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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>End of
Session Legislative Newsletter<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>- Week 12</u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Constituents:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><strong
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>Legislative session ends:</u><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></strong>We finished the 2012 Idaho
Legislative session late Thursday.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We certainly don't want
to be around here on April 1st or April Fools' Day.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The final issue holding everything
up concerned tax cuts<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>--<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>both corporate and individual rates
which would be reduced from 7.8 to 7.6 percent.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This would bring about
$70 dollars of tax relief to a family of four earning $100,000/year.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The bill passed the House and
passed the Senate.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>There are many including myself who feel that we should put the $35
million slated for tax cuts into a rainy day fund for the State.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The economy is still weak and
from the example above that family of four could really only enjoy a good
pizza party with the tax cut.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I felt that building up
the rainy day fund was best.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If the economy moves
ahead on a positive note then surplus funds will go into the rainy day
fund.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>With the Power
Ball Lottery nearing $500 million, there is a great deal of
excitement.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One of the
latest winners was an eighty year old woman in Rhode Island who kept her
winning lottery ticket in her bible.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There might be a message
here.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The <strong
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>Idaho Right to Hunt and Fish
Constitutional amendment</u> </strong>will be on the November ballot.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The amendment, if it passes,
would guarantee the rights of Idahoans to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife
"by the use of traditional methods."<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This would eliminate any
opportunities for well funded animal rights activists to ban the use of
certain methods like archery tackle or dogs for hunting.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In addition the amendment specifies
that hunting, fishing and harvesting of wildlife shall be used as a
"preferred means" of managing and controlling wildlife.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The provision would ensure that
sportsmen will continue to be used as the state's responsible game
managers instead of the taxpayer funded sharpshooters and unproven,
expensive wildlife contraception schemes employed in other
jurisdictions.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><strong
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>Senate passes the Forced Ultrasound
Bill 23-12:</u></strong><span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>This bill stirred up more controversy than any other piece of
legislation this session.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>I received over 200 e-mails on this issue with about 90 percent
opposing the bill.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many
women who sent me e mails felt that it was invasive and the mandatory
nature of it was an insult to the physician-patient relationship.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>House members were
flooded by opposition from prominent Republican women across the state who
opposed the bill.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Rather than
fall on the sword in support of their Senate colleagues House members
decided to duck the bullet and so the bill died in the House State Affairs
Committee for this year.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Supporters of the bill felt that it will be rewritten and the
Legislature will see it again next year.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><strong
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"
/>Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement</u></strong>: The Idaho Attorney General
recently settled a case with five of the nation home mortgage lenders for
$13.3 million.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The AG's
proposal for using these proceeds includes providing legal service to low
income families to help them negotiate loan modifications and obtain
deficiency waivers, and offering counseling debt and housing transition
matters.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><strong
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>HB609 restores some of last year's
cuts to Medicaid funding</u></strong>.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The services restored are
preventative dental services and skill training for persons with both
mental health and developmental disabilities.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Under last year's bill, persons
with more than one disability, had to choose between two types of
rehabilitative services, even though they could have benefited from
both.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>JFAC also met and
approved an increase in monthly payments to foster parents.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><strong
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>Teacher Pay funding
restored:</u></strong><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Another
one of the final bills was an agreement to restore $35 million in teacher
pay funding that was about to be slashed.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Money was diverted from teacher
salaries to help support last year's "Student Come First"
education reforms.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The House
has concurred.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The
public education budget received an approximately 4.6 percent increase,
but one must remember that many teachers have not received a salary
increase in four years.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Legislation passed that will also increase the beginning salary of
$30,000 for beginning teachers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Higher Education received a 5.4 percent increase and staff and
faculty salaries will be increased two percent.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Half of that increase will
come from an increase in student fees which will probably be around a six
per cent increase this year.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><strong
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>Medical
Marijuana:</u></strong><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>On
Thursday I had a 30 minute meeting with the Governor on the subject of
legalizing medical marijuana.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Bill Esbensen, Director of the 45th Parallel Clinic in Ontario,
Oregon talked to the Governor about the more than 500 Idaho families who
have moved to Eastern Oregon in order to provide access to a family member
who needs access to legal medical marijuana for a chronic and painful
disease condition, e.g. brain cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>These individuals have doctors' prescriptions, but leave Idaho for
fear of being arrested for (legal in Oregon) marijuana possession in
Idaho.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Lindsey Rinehard,<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Leader of the legalize medical
marijuana initiative also talked to the Governor about the initiative that
she and her group are working on.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They will not get
enough signatures to get it on the ballot this year but will start the
initiative process next year.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>She has MS at age 29 and her medications cost more than
$5,000/month.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Tonya Meyer and his group reported about a hemp oil product that
they have patented and have approved by the FDA.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Veterans
Administration has found that this product reduces post traumatic stress
of our war veterans as they return from Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will be sending
out a <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>post legislative
newsletter</u></strong> sometime next week.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I am reminded of a
story as we closed the session.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>An eighty year old
woman announced that she was marrying for the fourth time and to a funeral
director.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>A local
reporter thought this would be a very interesting story and interviewed
the women.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He said,
"tell me about your other marriages."<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She replied, "I married
a banker at age 20 and then at age 40 I married a circus ringmaster.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>At age 60 I married a
preacher and now my fourth husband will be a funeral director."<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The reporter then asked,
"wow, that's quite a group of different men<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>- why do you think you did
that?" The woman reflected for a few minutes and then said, "One
for the money, two for the show,<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>three to make ready, and four
to go."<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Most
the Idaho legislators were ready to get out of Dodge and head home.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I appreciate your
comments.<span style=""> You may contact me at the
following:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>e-mail
ttrail@house.idaho.gov and thomasftrail@gmail.com<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My office phone is 208-332-1184.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Rep. Tom
Trail<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p>