[Vision2020] Can't get no respect

[Mark Solomon]

Even being chair of the committee doesn't seem to be enough to get 
his bills printed for hearing. Talk about being dissed...

Mark

*****
Hemp, dogfights don't interest lawmakers

By DEAN A. FERGUSON
of the Tribune

BOISE -- Hemp and dogfights don't stir much passion in the hearts of 
House Agricultural Committee members.

But at least the House State Affairs Committee let one of Rep. Tom 
Trail's bills -- an affirmation of Idaho's support for human rights 
-- see the light of day.

Trail, R-Moscow, went one for three Tuesday when it came to introducing bills.

He had a good start in the morning in state affairs when he spoke of 
the smear left on Idaho's image by the Aryan Nations, a white 
supremacist group formerly headquartered in Hayden Lake.

"We as a state have to stand up and reaffirm our commitment to human 
rights," Trail said.

A friend's daughter was rebuffed by a black student at a Wisconsin 
university when picking dormitory roommates, Trail said.

The black student said, "'I will not have anything to do with a 
student from Idaho because the Aryan Nations permeates the state with 
their beliefs,' " Trail reported.

His bill would say, "citizens of Idaho have endured an unwarranted, 
unfavorable barrage of publicity related to certain opinions held by 
a small minority of persons who claim Idaho as their home, but whose 
opinions we strongly denounce ..."

Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, expressed skepticism about the 
value of such a proclamation.

"Coming from a part of the state where we have many of these issues 
... you're not going to overcome ignorance of outside perception by a 
resolution," Anderson said. "But I think the intent of this 
resolution is good."

The committee sent the bill, without further debate, to the House 
floor for consideration.

As the day wore on, the welcome for Trail's bills wore out.

The House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Trail, killed two bills 
without giving them a hearing.

One resolution called for legalization of industrial hemp farming.

Trail told his peers North Dakota has leaped ahead this year by 
pioneering a licensing program through the federal Drug Enforcement 
Agency. He also appealed to Mormon colleagues by invoking the name of 
an early church patriarch.

"It received the blessing of Brigham Young in 1847, who told Mormon 
farmers to go out and plant industrial hemp and flax," Trail said.

The committee decided to wait.

"Why would we not wait and see how North Dakota comes out?" said Rep. 
Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell.

At least one legislator wanted nothing to do with a crop that has 
been championed by countercultural marijuana smokers.

"I don't want my name attached to it," said Rep. Dennis Lake, 
R-Blackfoot, a rancher.

The committee voted to kill the bill.

Trail's second attempt in as many years to make dogfighting a felony 
also failed.

Last year, lawmakers were unconvinced dogfighting even happened in the state.

"We have somebody coming in to testify they have seen a live 
dogfight," Trail said.

Lake argued the current misdemeanor penalty lets judges put someone 
in jail for six months with a $5,000 fine anyway.

"The only difference is whether you call them a felon or not," Lake said.

Trail, who received more than 10,000 letters in support of the 
legislation, argued law enforcement agencies want the felony 
distinction to allow for criminal pursuit over state lines. Wyoming 
is the only other state where dogfighting is not a felony.

Other committee members suggested the bill should go through the 
House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.

"I raised the question before," Trail said. "The counsel I had was 
that since it involved dogs, it would be appropriate to run it 
through the ag affairs committee."

The chairman of the judiciary committee, Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden 
Lake, happened to be standing in the doorway watching the 
proceedings. "You're a good dog committee," he said.

The committee voted to deny introduction of the bill.

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