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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Take a look at the cartoon, too. It's
germaine to our discussion here. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sue Hovey</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=rsherman@uvidaho.org href="mailto:rsherman@uvidaho.org">Roger Sherman</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=uv-eye-opener@lists.onenw.org
href="mailto:uv-eye-opener@lists.onenw.org">uv-eye-opener@lists.onenw.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, March 02, 2007 3:14 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [Uv-Eye-Opener] The UV-Eye-opener Legislative Review
#8</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=3>Yup, just pass it on...<BR><BR>
<DIV align=center><IMG height=67 alt=[]
src="cid:006c01c75dff$ed5bab80$deffa242@sueh" width=106> <BR></FONT><FONT
size=6>UV-Eye-Opener<BR></FONT><FONT size=4><B>March 2, 2007<BR><A
href="http://www.uvidaho.org"
eudora="autourl">www.uvidaho.org<BR></A></FONT></DIV><FONT
size=3>___________________________________________________________________________________________________________<BR>Check
out The Ledge by Mike Flinn for a satirical look at the Idaho Legislature.
</B><A
href="http://mflinn.com/cartoonup/mupload/03022007-1828_Ledge4.jpg"><U>http://mflinn.com/cartoonup/mupload/03022007-1828_Ledge4.jpg</A><BR></U><B> <BR>By
9:20 Monday morning Representative Jim Clark had declared “I need to start
drinking in the morning.” </B>That gave a pretty good indication of what
kind of week was coming. Before the week was out the Legislature would
complete budget setting, pass a major tax cut for business through the House, be
deemed the state with the worst day care standards and pass no improvements,
bring forward and pass anti-immigrant bills and kill one that would actually
help some folks, take up more anti-choice legislation and try to capture the
electoral nomination process for the right wing of the Republican process.
Drink up. <BR> <BR><B>Over the years nothing seems to stir up those
yearnings for the good old days</B> like a bill dealing with daycare
standards. On Wednesday, the House Health and Welfare Committee killed
legislation that would have required minimum safety standards and background
checks for Idaho child care centers. It happens every year. Male
legislators bemoan the fact that mothers work outside the home­unless of
course that Mom is on welfare, in which case they <I>have</I> to work for no
pay. “What can we do to keep Mom at home,” asked Representative Tom
Loertscher who opined that “there is no substitute for families taking care of
children.” After the bill was defeated 6-5, the bill’s sponsor, George Sayler,
lambasted the committee in a statement sent to the press. “Putting
children at risk because of lawmakers’ personal philosophies is wrong,” he
said. It was fitting timing when a report issued on Thursday found that
Idaho has the worst day care standards in the country. <BR><BR></FONT>
<H1><B>So I am still not sure what “public benefits” are covered </B>even after
hearing the debate on Senator John McGee’s attempt to disallow such benefits
from undocumented immigrants. Clearly Medicaid, Food Stamps and cash
assistance are public benefits, but it was just as clear that most non-citizens
and all undocumented immigrants are ineligible for those. In fact the Department
of Health and Welfare is required to verify citizenship based on federal rules
more stringent than McGee’s bill, HB1157. This bill calls all licenses
public benefits and would require proof of citizenship before those could be
received. McGee was pelted with questions, mostly from Republicans Brad
Little and Joe Stegner, that he was unable to answer. At one point he
suggested that a law was necessary “to tighten the noose” around illegal
immigration. The Senate State Affairs Committee sent the bill to the
Senate’s amending order where some observers speculated it could die. I am
not so sure. <B></B></H1><FONT size=3> <BR><B>Not so far from the State
Capitol sits the headquarters of the state’s retirement system, </B>PERSI.
On a snowy, cold Tuesday morning this week protestors picketed the office and
filled the chamber for the PERSI board’s monthly meeting to demand that the
board divest over $50 million in assets it has in any company enabling genocide
in Darfur, Sudan. As I reported earlier, the Legislature refused to even
print a bill calling for divestment, so the issue has moved to the PERSI
board. After an impassioned plea from Mark VanSkiver, a retired
superintendent and PERSI member, and other retirees, and a week’s worth of
hundreds of calls and e-mails, the board passed a resolution opening the door to
divestment. Lots more public pressure will be needed before Idaho joins
with other states and public institutions to stop the killing in Darfur.
<BR> <BR><B>When the House Ways and Means Committee starts meeting, watch
out. </B>Ways and Means is only called when the majority party leadership
needs to push bills out in a hurry. Abortion bills, water bills, bills to
screw with the tribes are always good topics. This week it was 2 out of
3. One continues to challenge tribal sovereignty by attempting to take the
taxes paid to tribes for gasoline on their reservations. This bill has a
kinder, gentler deadline of December 1 rather than July 1 to accommodate the
negotiations between the tribes and the Governor. They also printed a bill
from Representative Janice McGeachin that would require that women seeking
abortions be shown ultrasound images of their unborn fetuses if such images are
taken in conjunction with the abortion procedure. Both bills passed along
party lines with Republican leadership voting yes and Democratic leadership
voting no. The Republican chair broke the ties. <BR><BR><B>The
symbolism could not be more clear. </B>What is the goal of a bill brought
forward by Idaho Falls Senator Mel Richardson to declare English as the Official
Language of the state? He mostly says it won’t do anything. There
are exceptions that supposedly protect anything practical. But then
there’s the message. Former State Legislator Roger Gurnsey came from
Payette to support the Senator’s bill. He said his current hero was the
bar owner in Payette whose window says “This is America/Speak English”.
Then there was Senator Jorgensen’s insulting attack on IEA president, Sherry
Wood, by blabbing at her in German. I think Senator Joe Stegner got it
right. “I don’t think this accomplishes anything…It imposes the will of an
overzealous majority on an unprotected minority.” He voted no with
Senators Malepeai and Stennett and it passed 6 to 3. <BR><BR><B>And then when
you’re about ready to lose faith altogether they go and do something right.
</B>HB112, dubbed the “Liar’s Bill” by the Idaho Community Action Network, was
defeated on the House floor Friday afternoon by a vote of 40 to 30. This
is the bill I told you about last week that would have allowed insurance
companies advertising in any language other than English to say something
different in the advertising than exists in the policy itself. In
the committee stacked with insurance agents it seemed like a done deal.
Apparently not so. <BR> <BR><B>“To IACI, Greed is Good” read the headline
to Wednesday’s editorial </B>in the Idaho Falls Post-Register, referring to
their push to eliminate the personal property tax, which, at a cost of at least
$92 million, will be borne by other taxpayers like you and me.
IACI even wants to say that the expansion of the Homeowner’s Exemption last year
will offset the property tax shift of $9.4 million that will be laid on property
taxpayers if they are successful in passing HB245 this year. I guess they
forgot that the expanded exemption was passed to offset years of tax shift to
home-owners already. I say they don’t get to count it twice.
An amended version of the bill was sent out of the House Tax Committee on
Tuesday and will be on the floor on Monday. <BR><BR><B>“They’re perfectly
willing to let the Owyhee Co. Commissioners decide where to site a nuclear plant
</B>but they don’t want to give citizens the right to vote to tax themselves,”
remarked a colleague of mine about the latest effort to pass a local option tax
to fund public transportation. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee,
after killing two local option tax proposals, agreed to print HB246 that would
allow regional transportation authorities­as exists now in Canyon and Ada
Cos.--to hold referenda asking voters to pay a local sales tax. The vote
would require a 2/3 super majority. Although this bill is supported
by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and lobbied by Roy Eigueren, one of the
most powerful statehouse lobbyists, it faces tough sledding. Despite their
rhetoric, the legislature is reluctant to hand any of its power to local
government. <BR><BR><B>Its time will come. </B>This morning the
House Education Committee rejected the Idaho Student Investment Act that would
have allowed students with at least 3 years residency in Idaho and whose parents
are undocumented immigrants, to receive in-state tuition. Ten states,
including Utah and Washington, have similar laws. After the bill was
killed, 11-5, Mack Shirley, the committee’s co-chair told supporters not
to “abandon an education because of this action.” Thanks for the pep talk;
now where’s the substance? <BR></FONT>
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