afoul of the foundational principles of our Constitution..."
Click here to read the rest of her testimony...
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What’s going on with public lands?
The past few sessions have seen attempts to bring in an out-of-state consultant -- at Idaho taxpayers' expense -- to determine "lost tax revenue'' on public lands. For $250,000, Ken Ivory will come to Idaho and tell legislators our public lands would be worth more in private hands or under state management. HCR008 is the first step in an attempt to take over public lands. There are legitimate problems with the federal compensation program for federally managed land (PILT), but using taxpayer dollars to hire a grifter will not solve them. This solution should come from Idahoans. More to come on this issue next week from the Idaho Conservation League.
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Our Second Town Hall was a Big Success!
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On Wednesday, Reps Necochea, Mathias and I were able to host our second town hall for District 19 constituents. We had over 70 participants join -- what a great turn out! Thank you to everyone who joined and asked thoughtful questions. We were able to briefly give updates on our committees and legislation we are all working on. If you haven’t been able to attend so far, do not fear! We will be hosting the next town hall in two weeks. Register below and get ready to ask questions.
Thursday, March 4th @ 6pm via zoom
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"This is a special place" -- Sophia Lind
We said goodbye to our high school page Sophia Lind this week who has served the past six weeks on the Judiciary and Rules committee in the Senate. I am always so encouraged to see young people get involved in the legislative process. Sophia was a joyful contribution to the statehouse and helped exponentially in our committee. During her goodbye remarks she said “Senator Lakey asked me, why I loved working here. I told him because everyone here is so kind. While that answer may be vague and simple, it’s the reason why everything runs smoothly and efficiently here. Everyone here has different political views, yet everyone is respectful to each other and kind."
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