[Vision2020] Legislative Newsleter 11 March 26-April 1, 2011

[Rep. Tom Trail]

LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER 11 MARCH 26-April 1,
2011
 
 Constituents:
 
      We are in the final process of
winding up the Idaho Legislative session; 
however, no one really knows the date and time when we will finally
Sine Die.    In the House, Democrats
are forcing the reading of lengthy bills which takes up a great deal of
time.  The Democrats want to force a hearing on
a bill that would raise about $50 million via an increase in the tobacco
tax.  So far both sides are playing hardball
forcing the session to last longer at a cost of $30,000/day. 
 

 Now to some of the highlights of the weeks.
 
 1. SB1184  —  This is the third bill of SPI Luna’s Grand
Educational Reform Legislation.   The Luna priorities such as Classroom technology,
laptops, and pay for performance bonuses with money from the existing pool
for teacher  salaries are at the heart of the
legislation.  Major complaints substantiated by
key stakeholders clearly indicate that the bills were developed in secret
by a small group of leaders without consulting those stakeholders at the
local level including parents, teachers, administrators, and other local
citizens.
 
      In a
four hour debate on 1184 this week in the House Education Committee, Rep.
Steven Hartgen (R) from Twin Falls said, 
“It is clear that mobile devices and technology will replace
25 percent of Idaho public school teachers in a few years.”   Several other committee members nodded in
agreement.  Initial job losses according the
Mr. Luna’s own calculations were about 700 teachers; however, if
Rep. Hartgen is correct then it would be possible for over 3,000 teachers
to lose their jobs due to this legislation. Mr. Luna has cleverly taken
himself off the hook, and if the legislation passes he will point at the
local school districts and say, “it was a local decision.”
 
      Governor
Otter’s tax credit bill which would give employers an incentive for
hiring new people may well be needed especially if the 3,000 unemployed
teachers and over 1,000 health providers (who would lose their jobs with
the passage of HB260) would be seeking unemployment benefits, food stamps,
and other services. It is apparent that the unforeseen consequences of the
reform package are already emerging.  Evidence
from a number of districts is that the very best teachers are looking for
jobs out-of-state.  The incentives for new
teachers to look for employment in Idaho in the profession look
dismal.    Idaho’s unemployment
rate is at 9.7 percent and if the economy doesn’t pick up, such
educational policies will simply contribute an increase.
 

SB1184 passed out of Committee on a 12-6 vote.
 
 2.    Budget—Cuts for Idaho Schools
aren’t as deep as feared.  Idaho will
spend more general fund dollars on Public schools next year.  The total budget is $1.56 billion down $47 million
from last year.  Districts will still have
access to the majority of Idaho’s $51.6 million in federal education
job funds.   Originally legislators had
projected a cut of $62 million but added four tax collectors to raise more
dollars ($15 million)for Public education.  A
total of $269 million comes from Federal sources for a variety of
programs.  With all of the cuts it is projected
that Idaho will come up with a balanced budget without raising taxes.
 
 3.   Higher Education —
Higher education is being cut back about five percent.  Over the past four years universities have lost
over 20 percent of their funding.  Enrollments
are dramatically increasing.  Students find
higher education much more expensive with higher tuition costs and piling
up larger debt via student loans.  Universities
are losing their top faculty and researchers to other states, and
outstanding research programs are being eliminated. 
It is ironic to see what one of our major global competitors is
doing.  According to the Economist, China now
ranks number 2 in the world in terms of research just behind the U.S.
 The major reason for China’s research
progress is its heavy investment in higher education and research in
contrast with our reduced investment in higher education in the U.S. and
Idaho.
 
 4.  Medicaid — a new
report conducted by Idaho legislative auditors concluded that neither
Idaho Health and Welfare nor Medicaid providers were prepared for a switch
to a new Medicaid claims processing system last June.   The Department of Health and Welfare is
trying to recover $60 million in interim payments Idaho made to Medicaid
providers last year to keep them in business. 
An estimated $2 million may never be recovered because some
providers have closed their doors.
 
      Before I close, I encourage you
to read the short article in the link below on BlueBerries and
Education.
 
 http://www.jamievollmer.com/blueberries.html
 
 Well, that is all for this week.  Please send me your comments and
recommendations.   My e mail is
ttrail at house.idaho.gov and phone 208-332-1184.
 
 Rep. Tom
Trail
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