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<DIV>That would likely not solve much, as a majority of our legislators really
don’t care that state workers are underpaid, that they are leaving the state and
those who can are just saying, “the hell with it,” and retiring. Now if we
could legalize marijuana and force the legislators to partake, it might make
some of them a bit more compassionate and they’d consider a salary
increase. Probably not, though. Their main objective is to get the
gov re-elected. No Medicaid expansion, no additional monies for early
childhood programs, no all day kindergarten, no funding of infrastructure needs,
no expansion of the sales tax to online sales. Any yesses? Oh yes,
abortion restrictions, yes...continued suppression of civil rights for gays and
lesbians, yes...more voting restrictions. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>sueh</DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=janesta@gmail.com
href="mailto:janesta@gmail.com">Janesta</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 02, 2014 1:05 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=thansen@moscow.com href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom
Hansen</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Pay for Idaho state workers continues to
fall</DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr>The solution is simple, legalize marijuana. <BR></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><BR><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 9:25 AM, Tom Hansen <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com"
target=_blank>thansen@moscow.com</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV>
<DIV>Courtesy of today's (January 2, 2014) Spokesman-Review.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>---------------------------------</DIV>
<DIV>
<H1
style="FONT-SIZE: 28px; FONT-FAMILY: arial,sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(17,17,17); CLEAR: both; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.2">Pay
for Idaho state workers continues to fall</H1>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>BOISE – Pay
for Idaho state employees has now slipped to 19 percent below market rates,
according to the latest state report, a gap that’s been growing for the past
decade. Compared to private-sector wages, Idaho state workers are now 29
percent behind; compared to surrounding states, they’re 10 percent
below.</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>Not
coincidentally, it’s been six years since the Idaho Legislature last convened
its joint committee on state employee compensation – which, before that, had
met annually to examine the issue and hear from state workers. That’s about to
change, with a joint committee scheduled to hold three days of hearings next
week.</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>“I would
hope that people would realize that we’re trying to do the best we can here,”
said state Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, chairman of the House Commerce
and Human Resources Committee. “Our state employees have really held us
together these last few years.” He added, “Nobody thought in 2006 that by the
end of 2009, we’d have lost a third of state revenue, but that’s what
happened.”</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>In three of
the last five years, lawmakers have set zero raises for Idaho state employees;
the year before last saw a 2 percent boost, while fiscal year 2010 saw a 5
percent cut. Yet state law requires lawmakers to address employee compensation
every year and keep it competitive, even when state revenues lag.</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>The law
requires Idaho state worker compensation, including salary and benefits, to be
“competitive with relevant labor market averages,” and directs that, “In order
to provide this funding commitment in difficult fiscal conditions, it may be
necessary to increase revenues, or to prioritize and eliminate certain
functions or programs in state government, or to reduce the overall number of
state employees in a given year.”</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>“Otherwise,
you’re going to get further and further behind market, and that’s what’s
happened currently,” said Idaho Legislative Services Director Jeff Youtz.
“There are some statutory requirements that I don’t think we’ve been following
the last several years that we need to pay a little more attention
to.”</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>Youtz
praised legislative leaders and the House and Senate commerce chairs for
bringing the joint committee back this year. “We’ll go through all of that at
these meetings, and that’ll be part of the benefit,” he said, “is reviewing
all of these appropriate statutes … and how things work, what the governor’s
role is, what the Legislature’s role is. I think it’ll be a real positive
exercise, regardless of the outcome.”</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>By law, if
state lawmakers don’t take action on state employee compensation, known in
legislative shorthand as CEC, for change in employee compensation, the
governor’s recommendation automatically takes effect.</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>The law
also requires the state Division of Human Resources to conduct salary surveys
each year and present the results to the governor and Legislature. This year’s
report concludes that the state’s benefits package, including “strong”
retirement and health coverage benefits, “does not offset the below-market
wages, and therefore results in a total compensation program below the market
average in both the private and public sectors.”</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>The joint
committee, with lawmakers from both parties and both houses, will meet next
Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at the state Capitol, during the first week of
Idaho’s legislative session. On Wednesday afternoon, from 3:15 to 5 p.m., the
committee will take testimony from state employees in a public
hearing.</SPAN></P>
<P style="OVERFLOW: visible !important; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 21px"><SPAN>Senate
Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, said he sees “value” in the
committee’s proceedings. “I served on it for years,” he said. “It gave me an
additional perspective walking out that I didn’t have walking
in.”</SPAN></P></DIV>
<DIV>--------------------------------<BR><BR>
<DIV><SPAN>Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN><BR></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN>"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants
on)</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><A style='href: "http://www.moscowcares.com/"' target=_blank><FONT
color=#000000>http://www.MoscowCares.com</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><SPAN>Tom Hansen</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN>Moscow, Idaho</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN><BR></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN>"There's room at the top they are telling you still.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN>But first you must learn to smile as you kill,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN>If you want to be like the folks on the hill."</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN><BR></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN>- John
Lennon</SPAN></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR>=======================================================<BR>List
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