<DIV>Rep. Trail,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Here some of my suggestions. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Donovan</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>1. Do you believe <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_2 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho</SPAN> has a serious roadwork backlog that will cost<BR>$200 million a year to remedy? Should <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_3 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho</SPAN> increase it gas tax?<BR> Should it increase vehicle registration fees?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Idaho's roads, like many other states are horrible. But no, I don't think the state can afford to fix them right now. They are bad, but they are not as bad as many other states. <BR> <BR>2. Do you want to continue borrowing money, through the Connecting<BR><SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_4 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM:
#0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho </SPAN>program, also known as GARVEE bonding for work on Idaho highways?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We should only borrow money to pay for roads if the roads can be guaranteed to last as long as the life of the bond---pay as we go. <BR> <BR>3. Has <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_5 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho</SPAN> provided adequate property tax relief in past<BR>legislative sessions? If not, what additional tax relief would you support?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tax breaks for those not working and making under the average salary for the county. <BR> <BR>4. Do you support the idea of giving tax incentives to large<BR>industries, such as <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_6 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Micron Technology</SPAN> or Areva?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Only unless they can demonstrate that we will benefit more greatly by doing so. <BR> <BR>5. The state has more than 70 sales tax exemptions on the books, some<BR>dating back to 1965. Are all of them still viable, or have any outlives their usefulness?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>No sales tax breaks except for food and medicine. Services should be taxed. <BR> <BR>6. A mere 26 percent of <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_7 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho</SPAN> 18-24 year olds attended college in 2006. <BR>Gov. Otter wants to create a $100 college scholarship endowment during<BR>his four year term. Do you support this idea?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>100? Is that a typo? $100, why? That wouldn't even buy my pocket protector at the UI Bookstore. The single biggest thing you can do to help people in college is to limit the interest that can be placed on college loans.
<BR> <BR>7. Do you support teacher merit pay? If so, how do you decide which<BR>teachers deserve a pay raise?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think most people believe and support the idea that better teachers should get better pay than their peers. We should evaluate them just like the rest of the world gets evaluated, through peers, supervisors, record, performance, their students, their parents, and experience. <BR> <BR>8. Should <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_8 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho</SPAN> follow the lead of most other states and spend<BR>taxpayer<BR>money on pre-kindergarten education?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Parents should bare the extra costs of educating their children if they want their children to get additional education. <BR> <BR>9. Does <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_9 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px
dashed">Idaho</SPAN> need to tighten its day-care regulations?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Is there a problem with our current system?<BR> <BR>10. When 85 percent of inmates have a drug or alcohol addiction should<BR>the<BR>state, expand drug treatment in prison and community treatment designed<BR>to<BR>help keep people from winding up behind bars?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure--A. Einstein<BR> <BR>11. Should <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_10 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho</SPAN> put state tax dollars into community health centers<BR>that serve uninsured or under-insured Idahoans and keep them from running up<BR>large emergency room bills?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You should make it illegal for a hospital to charge more than 10% of the net income of any family for emergency services in a given year. Give that family 5 years to pay that debt, and
do not allow that medical bill to be placed against their credit report until that 5 years is past. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Destroying a family over a medical bill that is already poor ought to be a crime. <BR> <BR>12. With some 220,000 Idahoans uninsured should the state provide<BR>incentives to help small businesses to provide health insurance? Is<BR>so, what?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yes.<BR> <BR>13. Does <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_11 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Idaho</SPAN> need tighter ethic laws? Should ex-lawmakers have to<BR>wait<BR>before taking lobbying jobs with private industry?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>8 years waiting period. Also, no lawyers should be lobbyists. I think there is a danger when lobbyist are also trained to be able write and twist language to the degree that they can. Only
professionals in a particular field should be lobbyist, to give helpful information to help write the laws, not write them for the legislature to favor them over the people. <BR> <BR>14. Who should make the decisions about where power plants should be<BR>constructed?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Take a vote. The county with the least resistance to a power-plant gets it. Give the county residents cheap power, and allow them to collect revenue from the other counties they supply power to. <BR> <BR>15. Should the state's agencies study climate change and Idaho's<BR>contribution to <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1207433236_12 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">greenhouse gas emissions</SPAN>?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>No. I don't think they can do it in a cost effective manner. The money should be put into making Idaho
more earth friendly, not studying how earth unfriendly we are. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><BR> <BR><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 WRAPUP<BR><BR>Constituents: <BR><BR>The House and Senate adjourned late Wednesday afternoon April 2nd. <BR><BR>I opposed SB1447 in the House State Affairs Committee. It was held in<BR>committee by a 10 to 6 vote. This is the bill that would reduce State<BR>Employee Retiree Health Benefits.<BR><BR>A Conference Committee made up of members of the House and Senate worked on<BR>HB599AA this week. This is the bill that would eliminate business<BR>personal property tax. The bill passed the both the House and Senate. <BR>The bill sets a $100,000 cap. A trigger mechanism will activate the process<BR>-- state revenues will have to exceed 5% of the revenues of the
previous<BR>year. An owner with multiple stores in a county of the same type may<BR>claim only one exemption; however, if he has a similar business in another<BR>county he can claim one for that county. The bill will cost an estimated<BR>$17 million instead of the original $110 million sought by IACI (Idaho<BR>Association of Commerce and Industry)--big business. The bill should<BR>benefit about 90% of Idaho small businesses. This is a good piece of<BR>legislation.<BR><BR>We finally reached an agreement with the Governor and voted to restore 90%<BR>of the funding - about $15,000,000 - to support drug rehabilitation<BR>programs and the drug courts.<BR><BR>In looking forward at the unfinished business awaiting the 2009<BR>Legislature, the Boise Statesmen outlined a series of issues that will be<BR>faced and should form the background of the political discussion for the<BR>campaign. These points are:<BR><BR>1. Do you believe Idaho has a serious roadwork backlog that will
cost<BR>$200 million a year to remedy? Should Idaho increase it gas tax? Should<BR>it increase vehicle registration fees?<BR><BR>2. Do you want to continue borrowing money, through the Connecting Idaho<BR>program, also known as GARVEE bonding for work on Idaho highways?<BR><BR>3. Has Idaho provided adequate property tax relief in past legislative<BR>sessions? If not, what additional tax relief would you support?<BR><BR>4. Do you support the idea of giving tax incentives to large industries,<BR>such as Micron Technology or Areva?<BR><BR>5. The state has more than 70 sales tax exemptions on the books, some<BR>dating back to 1965. Are all of them still viable, or have any outlives<BR>their usefulness?<BR><BR>6. A mere 26 percent of Idaho 18-24 year olds attended college in 2006. <BR>Gov. Otter wants to create a $100 college scholarship endowment during his<BR>four year term. Do you support this idea?<BR><BR>7. Do you support teacher merit pay? If so, how do you decide
which<BR>teachers deserve a pay raise?<BR><BR>8. Should Idaho follow the lead of most other states and spend taxpayer<BR>money on pre-kindergarten education?<BR><BR>9. Does Idaho need to tighten its day-care regulations?<BR><BR>10. When 85 percent of inmates have a drug or alcohol addiction should the<BR>state, expand drug treatment in prison and community treatment designed to<BR>help keep people from winding up behind bars?<BR><BR>11. Should Idaho put state tax dollars into community health centers that<BR>serve uninsured or under-insured Idahoans and keep them from running up<BR>large emergency room bills?<BR><BR>12. With some 220,000 Idahoans uninsured should the state provide<BR>incentives to help small businesses to provide health insurance? Is so, what?<BR><BR>13. Does Idaho need tighter ethic laws? Should ex-lawmakers have to wait<BR>before taking lobbying jobs with private industry?<BR><BR>14. Who should make the decisions about where power plants should
be<BR>constructed?<BR><BR>15. Should the state's agencies study climate change and Idaho's<BR>contribution to greenhouse gas emissions?<BR><BR><BR>These are provocative issues and will frame much of the debate leading up<BR>to the 2009 Legislative session.<BR><BR>I'd appreciate your comments and ideas. You can reach me via e mail a<BR>ttrail@moscow.com and telephone at 882-6077.<BR><BR>Representative 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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