[Vision2020] Legislative Overview

[Tom Trail]

Visionaires:   Next week is the date of the legislative organizational meetings
in Boise.  The leadership races in the Senate on the Republican side 
have already been decided.  It remains the same as last session.  The 
most important
race is that for the Speaker of the House.  Rep. Bill Deal and Rep. Lawrence
Denney are the two candidates running for the post.  The election will be held
next Wednesday evening.   Committee Chairmanship positions will be assigned
on Thursday the 7th as well as committee assignments.

A number of constituents have asked me to report on some of the legislative
issues that I will advocating this coming session.

  1.  Eliminating the Grocery Tax--Gov. Risch and Gov. Elect Otter have both
      stated they want to eliminate the tax on groceries.  Gov. Risch would
      phase out the tax over a period of six years.  The total cost runs about
      $186 million/year.  Gov. Risch plan would be to phase out about 
$30 million
      per year.   This will still leave a $30 million hole in the General
      Budget each year.  Gov. Elect Otter wants to expand the grocery tax
      credit.

      My proposal would eliminate the grocery tax.   The $186 million needed
      to replace the grocery tax would be generated from a 4.2% sales tax
      on services except health and medical.  The recent passage relief by     i
      increasing the sales tax by one cent.  Studies clearly demonstrate that
      this shift negatively impacted lower income citizens.  I've talked to
      several economists and they indicate that taxing services will on a
      prorated basis impact more heavily on middle and higher income brackets
      thus providing some relief for lower income citizens.

      This is another approach, and it will be the first time (if we get a
      hearing) that discussion will be held on the taxing of services.  At
      least we are headed in the right direction, and I hope that some action
      is taken to eliminate the tax on groceries.

  2.  Citizens Commission To Review All of the 75 Tax Exemptions Granted by
      the Legislature--Approximately 75 organizations and groups of 
organizations
      receive tax exemptions (which is a privilege granted by the state and
      not a right).  The total of these exemptions is about $1.6 billion/year.
      This is money that if not granted an exemption would flow into the Idaho
      General Fund.  Basically Idaho Taxpayers are subsidizing these groups
      for the perceived "good" of the State.

      The first exemption was granted in 1965.  To date no organized and
      systematic approach has been developed to review whether or not the
      exemptions are or are not benefiting the State.  My proposal will
      charge the Legislature to organize a citizens committee to evaluate and
      review all tax exemptions in cooperation with the Legislature, Governor's
      Office, DFM, Office of Performance Evaluation,and the Idaho State Tax
      Commission.   Each exemption would be reviewed every three or five years,
      and a report would be submitted to the Legislature.

  3.  Minimum Wage--the minimum wage in Idaho is now $5.15.  I will be 
supporting
      legislation to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.  This will be
      similar to other surrounding states.   The Federal Government last raised
      the minimum wage 10 years ago.  Over 24 states have raised the minimum
      wage since 1997 via legislative initiative or referendum.  Polls indicate
      that 77% of Idaho's citizens support increasing the minimum wage.

  4.  Scholarships--I've been working this past summer and fall with the State
      Board of Education in developing several scholarship proposals.

      a.  Needs Based Scholarships--Idaho ranks about 50th in the country
          in terms of needs based financial aid granted to students--about
          $17/student as compared to over $500/student in Washington State.
          There are serious concerns about providing access to students from
          low income families with the escalating cost of higher education.
          Students from the lowest income quartile are almost six times less
          likely to go on to higher education than students from middle and
          upper income families.

          The basic proposal which will be brought to the legislature calls
          for a partnership approach.  To qualify for need based aid a student
          would have to apply for a Pell Grant.   This automatically identifies
          the student at the federal level as one who qualifies for need based
          financial assistance.  The student would then apply for all
          scholarships that they would be eligible for.  Then the family would
          identify the financial resources they have available that could
          help the student--loans, grants, workstudy, etc.  Then the State
          would come in with assistance needed to enable the student to attend
          college.

          A total of $10 million will be asked for the State Board's budget.
          The first year of operation a pilot project would be set up, and then
          the program would be in full operation the second year.  The second
          year program would probably reach over 5,000 students.

          Excess funds would be placed in an endowment program managed by the
          Idaho Secretary of the Treasury.  We are also proposing that tax
          deductions or credits could be made available to encourage business,
          foundations, and individuals to contribute to the endowment fund.

          In reviewing the success of similar programs in Indiana, Oregon and
          Oklahoma, it is apparent that these types of scholarship programs
          have enabled thousands of students from low income families to gain
          access to college education.  In general, these students have a higher
          graduation rate than the general student population.  It is, indeed,
          an important investment in our human capital improving our workforce
          development.

      b.  Math, Science, and Special Education Scholarships and Loans--These
          are the areas of critical shortages of teachers in the K-12 public
          school system.   We will be proposing several types of scholarship
          programs which would  be available to Idaho students willing to major
          in one of these areas and then teach in Idaho.  Loans would also
          be made available.  A teacher who takes out a loan would get a 25%
          loan forgiveness for every year taught in Idaho.  Practicing teachers
          who want to get certified in one of these areas would also be
          eligible.


  5.      Increasing the number of School Days to 200--Frankly, this will be
          legislation for discussion purposes.  Currently most of our 
competitors
          in the world provide K-12  students 200 or more days of school each
          year.   These include Canada, Ireland, China, Japan, Singapore, and
          many other countries.  One of the problems that we face is that with
]        a long summer vacation many students have to relearn fact, concept,
          etc. in reading, math, science, etc. when they return in the fall.
          Research clearly shows that by providing more days of school that
          students not only retain and perform at a higher level when returning
          to school in the fall, but perform at a higher level in taking
          required tests.   Again, to be realistic, Idaho probably could not
          afford to fund 200 days of school, but I think it is important to
          discuss the topic.

  6.      Dog Fighting Felony--This is a bill that several of us have carried
          for two years.   The legislation would make anyone organized in
          dog fighting activities eligible for a felony conviction.  Idaho
          is only one of two states which does not call for a felony on the
          first conviction.  I've received over 10,000 letters in support
          of this legislation.  I'll be working with Rep. Donna Pence and Rep.
          Marge Chadderdon on this legislation.

  7.      Milk--Idaho's Official Drink--we  have a 5th grade class who is
          interested in this legislation.  Idaho does not have an official
          drink, and the class would like to propose Milk as Idaho's official
          drink.  This has the support of the Idaho Dairyman's Association.

  8.      Credit Freeze--This is a Victim ID Theft Bill--17 states have
          laws requiring that once a financial institutional suspects that
          a customer's personal data has violated then they contact the
          customer.   The individual can then put a freeze on his/her credit.
          This sounds logical; however, financial institutions are generally
          opposed.

          I have several other bills in the wings, but this gives one an idea
          of some of the major and minor issues that I will be working on with
          other legislators.  Constituent input has been very valuable in
          the development of these legislative proposals.

          I'd appreciate your comments and suggestions.  My e mail is
          ttrail at moscow.com

Rep. Tom Trail




-- 
Dr. Tom Trail
International Trails
1375 Mt. View Rd.
Moscow, Id. 83843
Tel:  (208) 882-6077
Fax:  (208) 882-0896
e mail ttrail at moscow.com