2013 legislative preview
by Senator Brent Hill
Almost one-third of the Idaho Legislature consists of newly-elected lawmakers, making the upcoming legislative session even more unpredictable than usual. Combine that with new leadership in the House of Representatives and the results are anybody‚s guess. Still, there are some issues that promise to dominate the 2013 session:
State Budget
Idaho‚s General Fund revenues have increased 4.2% since last fiscal year, but still less than the 4.8% predicted. That makes three years in a row that Idaho‚s revenues have increased, but collections are still well below pre-recession levels. Balancing the budget at a time when many agencies, including public education, are struggling financially will be the legislature‚s biggest job.
Education Reforms
With the defeat of the Education Reform Propositions, interested stakeholders are back to square one in addressing the need to better prepare our education system for the demands of a changing world. Some legislation is required to help school districts transition back to the old laws and, hopefully, they will be enacted early in the session to protect the school districts. Some minor reforms with which most people can agree will also be considered. Major education reforms, however, need the input of educators, administrators, parents, students, business leaders, and others. Governor Otter is assembling such a working group to determine what improvements are appropriate and make recommendations to the legislature. But soliciting everyone‚s input takes time, so I do not expect the legislature to enact major education reform bills during the next session that starts on January 7.
Personal Property Tax Repeal
For many years there has been a bi-partisan effort to eliminate the personal property tax˜an annual property tax levied against machinery and equipment used by businesses. The tax is onerous on business owners and difficult for governments to enforce. Although there is broad consensus on the need to repeal the unfair tax, there will be much debate on how best to manage the resulting loss of revenues to cities, counties, and other local taxing districts.
Health Insurance Exchange
Idaho has fought hard, seeking constitutional remedies to the infringement on individual and states‚ rights imposed by the Affordable Care Act, but neither lawsuits nor elections have abolished the law. The federal act requires every state to establish a health insurance exchange where citizens can go online and compare the rates and benefits of various policies. States may create and operate their own exchange or the federal government will take over and do it for them. To defer to the federal government would inhibit our state‚s ability to tailor an exchange to the needs of Idaho citizens and minimize the costs to participants. Some claim we should ignore the law in hopes that would somehow force Congress to repeal it. But, as Governor Otter explained, „There will be a health insurance exchange in Idaho. The only question is who will build it.‰ The legislature must approve Governor Otter‚s decision for a state-based exchange and the debate will be intense.
Stay tuned for an exciting legislative session that will undoubtedly affect the life of every citizen. I welcome your comments on these or other issues that concern you. I can be contacted at bhill@senate.idaho.gov.
This column was written by state Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. Hill is the president pro-tem of the Idaho Senate.
I see Idaho has the second lowest median income in the country and the second highest incarceration rate in the county for women.
Every prisoner costs far more than a year in college, yet we put them away for using a little marijuana.
The legislature should legalize marijuana and join the broad movement to end this stupid and costly prohibition that wastes billions of dollars, builds Mexican drug cartels, and ruins the lives to otherwise good honest, Idahoans.
Does the personal property tax also include automobiles? These are taxed yearly and add significant revenues to counties.
Property tax was also considered to be an unjust tax for corporation and was eliminated. My property tax has increased by one third since that tax was repealed. Does this mean that my registrations on my vehicles will double?
Do you belong to the group called ALEC? How many of our state politicians are wined and dined by the corporations of this organization?
The repeal of personal property tax for corporation will help corporation, but will it help Idahoans in general?
These are things we need to know!
Indeed median income in Idaho is down 12.79% this last year. Yet right next door in Wyoming it UP +1.34%. Go figure. But blame incarceration rates for women who were on marijuana for the difference?
Incarcertaion rates, Idaho 474 per 100K population, Wyoming 387 per 100K. Ooooh, Texas 639 per 100K. Must be a drought of marijuana down here? Actually there is the local grown stuff makes people very sick in more ways than one. Some lace it with a few other things that aren’t helpful either, but ignore that. It’s the buzz you’re aiming for. Keep driving, ignore the red/blue lights behind you.
Idaho in 2010 Females 810 Males 6,621 Total= 7,431 Normally males outnumber females by about 11 to 1 on average.
Incarcerate less? http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_iandc_complex.pdf Page 9, seems the fewer you incarcerate the higher the crime rate. How that can be is beyond your explanation of them only being ‘poor’ picked on pot heads? Release them all and watch which way the crime rate goes. Not down, will it?
Sorry, do the crime, do the time, whether male or female and since the solution rate for crimes in this country is so low, we’d have to incarcerate a huge number to put a dent in any statistics that is not carefully “picked and chosen” to prove an unrelated point.
But we put them away for a little marijuana? Nope, marijuana is just the tip of the iceberg. Read some rap sheets some time, it takes money to support their habit and they can’t hold a job given their “chilled” state of mind so where do they get the money for their “chill” medicine? Not the legal route is it?
No, the majority of “drug users” in jail are probably there because that was the easiest crime to prove and the others would absorb a huge amount of taxpayer money. Serves the purpose of getting them out of society with their anti-social behavior coming built-in.
Your logic doesn’t make common sense, mostly mike. It just spin and make things worse. You voted for Obama didn’t you? Don’t ask which direction Forward is?
If you oppose ObamaCare, you want millions of Americans to die:
“People will die in the United States if Obamacare is repealed. That is not crying fire. It’s a simple fact.” —MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Alter, 8/9/12 4 million died last year with health insurance, but ignore that.
If you support our constitutional, Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, you are simple-minded and have blood on your hands:
“[NRA Executive Vice President] Wayne LaPierre scares people. I know he scares me with his relentless determination to make sure American mass murderers are the very best equipped mass murderers in the world, but he scares the simple-minded of the NRA even more.” —MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” Lawrence O’Donnell, 7/24/12 And you believed him?
And incredibly, if you oppose abortion and support traditional marriage and motherhood, you are somehow akin to Stalin and Hitler:
“The op-ed [Ann Romney wrote for USA Today] was totally anodyne, right? . . . I find that phrase ‘the crown of motherhood’ really kind of creepy. . . . It’s kind of usually really authoritarian societies that give out, like the Cross of Motherhood. You know, Stalin did it, Hitler did it.” —Newsweek/Daily Beast writer Michelle Goldberg, 5/13/12 Now see why I’m glad Romney didn’t win with dorks like this among the citizenry and they believe her? We’ve voted ourselves into more cayuse, majority or not.
I could go on and on, but you already know what I’m talking about: criticize welfare and that proves you’re a racist; defend venture capitalism and you are a job-killer and even a murderer; oppose raising taxes and you are a greedy tax cheat.
It’s not just bias; it’s character assassination. Distortions, lies, slurs, vicious personal attacks—it’s an everyday exercise of the leftist press to marginalize your deeply held beliefs.
Can we send all the released prisoners to live with you mostlymike, love to have you show us how it’s not going to affect you and horribly. I bet you won’t last one day with the least of them.
Preview?
Unfair Tax?
1/3 new ones just like the old ones?
Huh. I read it. I just have no idea of what will actually happen, that’s all.
They made the attempt and it got printed in all of the Idaho papers.
Back to 1966 and I’m a little kid again?
Commerce has to pass through Idaho or they can’t get East or West without big detours. When they grant statehood to Puerto Rico will they just absorb us into the surrounding states so they can save the cost of changing the flag?
What fun?
Disgusted -
No need to “go figure” if you’re aware that oil is more valuable than potatoes. Wyoming extracts oil from their ground, we extract potatoes from ours. Oil is worth right around $100/bbl, spuds are worth about $10/bbl.
You noticed that c.R. Stucki? Can’t eat oil however, no matter what the price.
True, and by that same reasoning, you can’t lubricate your car’s engine with potatoes, also regardless of the price.
But if you pick the right vegetable and/or seed you can use that oil to lubricate your engine. Potato wouldn’t be the list though. You do get the choice of putting it in the sump or your stomach, however.
Oil isn’t the only game in town, if it is, you’re in trouble somewhere down the line when it goes south. They’re frackin’ like mad down here, it just takes what is there out faster. Get ready for severe power shortages among other things, you don’t close coal plants and not pay in the long run when nothing is put in their place. Obama’s policies are policies for losers, he knows how to pick all the losers and the naive losers put him back in to do more of the same. Voter remorse will be ugly this time around. You can vote in the wrong things, majority or not. 30% put him in this time. 42.6% didn’t bother to vote.
I’ve got an idea for a ‘new’ law. For every new law the legislators pass they have to retire 4 old laws as a result. That and terms limits are needed something horrible.