<DIV>Tom,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Re: HB203. I think only offering 25% forgiveness on the college debt is not enough, or enough incentive to change anything financially for the students. It costs about $50,000 to get a special education degree, yet, the job only pays $27,500 a year. $38,500 in college debt is still a monstrous bill to pay to teach in Idaho. It is better for them to go teach in Washington, get a higher rate of debt forgiveness, and a higher salary. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Taking away the tax credit for business equipment would be a huge blow to the economy in Idaho. Jobs are started by people taking a risk and investing in infrastructure and equipment. If you increase their taxes you increase the risk that person is taking. If you do that, less people will take the risk. In addition many farmers would be taxed on their farming equipment as well as small businesses. Larger businesses can buy their equipment more easily in another
state and move it, avoiding your biggest revenue for that tax source. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think the fairest tax increase is an 8% service tax on things like oil changes, video rentals, hair cuts, and dining out. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I believe taxing businesses even before they start to make a profit on the equipment they just brought is a bit like killing the goose that lays the golden egg before it can even lay the first egg. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We need to encourage businesses to grow, take risks, and come to Idaho. Idaho, and particularly Latah, needs to get some better paying jobs. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Donovan</DIV> <DIV><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 IX-FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 2/2007 <BR><BR>Constituents: <BR><BR>We had snow on the ground
three times this week in Boise, but that is good<BR>news for skiers and farmers who irrigate their crops. Some of the big news<BR>this week related to a young 12 year old student from Filer who keeps on<BR>winning duck calling contests. He learned duck calling from a college class<BR>and has been knocking off national duck calling champions right and left<BR>and earning enough money for his college education. Another young man from<BR>Mt. Home won 10 out of 13 dog shows with his terrier and advanced to the<BR>Westminster Dog Show. There was also news that the first beaver in 200<BR>years had been sighted in the Bronx River in New York City. Several years<BR>ago I spotted a big beaver in downtown Boise. I'm not certain how these<BR>interesting but unrelated facts relate to the Legislature but I found them<BR>interesting. <BR><BR>Now on to the Legislature:<BR><BR>1. HB245 -- This bill would repeal the personal property tax for business<BR>equipment. This would represent a
tax shift of about $10 million/year for a<BR>period of almost 10 years. The total tax shift would amount to almost $100<BR>million. I received some information from the Latah County Assessor's<BR>Office pertaining to the bill. In Latah County we have approximately 2,300<BR>businesses with an assessed value of about $80 million on business<BR>equipment. This translates into about $1.3 million impact in Latah County.<BR>It would represent a tax shift of $1.3 million to business and home owners<BR>in the county. The Moscow Chamber of Commerce is uneasy with the<BR>legislation and the Idaho Association of Counties opposes it. <BR><BR>I submitted legislation calling for repeal of the business personal<BR>property tax but replacing the funding stream through a 1% sales tax on<BR>services (except health, medical, and utilities). It was held in committee<BR>because the Governor said he would veto any legislation that would increase<BR>taxes. <BR><BR>2. Craig-Wyden Bill -- We just
received word from Sen. Craig's Office that<BR>the Craig-Wyden Bill funding would be extended for one year. If the funding<BR>had not been approved it would have been a impact of $22 million on our<BR>rural school districts and counties. We will still have to face the problem<BR>next year but at least we have some breathing room. <BR><BR>3. Child Day Care Rules Rejected -- These were rejected by a 6-5<BR>committee vote in Health and Welfare. The bill would have set standards for<BR>health, safety, training and staffing, and required criminal checks for day<BR>care centers with as few as two unrelated children. Many legislators were<BR>shocked and felt those who voted against it were out of touch with reality. <BR><BR>4. Education -- The K-12 budget was set by JFAC. Teachers will receive a<BR>3% base salary increase (note that inflation increased 3.8% last year<BR>according to PERSI). Enhancements include funding of up to $350/teacher for<BR>classroom supplies, $10 million
for textbooks, $7 million for remediation<BR>for ISAT (students who have not done well with the test), and an additional<BR>$500,000 for gifted and talented students. The budget represents an almost<BR>6 percent increase over last year. Higher Education fared well. State<BR>employees will receive a 5% salary increase (merit based) but may have to<BR>pick up an additional portion of their health insurance. $10 million was<BR>approved for research grants. About $10 million was approved for the<BR>University of Idaho Livestock and Environmental Center which would be<BR>located in the Jerome area. <BR><BR>5. HB172 -- This legislation pertains to the address protection of<BR>victims of domestic violence. Rep. Ringo and I have been working with<BR>Professor Elizabeth Brandt of the University of Law School on this<BR>legislation. We needed to add on several amendments to the bill and these<BR>will be up in House Jud and Rules on Monday. It will be a race against time<BR>to get
the bill through the legislative process before we close down. <BR><BR>6. Grants and Tax Credits Receive Approval -- H150 sets up a 50/50<BR>matching grant for fuel retailers to invest in biofuel infrastructure. H177<BR>is a tax credit measure aimed at promoting the use biofuels. <BR><BR>7. HB203 -- This bill provides loan forgiveness for teachers who are<BR>qualified to teach in severe teaching shortage areas--special education,<BR>speech pathology, math, and science. Twenty five percent of the loan would<BR>be forgiven for every year taught in Idaho (up to a cap of $20,000). The<BR>bill has been amended and will be up on the amending order Monday. 8. Needs<BR>Based Scholarship Bill -- HB217 which passed out of the House Ed<BR>Committee with only two negative votes is now being held hostage by House<BR>Leadership and JFAC. Governor Otter supported the bill which would set up<BR>an endowment fund of $38 million. This would generate about $2 million a<BR>year for
scholarships. The fight is over the amount of money that could be<BR>used to fund the bill. I talked with Gov. Otter today and he said he was<BR>going to play hardball in support of the bill. <BR><BR>I would appreciate your comments and recommendations. My e mail is<BR>ttrail@house.senate.gov <BR>Rep. Tom Trail <BR><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> 
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