<div>Tom,</div> <div> </div> <div>Thanks for the update. Three points;</div> <div> </div> <div>1) What are you doing to try and fix the LHS problem?</div> <div> </div> <div>2) I think the plan by Rep. Jim Clark is the best regarding groceries. An increase in the tax credit doesn't help most the poor because it provides a reemurstment for money they don't have to began with--they need the money when they are hungry, not all at once months down the road. Second, many poor people don't/cannot file taxes. </div> <div> </div> <div>3) I agree with the Governor on the Capitol building. That was a waste of taxpayer monies. </div> <div> </div> <div>Thanks,</div> <div> </div> <div>Donovan J Arnold<BR><BR><B><I>ttrail@moscow.com</I></B> wrote:</div> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER V -- JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 2, 2007<BR><BR>Constituents:<BR><BR>Boise
continues to be in a deep freeze. Temperatures have been at <BR>least 10 degrees below normal during January and there has been no<BR>additional snow in the mountains. We are finally getting some traction in<BR>the legislative process. The word is that we should be out of Dodge by<BR>March 23rd. JFAC will set the final budgets on March 9th. There may be a<BR>few fights looming between the Legislature and the Governor. The<BR>restoration of the Capitol and the building of two underground wings may be<BR>the battleground. The Legislature worked for five years to come up with a<BR>plan to build two underground wings and to restore the Capitol. The<BR>legislation passed this last session and was funded by taxing smokers.<BR>The Capitol Commission took charge and the bonding has already been<BR>approved. The Governor got into the act and said we didn't need the two<BR>wings but could restore the old Ada County Courthouse. A compromise was<BR>recently reached to build only one
story of the two new wings; however,<BR>there is a lot of resentment in the Legislature, and since we have to vote<BR>to approve any compromise, there is a good chance we may turn it down.<BR>That and other issues could lead to a longer session. Here are other items<BR>of interest.<BR><BR>1. Minimum Wage -- two versions of minimum wage bills will be up for a<BR>print hearing this coming week. One version would simply support whatever<BR>minimum wage legislation is passed at the national level. The current<BR>bills would move the minimum wage up to $7.25/hr over a two year level. <BR>Senator Schroeder, Representative Ringo, and I are supporting another<BR>version which calls for $7.25/hr with a CPI (Consumer Price Index)<BR>included. This would automatically adjust for inflation. At least 14<BR>states already have this in place as law.<BR><BR>2. Reducing the Grocery Tax -- there are several versions being proposed.<BR>a) Gov. Otter -- His plan increases the state's grocery
tax credit from<BR>the current $20/year to $90 and limits the availability of that credit<BR>based on income.<BR>b) Representative Bayer's proposal would increase the grocery tax credit<BR>from $20 to $50 for individuals under 65 yrs of age and to $70 for seniors.<BR>c) Representative Jaquet's proposal would remove 50% of the sales tax<BR>on food. This would impact the state budget by $90 million.<BR>d) Representative. Jim Clark and others propose eliminating the tax on<BR>food over a four year period. There will be a great amount of discussion<BR>and debate on the subject.<BR><BR>3. Public School Budget -- Superintendent Luna presented the public<BR>school budget to the House Education Committee this week. The budget<BR>received a generally good reading by the Committee. The most troublesome<BR>part of the budget is teacher and staff compensation. Mr.. Luna is<BR>prosposing a 3% increase over the base with the state picking up medical<BR>insurance increases. The Governor
proposed a 5% merit increase with<BR>employees picking up a greater share of the insurance costs. The rate of<BR>inflation this past year was 3.8% so it appears that teachers and staff<BR>will not be making any major salary gains. There were some good proposals:<BR><BR>a. Classroom Supplies -- Supt. Luna recommends that the Legislature<BR>$5.1 million to pay for textbooks. This would be about $350/teacher.<BR>b. Textbook Allowance -- there is a common complaint about outdated<BR>and worn textbooks. The recommendation is to fund $10 million to buy new<BR>textbooks. This will be about $50/student.<BR>c. Remediation--currently technology and remediation funds are tied<BR>together causing districts to choose between the two items. About $9.5<BR>million will be budgeted for technology and an additional $6 million<BR>targeted to the roughly 20,000 students who fail the ISAT.<BR>d. Dual Credit Class Enrollment--increasingly, states are offering<BR>more opportunities for high
school students to begin their college<BR>education whill stilll enrolled in at the secondary level. Access to these<BR>dual enrollment credit classes can be limited by student or parental<BR>ability to pay for these classes. $3.5 million is budgeted.<BR><BR>4. Human Rights/Dogfighting Felony/Legalization of Industrial Hemp <BR>-- My resolution on Human Rights was passed unanimiously by the State<BR>Affairs Committee. The Dogfighting/Felony bill was held in committee. <BR>Conservative committee members want to see some "hard" evidence that<BR>organized dog fighting is a problem in the state. Industrial hemp will<BR>now be grown this year in N. Dakota under the watchful eyes of DEA. <BR>Committee members want to see how this experiment works out before moving<BR>forward with any more legislation.<BR><BR>5. Extending the School Year -- All of the states generally offer<BR>about 180 days of school. This time has been encroached upon by<BR>increasing demands by both state and
federal mandates. Increased testing<BR>has taken away from class contact time. Teachers would also like to spend<BR>more time with parents and also confering with other teachers about how to<BR>assist individual students. There is an increasing clamor that we need to<BR>prepare our students more effectively to compete with their counterparts as<BR>we move forward toward globalization. Canada, Ireland, the European<BR>countries, Japan, Singapore, and other countries generally have 42-44 weeks<BR>of school time as contrasted to our 36 weeks. Some research indicates that<BR>providing for more school time improves academic performance. In reality,<BR>the secret is how one organizes that extra time. The bill has generated a<BR>lot of interest, and it will be up for a hearing next week. The price tag<BR>of $133 million is enough to stop the bill from going further, but it will<BR>be worth it to bring up some of these important issues to debate.<BR><BR>I'd appreciate your
comments. <BR><BR>My e mail is ttrail@house.idaho.gov and phone 208-332-1260<BR><BR>Representative Tom Trail<BR><BR><BR>---------------------------------------------<BR>This message was sent by First Step Internet.<BR>http://www.fsr.com/<BR><BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net <BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p> 
<hr size=1>Need a quick answer? Get one in minutes from people who know. Ask your question on
<a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTFvbGNhMGE3BF9TAzM5NjU0NTEwOARfcwMzOTY1NDUxMDMEc2VjA21haWxfdGFnbGluZQRzbGsDbWFpbF90YWcx">Yahoo! Answers</a>.