[Vision2020] Legislative Newsletter VI - February 15, 2012

[Rep. Tom Trail]

Constituents—we  are in that smoggy time in the
legislative session between Groundhog’s  Day and April Fool’s
Day. We will survive as other Idaho Legislative  sessions have.  Legislators serving in this session
can learn from the experiences of those who have served before.  For  example, in 1897, a member from
Custer County “offered an amendment to  the Lord’s prayer so
that it would thereafter read “O Lord, deliver us  from the Idaho
Legislature.”  And all of
the people shouted, “Amen!!”
 
In 1897, a man named Higgs bought 44 bottles from the Capitol
janitor.  “None of them
will hold over a pint, and most of them not more than half that amount.
 They are relics of the last
Legislature.”  Authorities called the bottles
“these receptacles of the inspiration of eloquence.”  Two  years later, in March 1899,
“Sixty-eight whiskey flasks were found in  the nooks and corners
around the Capitol buildings following the  adjournment of the
Legislature.”  Obviously,
the legislators were well liquefied.
 
As  late as 1895, under a headline “Third House
Nonsense,” the paper  reported that along with other absurdities,
the pranksters had proposed a  bounty on mosquito scalps, moving the state
agricultural college to Ola  and annexing Nampa to the state of Missouri.
 In  1897, when the Oregon
Short Line railroad offered free transportation  to legislators and their
friends and families for an excursion to Salt  Lake City, there was
standing room only in four fully loaded passenger  cars.  The Statesman took obvious  delight
in reporting, “As the train left the depot a bystander called  out
‘now we’re safe for three days.’”  That  is very close to Mark
Twain’s observation that “No man’s life, liberty,  or
property is safe when the Legislature in in session.”  An  1899 session of the Third House
enacted a number of laws, including one  “to regulate the amount of
work to be performed by a man whose wife  takes in washing for a living.
 It was referred to the
committee on cruelty to animals.” And now on to current legislative
news.
 
SB1303—Cruelty to Animals bill  was passed out of the Senate Agriculture
Committee.   This legislation  calls for a felony penalty on the
third conviction within a 15 year  period.  Normal agricultural practices are
excluded from the bill.  There
is also an initiative concerning cruelty to animals in the process.  Supporters are gathering signatures
to put it on the ballot.  The
initiative more specifically defines the term “torture” unlike
the Senate bill.  At least it
looks like we are making progress in this area.
 
In-State Tuition for U.S. Military  -  The  Idaho Senate voted 35-0 to
approve the measure, which allows members of  the U.S. armed forces to
meet residency requirements and pay in-state  tuition at Idaho’s
universities and colleges immediately upon their  return home.  Under current law these soldiers
would have to live in Idaho for at least a year before they could pay
in-state tuition.  The
difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition may mean thousands of
dollars each year.  Lawmakers
have previously moved to allow out-of-state members of the Idaho National
Guard to pay in-state tuition.
 
Tweaking the ‘Student Come first’
laws—legislation introduced in the Idaho House would broaden the
pool of teachers competing for leadership bonuses.  A  statewide pay-for-performance
plan approved last year rewards teachers  who raise student achievement
and take on hard-to-fill positions or  leadership roles.  But as the law  is currently
written, teachers with fewer than three years of experience  would not be
eligible to boost their pay under the leadership piece of  the plan.  If passed the legislation would
allow new educators to compete for the leadership bonuses.
 
Efforts to reduce drug trafficking by Idaho State
Police  -  The Idaho State Police have made
strong efforts to lessen drug trafficking throughout our state.  ISP patrols over 60,000 miles of
highway.  In 2011, they issued
over 78,000 citations.  This
vigilance played an important role in the reduction of traffic fatalities
to 168 last year.  Five years
ago, there were 270 fatal accidents in Idaho, but these mishaps have been
steadily declining.  One source
reported that Idaho now “leads the nation in fatality
reductions.”
 
Collection of On-Line Taxes-over  the past few years, attempts to develop a system to
collect tax that is  due on internet sales has not emerged out of the
House Revenue and Tax  Committee.  The Idaho Constitution requires that
all revenue bills originate in the House.  Failing  to collect the internet
sales tax cheats the treasury out of tens of  millions of dollars each
year and causes Idaho businesses to operate at a  disadvantage to out-of
state online retailers.  This 
year there appears to be increased support for an initiative to make 
Idaho part of a cooperative of states that would collect the tax.  It appears the Governor may even be
on board.
 
That’s all for this week.  Please send your comments to me.
 My e mail is ttrail at house.idaho.gov or thomasftrail at gmail.com  My office telephone is
208-332-1184.
 
Rep. Tom Trail
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20120215/31b76680/attachment-0001.html>