[Vision2020] Legislative Update VII from Rep. Trail

[ttrail at moscow.com]

Dear Visionaries

This week attention focused on the Snake River Basin Adjudication 
legislation.  But there were other noteworthy events as well.

1.  Snake River Basin Adjudication  --  The Nez Perce Tribe, state of 
Idaho and federal government have agreed to swap water, land and money to 
settle the tribe's treaty based water claims in the Snake River Basin.  
The tribe has agreed to give up its claims to water rights in the basin.  
In exchange, Idaho and federal government would annually provide up to 
487,000 acre feet of Snake River water for augmentation.

     Idaho would set minimum flows in the Salmon and Clearwater basins 
and also implement forest practices on its land that protect water 
quality and fish habitat.  The tribe would receive more than $90 million 
for fish habitat restoration, tribal sewer and water systems 
construction.  The tribe would take over management of the Kooskia 
National Fish Hatchery and co-manage Dworshak National Fish Hatchery.  It 
would receive water rights for its reservation and water rights for some 
federal land near its reservation.  The tribe would gain a role in 
managing water releases from Dworshak Reservoir.

     More than 200 people testified at two days of hearing this week.
  The House Resource Committee will be voting on the three bills for the 
SRBA early next week.

2.  Budget  --  The good news is that tax receipts exceeded the 
Governor's projections by about $12 million in January.  However, the 
fiscal picture for the ‘07 budget year looks exceedingly bleak and I 
predict that next year there will be a long session with the possibility 
of a tax increase being discussed in order to balance the budget.

     Sen. Dean Cameron, JFAC Co-Chair, wants to take $45 million from 
this year's budget and move to next year as a reserve fund.  If this move 
is approved it will hit the K-12 and Higher Education budgets.

3.  Ada County Courthouse  --  Idaho owns the 1939 building, and the 
Legislature needs more meeting rooms and offices.  Lawmakers will be 
deciding whether to renovate and expand the building or to raze it.  
We've done a great job in the past in restoring the Old Moscow Post 
Office and the 1912 Building.  I support the restoration of this unique 
and historical building.

4.  Senate Ethics Investigation  --  There hasn't been an ethics 
investigation of an Idaho legislator since 1990, but Sen. Jack Noble of 
Kuna has given us a chance to see how the process works.  The senator 
owns a convenience store and asked a Senate Committee to approve 
legislation defining what state law means when it prohibits liquor sales 
within 300 feet of a school.  If Noble's bill became law, his and his 
wife's store would have been able to apply for a state contract to sell 
liquor by the bottle.

     Noble averted directly asking Senate committee members questions 
about why he had brought the bill to the committee.  He then even blamed 
his wife for part of the problem.  A reporter also found out that the 
store has been up for sale for over 16 months.  A liquor license would 
greatly add value to the store.

     Along the way the senator blamed the reporter, Dan Popkey, when the 
story broke for the situation.  Late this week, Sen. Noble apologized to 
the Senate.  We'll now see what the Senate Ethics will do.

5.  Newspapers  --  the weeklies vs the dailies  --  Lu Jane Nisse of the 
Latah Eagle asked me to carry a bill for her.  Under Idaho law, the 
newspaper with the greatest circulation in the county is the only 
newspaper than can run legal notices.  It is then known as the paper of 
record.   Idaho is the only state in the U.S. to have a law of this type.

     This puts the Eagle at a disadvantage because it has more 
circulation in many of the small rural towns than the Daily News but 
under our current law the small towns have to use the Daily News.  We 
proposed to change the statute so that the paper with the greatest 
circulation within a governmental entity could be selected as the paper 
of record.  This would allow the mayor and city council to make that 
decision.  It would level the playing field and provide small rural 
newspapers with greater circulation in the small rural towns to compete 
with the big dailies.

     I began the process of introducing the legislation with a one page 
RS and discovered that the Big Papers were going to completely revise the 
statutes relating to newspapers with a 70 page bill.  We were told by the 
Chairman of State Affairs to get together and work out a compromise.  We 
couldn't agree so Rep. Deal, Chair of State Affairs is currently studying 
the situation over the weekend.

6. SB133 proposes that the maximum speed limit on state highways be 
raised to 75 mph from 65 mph and to eliminate a 65 mph limit for semi 
tractor trailer drivers.  I don't support this legislation because I feel 
that the chances for accidents would increase.

I'd appreciate your comments and questions.  My e mail is 
ttrail at house.state.id.us   My desk phone is 332-1260.

Rep. Tom Trail



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