WEEK ONE - LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
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State of the State Address Kicks Off Legislative Session
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The 2023 legislative session kicked off with Gov. Brad Little presenting his State of the State address to a joint session of the Idaho Legislature. Rep Rubel and I had the honor of escorting him into the chamber along with the majority leaders.
Gov. Little presented what he called the “Idaho First” plan and discussed his main priorities -- education funding and infrastructure investments. It was good to hear the Governor bringing forward Democratic priorities and even used many of our soundbites!
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EDUCATION:
- $8,500 scholarship (called the “Idaho Launch Scholarship”) to every Idaho student who chooses to attend an Idaho institution of higher learning.
- Make the “Empowering Parents Grant” program permanent.
- Boost teacher pay by an average of $6,300 – which he says would put Idaho in the top 10% of the 50 states in teacher pay.
TAX RELIEF: Spend $120 million on infrastructure investments that would otherwise be paid for with local taxes. I hope that we will see another bill to raise the homeowner's exemption and put the indexing mechanism back in place to there isn't an unfair burden on residential property owners.
SAFE COMMUNITIES: 10% pay raise for state law enforcement personnel. While I certainly support these pay increases, I think the Governor falls short by not providing additional and fair pay increases for all state employees. We have one of the worst records in keeping employees, especially in certain in-demand jobs and that impacts the services that we want and need as citizens. And, with the amount of revenues we are seeing due to growth, we should also be providing funds for victim services. Idaho is one of a handful of states that does NOT provide General Fund support to domestic and sexual violence programs.
The next step is for the legislature to consider all the elements of the governor’s plan, which includes appropriations (where a lot more detail will be revealed and discussed). There is deep concern that different factions will oppose the education investments in favor of a voucher program and with threats to change the voting rules for JFAC, there is a lot to be concerned about.
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Tone Set in Week One
What makes headlines the first week can be an indication of what more is to come...
The week started out positive with the Governor's priorities and budget recommendation and a program about how to safeguard our democracy, but things devolved:
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- House Speaker announces plans to change the voting thresholds in JFAC, but not any other committee
- Public announcement of a faction of legislators backed by Freedom Foundation, pursing a voucher program
- First bill introduced was an abortion bill to punish cities who don't prosecute abortion cases and now 2 more abortion bills for Monday.
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Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee Rules
The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) is the most powerful legislative committee. It writes the appropriation bills that fund state government, which is the only responsibility the legislature is constitutionally required to do. JFAC has 20 members – 10 Senators and 10 Representatives. Currently it takes a simple majority of 11 to pass an appropriations bill out of JFAC. However, majority party leadership is considering changing the rules which will empower only five committee members to kill an appropriations bill and prevent it from advancing to the House and Senate (click here for more). This runs the risk of dismantling the governor’s agenda he outlined in his State of the State address, especially in regard to increased funding for education.
Education
Last year there was a voucher bill (called the Hope and Opportunity Scholarship bill) that would have obligated the state to give approximately $1.2 BILLION of taxpayer dollars (at full participation) to parents which could be used to pay tuition for any for-profit religious or private school. It was narrowly defeated in the House Education committee by a 7-8 vote.
Now there is a universal voucher bill in the works would make all Idaho students eligible. This would require the state to give nearly $2 BILLION of taxpayer dollars (at full participation) to parents which could be used to pay tuition for any for-profit religious or private school. That will be the end of public education in Idaho – which is the publicly stated goal of organizations working with the legislators who are writing this bill.
You will hear proponents of vouchers trying to divert attention by claiming their goals are about choice for parents and students. However, Idaho already ranks #3 in the nation for school choice by the conservative Heritage Foundation offering a long menu of choices including 1) open enrollment in any public school, 2) dual credits, 3) home schooling, 4) over 80 public charter schools, 5) blending learning options, 6) internships, 7) apprenticeships, 8) empowering parent grants, 9) early release, and much more. I attended an educational session on Monday outlining the increased costs and burdens on the Indiana schools system when they enacted vouchers. No one wins. We violate our constitution and we end up needed more money in a state where we already have too many unmet financial needs with our public schools.
Abortion
You’d think that with the Idaho Supreme Court upholding the state’s near-complete ban on abortions that the majority party would declare victory and move on. Not so. There is now a bill in the works that would take money away from any Idaho city if they do not adhere to the majority party’s orthodoxy on this issue. This would increase local property taxes and fees to cover the withheld funds in order to deliver vital services people need and expect. There are also two bills on the agenda for Monday House State Affairs that are rumored to remove any exception for abortion if someone is raped or a victim of incest. Most of these types of bills will go through House and Senate State Affairs Committees, so go to the website the day before committee to see what is on the agenda.
Healthcare
There are indications that an effort might be made to roll back certain healthcare benefits that Idahoans currently have due to Medicaid Expansion – even as the state currently enjoys a $1.5 BILLION surplus. The Medicaid Expansion ballot initiative passed in 2018 because illness knows no partisanship. The legislature would be wise to consider the benefits this has provided, not just the increased costs commensurate with being one of the fastest growing state in the nation.
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Boise City hosted a reception to welcome legislators to town! We took a trip up the bell tower for a view of our beautiful city!
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Joined Mom's Demand Action volunteers in the Statehouse to discuss legislative process and then joined a tour that Rep Rubel was doing with Josh Hoston, firefighter, and his mom, Cynthia!
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Domestic Violence Programs Lack Funding
For years we have been asking the Governor and legislature to prioritize funding for victims in our state instead of relying on dwindling federal funds. Idaho is one of a handful of states that does NOT provide general fund support for domestic or sexual violence programs. Alaska, a state very similar to Idaho, provides $8M to support victims of violence. With a 1.5 billion surplus, we should be providing funding to support victims and victim services.
Along with community partners, I was interviewed and the report can be viewed by clicking here...
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Partisanship: the Gravest Challenge to Democracy
Legislators attended a presentation outlining how "spirit of party" or partisanship could be the greatest obstacle our experiment for self governance faces. The founders believed in a balance of powers and that balance could be achieved by creating space for a diversity of ideas to be discussed and argued through civil discourse.
Our form of government comes under threat when we put our "party" or faction above discourse and consideration to get to a more "common sense" solution. It also dawned on me, that when we are members of a majority group whether based on race, religion, sex, or party, it is easy to see how we may intentionally or unintentionally forget to consider a minority perspective. Therefore, it is important to maintain systems to include a breadth of ideas to get to the one(s) that appeal more commonly to our senses. We must also build in protections of human rights and dignity to prevent tyranny like slavery and Jim Crow that were "popular" early in our country's history but immoral.
The founders intended for intense debate to get to the common good. It is not enough to "go along to get along," but to maintain civility when debating our passions.
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Keith Allred is the Director for the National Institute for Civil Discourse.
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National Human Trafficking Awareness Month
Governor Little signed a proclamation on January 11th to confirm support for and declare January as National Human Trafficking Awareness month in Idaho.
“Now, therefore, I, Brad Little, Governor of the State of Idaho, do hereby proclaim January 2023 to be Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Idaho, emphasizing January 11th as Human Trafficking Awareness Day."
The Idaho Anti-Trafficking Coalition, InsideOut Cares, and other community members spent the day at the Idaho State Capitol advocating policymakers and legislators to make human trafficking a policy priority and strengthen laws that hold human traffickers accountable, protect victims, and prevent this crime.
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In the United States, traffickers compel victims to engage in commercial sex, labor acts, and service industries. Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to exploit and profit at the expense of victims. If a minor under the age of 18 is used to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of force, fraud, or coercion. Idaho isn't exempt from this crime and can be found in both legal and illicit industries across sectors including hospitality, agriculture, service industries, retail, construction, landscaping, restaurants, factories, care for persons with disabilities, salons, massage parlors, fairs and carnivals, peddling and begging, religious institutions, child care, and domestic work, drug smuggling and distribution, and drug smuggling and distribution. Victims of human trafficking are often penalized for crimes associated with their victimization.
Current data and statistics do not capture the nature or scope of this crime in Idaho. The Idaho Anti-Trafficking Coalition, Insideout Cares, and other key stakeholders are working in collaboration to develop and widely disseminate a standardized protocol for a centralized data and reporting system to properly identify victims of human trafficking without criminalizing them. Also, proposing statewide training for first responders and law enforcement is critical to the proper identification and protection of victims and implementing a structured protocol for investigating this crime, holding traffickers accountable and reducing demand.
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District 19 Town Hall Schedule
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Hear from your District 19 legislators Senator Melissa Wintrow, Representative Lauren Necochea, and Representative Chris Mathias, on how the 2023 legislative session is going. Please email idahod19democrats@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023 AT 6:00 PM MST
Hidden Springs Elementary, Cafeteria (5480 W Hidden Springs Dr, 83714)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 AT 6:00 PM MST
Virtual on Line
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2023 AT 6:00 PM MST
Idaho State Capitol, Lincoln Auditorium (700 W Jefferson St, 83702)
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Local news resources to stay updated on the legislature:
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