[Vision2020] Post Legislative Newsletter

[Rep. Tom Trail]

 POST LEGISLATIVE
NEWSLETTER
Constituents:
     Well, the smoke
has cleared from the Idaho Legislative Session, and I am back reporting to
various constituent groups.  I
picked up the mail on the 31st of March.  The first letter I opened was an
invitation join the Ku Klux Klan. 
We have been trying to fight what the Klan and the Aryan Nation
stand for in Idaho for years. 
One of the candidates for sheriff in Boundary County boldly
proclaims his membership in the Klan and the Aryan Nation as well.  A number of candidates for sheriff
representing a Constitutional Party approach say that if elected that they
will enforce the Constitution. 
This basically means that they will enforce the Constitution
according to their interpretation. 
I reported the Ku Klux Klan letter to the Idaho State Attorney
General, and he asked that I notify him if anyone else had received the
letter.  One other
representative has received the letter.  I'll keep you posted as we move
ahead with the campaign.
     There was
certainly less stress in the Legislature this year.  We had additional money and we
didn't have to make any deep cuts as in the past four years.  The Governor got his $35 million
tax cut which means that a family with an income of $100,000 and four
children will get a Idaho tax refund of $71--just enough for a pizza
party.  I voted against the tax
cut because I felt the money would have been better invested in our
educational infrastructure to improve our workforce.  About $35 million went into the
state's rainy day fund, and $35 million for teacher salaries.  It appears that the Idaho economy
is slowly moving out of the long and stagnant recession.  We will be looking closely at the
monthly tax returns as they come in, and the revenue over projections will
be directed to the various rainy day funds.  Idaho also finished up with a
balanced budget which is in stark contrast to some of our neighboring
states.
     Public education
received about a 4.5 percent increase. Teachers received about a four
percent increase and will also qualify for bonus's under SPI Luna's merit
plan. State employees will get a two percent salary increase which will be
across the board.    PERSI retirees received a one percent cost
of living increase on March 1st, and fortunately, no one tried to
introduce legislation to change the PERSI program which is one of the best
programs of its kind in the country.    The PERSI portfolio is
close to $12 billion and a very impressive rate of return.   Higher
Education received a 8.4 percent increase, but one has to remember that
Higher Education has been cut about 24 percent the past four
years.
     One victory of
note was the passage of SB1303 which institutes a felony penalty on the
third offense for animal cruelty.  Those who are involved in cock
fighting, engaged in gambling, fighting, money laundering, and other
criminal activities, are eligible for a felony penalty on the first
occurrence.  I've been working
on this legislation for over ten years.  The Governor's much touted health
insurance exchange disappeared in a cloud of dust early in the
session.  There was great
support for it from Idaho businesses, health care providers and hospitals,
but the majority of legislators decided that we should wait to see what
happens when the Supreme Court makes its ruling on ObamaCare in late
June.  There seemed to be
bipartisan support for ethics reform early in the session, but this
disappeared in a hurry. Idaho ranks 40th in the nation in terms of the
lack of solid ethics laws and procedures for elected officials.  It's interesting to note that since
1970 in the State of Illinois over 3,500 elected officials have been
convicted on felony charges involving corruption, bribery, etc.  Four Illinois governors have or will
be serving time in state prison--this has at least been a bipartisan
endeavor.
     The face of the
2013 Legislature will be very different.  About 26 members of the House and 9
Senators either retired or will run for a different office.  In the House there will be a great
loss of institutional members. 
Six committee chairmen with an average of 14 years of experience
each decided to retire.  Many
retired because of what they described as a toxic working environment if
you didn't march to the drum of leadership.  So one can report that we may have
not accomplished great things but we didn't do as much damage as we might
have.  Mark Twain put it best,
"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe when the Legislature is
in session."  I can detect
a collective sigh of relief once the final blow of the gavel and Sine Die
is declared.
     I'm in the report
back mode now and also preparing to campaign for the position of Latah
County Commissioner.  You can
contact me at 

thomasftrail at gmail.com
 Rep. Tom
Trail
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