[Vision2020] Legislative Update 9 from Rep Trail

[ttrail at moscow.com]

LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER IX --FEBRUARY 18-22/2008
 
Constituents:
 
A touch of winter returned to Boise today with several inches of wet snow,
but then we need some more snow for the late snow pack.  Governor Otter
must be up and around.   I'll be going over to his office on Monday to
witness him sign SB1260  --  the dog fighting/felony penalty bill.   I've
been getting some comments about my resolution to normalize trade relations
with Cuba.   The Governor is supporting the resolution.   About 10 days
after it was approved for printing by House State Affairs, Fidel Castro
stepped down from power.  My legislative colleagues are suggesting there
must be some cause and effect  --  never underestimate the power of a
resolution.   Here are some more of this week’s happenings.
 
 1.  HB501  --  Address Protection for the Victims of Domestic Violence  --
 Rep. Shirley Ringo and I introduced the bill in House Jude and Rules.  The
bill aims at offering abuse victims protection by allowing them to keep
their addresses out of the public records. The bill would allow victims of
domestic violence, stalking, rape or malicious harassment to apply for a
program that keeps their addresses out of public records and instead lists
the addresses for the Secretary of State's Office.  Law enforcement
agencies would still have access to the addresses.    Professor Elizabeth
Brandt, University of Idaho Law Professor, provided key testimony.  Carl
Hulquist, Moscow Community Activist, spoke about the value of a similar
program in Washington State established in 1990 and now serves over 3,000
victims of domestic violence.   Fran Halstead of Kendrick reported that she
was on the run for over 20 years from an abusive husband.  He bound her
hands and feet, slashed her with a knife and burned her with a soldering
iron before she escaped.   After he went to jail he hired a contract killer
to murder Fran.  Fran moved about every year to escape from her persistent
husband who relentlessly pursued her.   She was out of contact with family
for years at a time.    The bill was passed out with a unanimous vote by
the Committee and will be up on the House floor for a vote probably next week.
 
 2.    State Economy  --  all signs continue to indicate Idaho slipping
into the recession mode.  Locally this is reflected with the Bennett
layoffs.   JFAC continues to cut back on budgets.   Salary increases for
state employees is now being set at 3% instead of the 5% originally
requested by the Governor, and there is still the question of medical
benefits which the Governor wishes to reduce.  The Governor has cut back on
many  of his requests, but is still holding out for funding the Idaho
Opportunity Act  Scholarship Program.
 
 3.    Transportation  --  It appears that Governor Otter may introduce
legislation to increase  the fuel tax by 4-5 cents/gallon or support an
initiative to increase vehicle registration  fees.   The increased funds
(if the legislation passed) would be use to help build up the highway
infrastructure.   Further borrowing on GARVEE bonds is also in the mill. 
There is considerable opposition by many legislators in an election year to
increase taxes.
 
 4.  Grocery Tax and Business Personal Property Tax  --  My feeling is that
we will definitely see some type of grocery tax relief by the end of the
session.   The amount and type still remain a mystery, but more proposals
are being rolled out for examination.  The business personal property tax
bill will be introduced within the next two weeks.  This would phase out
the tax over 7-8 years and the sponsors say that it will be  revenue
neutral and not impact municipalities or counties.   I want to see the
figures first.
 
 5.    ISTARS  --  The second version of Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Tom Luna,  merit pay plan was introduced Thursday in the
Senate Education Committee.  The  new version would provide a $1,200 annual
bonus per person for leadership.  A $1,200 annual bonus would be available
to hire/retain hard-to-fill positions utilizing these funds.  Up to $1,200
annual bonus per person could be awarded if the entire school demonstrates
growth and overall excellence in student performance.
   The original ISTARS plan called for a total of $65 million, and some
JFAC members felt the plan if fully implemented would cost over $100
million.  The budget for ISTARS has been scaled back to about $30 million,
and it seems to be going down every  day as the economy gets worse.

   There are some major problems with ISTARS-Lite.  Mr. Luna is only
recommending a 1% increase in the base for teachers and a $500/year
increase for new teachers.  It appears that some teachers and certificated
staff will not be eligible for any of the bonuses, and many complain that
bonuses can be given and taken away (perhaps on the whim of an administrator)
   The idea of evaluating teacher performance or their impact on student
scores as the only way of awarding bonuses is highly problematical.  It is
almost a one shoe fits all approach.  Dr. William Sanders stated that
basing quality teaching on one test score (and that test score may not even
have a high degree of validity/reliability) is absolutely wrong.  The test
score should only be of one of many different parameters used for teacher
evaluation.  Individual student growth will vary greatly between students
and may not accurately demonstrate the good teaching which may have
preceded the tests.  All students have different learning styles and
experts agree that a variety of means is the most effective way to measure
student learning.  Students who come from homes with poor socio-economic
background or homes with alcoholic or drug addicted parents will test very
differently than students from higher income levels.   Research also
indicates that parents/family are very  important factors affecting a
student's learning.   If merit pay is to be considered, than a broader
approach needs to be developed to more accurately measure the impact of a
teacher on student performance.
 
There were a number of other important legislative initiatives this week,
but I think that I've covered the major ones in this week’s report.   I'll
be glad to hear from you regarding comments and recommendations.   My e
mail is ttrail at house.idaho.gov and telephone is 332-1184.
 
Representative Tom Trail


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