By Representative Tom Loertscher

It seems for some reason we usually want to leave the heavy lifting in a legislative session until the very last. We lived up to that reputation as we dealt with most of the appropriations bills in the House this week. Two of the transportation budgets were among them.

The main transportation spending plan, which is funded entirely from non general fund sources, was approved without much discussion. The other measure was the GARVEE (more debt for roads) bill that borrows an additional 134 million dollars for construction. The Best debate of the day went to Rep. Leon Smith of Twin Falls who gave the best reasons why all of this borrowing is not a good idea. His best point was that after this new amount is borrowed, we will be the most heavily leveraged state that uses the GARVEE road funding mechanism.

After getting warmed up on GARVEE about the next bill out of the chute was a resolution to authorize borrowing seventy million dollars to build a new secure mental health facility. There have been some cash reserves set aside for this project but we seem to be in the borrowing mood these days. Even more troubling is the design of the facility that will in allow mentally ill persons who have not committed a crime but have violent behaviors to be in “prison.” Still more troubling is the possibility of mixing the aforementioned individuals with those who have committed and been convicted of crimes.

The public school budgets all passed the House easily as well. The ISTARS proposal did not get passed, so the result was to put the available resources into the budget for teacher salary increases and benefit costs. Several of our school districts were concerned about the discretionary funds portions of the budget. I was told that there has been a relaxing of the restrictions on those moneys.

After all of the discussion about election consolidation that has been taking place for the entire session, the sponsors asked for the bill to be held in the State Affairs Committee. There were too many problems to iron out before the end of this session. It was obvious to the committee however, that not enough homework had been done by the sponsors with the affected parties — counties, cities, taxing districts and the Secretary of State.

The Minority party proposed a two cent sales tax on gas and diesel for Transportation. What does that mean for fuel costs? That’s six cents plus per gallon of Gas and eight cents per gallon of diesel at current prices. Their idea for registration fees was to double them in most cases. That includes farm trucks, semis and cars. This may be popular somewhere, but I’ve been unable to find out where.

“The boxes are in the hall,” (we’re all issued boxes to take our files, etc.) is the cry around the chambers which is the strongest signal that this will soon be at an end for another year. Did I mention that the Governor line item vetoed an appropriation bill? It was one of his budgets. Strange you may say, strange indeed.

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By Representative Tom Loertscher

As we are coming down what might be called the home stretch for this
session, I was visiting with a fellow House member about the number of
bills we were going through each day. He commented that he hoped we
would not get going so fast that we would make a lot of mistakes. My
response was that is why we have so much clean –up legislation the
next year.

In one way or the other we have been working on the naturopath
licensing dilemma for most of the time we have been here. First it was
the rules that were rejected and in the last few weeks it has been a
bill to change so much in the law that it totally would change the
original intent of the legislation that was enacted in 2005. It took
forty years to get the three main groups together enough to pass
legislation and now they are more fractured than ever. We thought we had
a deal worked out. In fact I was kidding one of the parties that we must
have the perfect bill because no one seems to like it. The whole thing
fell apart on Friday and the bill is back in Health and Welfare. So much
for compromise.

A lot of your money has been spent this week as the budgets continue to
go through the process. The largest one so far has been the Medicaid
portion of Health and Welfare coming in at just under one and one half
billion dollars. The bad news is that it is such a large amount and if
there is good news, at least it is not a double digit percentage
increase over last year’s budget. About one third of that is from the
State general fund and the remainder from the Feds. But it is still all
the taxpayers’ money.

Members of the Transportation Committee in the House have been working
on a plan to inject more revenue (that’s a polite way to say increase
taxes and/or fees) into the Department to cover what has been dubbed a
“shortfall” in funding for construction and maintenance this next
year. Under one of the ideas older car fees would double while newer
vehicles would go up forty percent. It is sinking in more and more that
if GARVEE (borrow to build roads) had not been started we would not find
ourselves in this magnitude of a situation. A friend at home asked me
how we could even think of these unfair increases when it is clearly the
time for some belt tightening.

The ninety three page election consolidation bill was introduced in the
State Affairs Committee this week. What the legislation seeks to do is
to have all elections except irrigation districts run by the counties on
four fixed dates each year. This is the most comprehensive election bill
ever and will have a hearing in House State Affairs this next week.
Voting would take place for all elections at the same polling places and
the sponsors argue that it would remove the confusion that has
surrounded some of the taxing district elections in the past. Four and
one half million dollars with an inflator for inflation would be made
available to the counties on an ongoing basis to pay for the process.

As I sat here writing this evening, I received a call from home telling
me of the passing of a good friend and former House member, Ray Infanger
from Salmon. I had the privilege of sitting next to him for four years
on the House floor. Great wisdom came from him every time he spoke.
Poetry from the great writers would come from his lips from memory and
with ease. His love for and ability to quote from the Constitution is
legendary. He was one of the great ones.

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By Representative Tom Loertscher

Because of our somewhat crowded conditions at the Legislature this year I had anticipated a mood meltdown to occur in the house much earlier. What happened this week was not necessarily as severe as a meltdown but it did signal a change of attitudes.

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) pretty much concluded its work by having set all of the agency budgets. Two of the big ones passed the House this week, Corrections and State Police. Both of these budgets are bare bones budgets this year with increases for salaries at three percent and the big one for the State Police is the increase in fuel costs.

A draft piece of legislation that came before State Affairs was one to place strong sanctions on employers if they hire employees that are not in this country legally. I happened to catch a local Boise radio talk show that was blasting the committee for not printing the proposal. There was reluctance by the committee to proceed because of some apparent conflicts it had with federal law. If the problems are fixed we may see that one again this year.

An emissions testing bill passed the House as well and the debate between Ada and Canyon County legislators was very intense. In Boise you see these little red emissions testing vans scattered all over place checking vehicle exhaust gasses, and the potential is to have these all over the state. The bill was brought forward as a compromise and exempts farm and industrial equipment, but any vehicle over five years old would be subject to removal from the road if it could not comply with standards set by DEQ. How old is the car you drive?

The Revenue and Taxation Committee has been working long this week with several bills coming to the floor for debate. The one of most interest to the folks at home was the increase in the grocery tax credit that moves to $50 per person for taxable incomes of $1000 or less and $30 per person for the rest. Then the credit goes up by $10 per year until it reaches $100. It passed the full House easily. The debate is still alive to remove the food sales tax altogether but does not have the support of the Governor to move forward this year.

As quickly as the Governor had proposed vehicle registration fees be increased to $150, by mid week he had withdrawn the idea. He went on to blame the Legislature for its failure but as one of my colleagues remarked it was likely that he was getting the same phone calls we were. Others are still working on some increases so stay tuned and hold on to your wallets.

JFAC having set the budgets signals about another two weeks to go, but that only if all goes well. Still there are a number of things yet to be resolved among them, aquifer recharge, personal property tax, secure mental health facility, and election reform just to name a few. And if there should be some vetoes long the way, it could be more than the outside temperature that will go up.

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From Representative Tom Loertscher

An ancient Chinese proverb says, “The longest journey begins with the
first step.” Although true, a modern version might be, “The longest
journey begins at the gas pump.” These days as I travel it is
interesting to hear the comments of other drivers as I fill my pickup
with fuel and observe the dollars roll by at the rate of one per
second.

One fellow who was driving for a delivery company was agonizing over
the cost of fuel and it wasn’t even coming out of his pocket. He told
me that every cent of increase costs his company a million dollars per
year. And in the legislature we are at what some are saying is a
crossroads for transportation. With what the Department of
Transportation is calling a two hundred million dollar shortfall in
funding, ideas for solutions are as numerous and varied as you can
imagine.

The Governor came up with one of increasing license fees for vehicles
to one hundred fifty dollars each. That was received about as well as a
cow in the living room. One of my colleagues asked me what I thought
would be an acceptable increase. I told him zero. We still have not done
any efficiency review of the department. And on that matter several of
are proposing a complete audit of the Department of Transportation.

After another long day of hearings concluding about twelve hours of
testimony and discussion, the midwifery bill has proceeded to the
Committee of the Whole House for amendment. The amendments that are
being proposed don’t pacify physicians but they do incorporate some of
their concerns. One Doctor testified that it was the responsibility of
the Legislature to guarantee that all babies are born without problems.
Oh, if only we could do that.

Tamarak, a resort in Valley County, has brought legislation to increase
the number of special liquor licenses to twelve, up from three. They are
having financial difficulties at present and desire to be able have
licenses for several more “high-end” hotels and restaurants. It came
out of committee on a close vote. I voted no. Selling more alcohol as a
means of economic development bothers me on several levels.

The Lincoln day celebrations are nearing an end for the year. It is
always good to get home and visit with the people of District 31. It is
what I call a thousand mile weekend, Boise to Bone to Montpelier to Soda
Springs to Bone and Back to Boise, just a little over nine hundred
miles. When I drifted off to sleep Saturday night I dreamt about a long
black snake with a dotted white stripe down its back. But it was worth
every minute of the long journey.

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By Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Bone

A lot of the stuff we do in the legislature is not very earth shaking
but on Thursday morning it definitely was. I was in a conference call
with a couple of my colleagues talking over a speaker phone and I felt
the floor move. After finding out later about the quake in Wells, Nevada
and hearing that others had felt the movement, I decided that earth
shaking things do happen in this place.

One that seemed to shake things in another way was a marathon meeting
of the Health and Welfare Committee. The hearing on the Midwifery
licensing bill was on Wednesday and went on for about five hours. Even
after that amount of time had lapsed only about half of those desiring
to testify were able to do so.

It was an emotionally charged affair with both sides passionately
expressing their point of view. Whenever I get in a meeting like this I
am impressed with the manner in which Idahoans conduct themselves, with
conviction and civility. A chairman has a gavel for a reason however,
and on this occasion it was only necessary to use it once.

The other thing that always interests me is that at the outset of
discussions like these, members of the committee seem to come from a
particular direction. As this hearing wore on into the evening it became
apparent that members of the committee were shifting their positions
some. The hearing will be finished this coming week with more testimony
and a vote being taken. At this point I will be supporting amendments,
because there are some things that need fixing.

Outfitters and Guides came up with legislation this year to
dramatically increase fines and jail time for anyone who would take
others hunting or on river trips without a license. As if that were not
enough, anyone who used the services of someone who was not licensed
would be subject to fines and jail as well. I voted no, for several
reasons. It looked to me like the equivalent of swatting a mosquito with
a railroad tie.

This was the week of “Clearing the Board,” that being running floor
sessions AM and PM for a while to vote on the bills that have been
waiting their turn on the calendar. In addition to getting through the
bills we had the annual memorial for former House members that had
passed away during the interim. One that was honored this year was one
that I served with, Claude Judd from North Idaho. He was principled and
I gained great respect for him.

We were tangled up on a bill to designate some rivers as wild and
scenic, and it was one of those bills that failed by one vote. It also
contained a moratorium on building any more dams on those same rivers.
He was approached by a young lady during the lunch break in an effort to
get him to call for the bill to be reconsidered. He listened patiently
and when she finally gave him a chance to speak, he called her by name
and said, “Young lady you are too young to remember Idaho without
dams. I am not, and because of that I will not change my mind.”

As I mentioned, a lot of what we did here this week may not have moved
the earth much, and I am sure there are those who knew Representative
Claude Judd that would have thought he was not one to cause much of a
stir. But in his own way he was a steadying influence on the process.

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By Representative Tom Loertscher

It took some time this year to accumulate bills on our third reading
calendar in the House. Now however, there is no shortage of legislation
to be considered on the floor. And then there are the proposals that
seem to slow us down with a lot of debate.

Debate of the issues is a good thing and it is interesting to hear some
of the points that are stressed by the two opposing sides. One bill this
week was another one of those “automatic pilot” bills that would
have taken funds directly to a program without the normal appropriations
process. Whenever that happens the members of the Appropriations
Committee get to their feet and give all of the reasons why that is not
a good idea. It seems to me that budget setting needs to be more than
just a formality, I voted no.

It was brought to my attention that every House committee has a
statutory mandate to review performance measures of the agencies they
oversee. There are ten of them for which the State Affairs Committee is
responsible. I have never been one to think that these presentations
have much value but that has changed with a change in focus from what
the agencies do, to how well they are doing it.

One of particular interest this week was the Lottery Commission. Part
of their mission statement is to promote responsible playing of the
lottery. What catches your ears in these discussions is how much effort
they make to increase sales. The mixed message then becomes, don’t
overdo it, just buy more tickets, two very different sides of the same
coin. The lottery is sending about seventeen million dollars to schools
this year and an equal amount to state buildings. It only took about one
hundred forty million dollars of gambling to get there.

School boards were in town and we had a chance to meet with several of
them briefly. As with most folks who approach legislators, they have a
list of items outlining their concerns. Funding was not the top issue
for them. First on the list was the election consolidation legislation
that is about to be introduced. No discussion with educators would be
complete these days without a discussion of ISTARS, Superintendent Tom
Luna’s proposal for teacher compensation.

With the Governor lowering the current fiscal year revenue projection
to two percent, more alarm bells went off than at a school fire drill.
As I visit with colleagues, the most frequent worry expressed is not
wanting ever to have a repeat of what happened in 2001 through 2003.

With all of the agency budget hearings now complete, JFAC is about to
begin setting the budget for fiscal 2009. And as tradition would have it
we are about in the middle of the session, theoretically. The first set
of pages is about to head back to the classroom, budget setting begins,
and our calendars are full. But it’s not time to relax yet.

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By Representative Tom Loertscher

This place can be full of firsts, and the other day there was a first that brought a strange feeling to the two-tiered House Chambers. A bill was sponsored from the balcony and as I looked around on the main floor, I noticed that my colleagues were looking around trying to see who was speaking. Then the “lights” would go on and they would realize that the voice was coming from upstairs. This will take some getting used to.

Another somewhat strange item was a marriage and family therapist bill that was heard in Health and Welfare. All who testified were in favor of the measure and to a person indicated that there was no opposition of any kind. Even after a motion was made to send it to the full House, it drug on for quite some time. A former Legislator that was there for the hearing said to me that it was apparent that some folks aren’t able to know when they are ahead and when to keep still. I told her that it reminded me a lot of when I am trying to move the cows to a different pasture and my dog stations himself in the gate.

Issues are beginning to advance through the process and we are seeing more activity on the floor of the House, most of which have continued to be housekeeping in nature. The most interesting work continues in the committees. One issue leaving State Affairs was a bill to allow sale of liquor on election day. I voted no. It is not so much that it will make a whole lot of difference, as it is the mixed message we send with this type of change. It was promoted as a revenue raiser.

One question that was asked and not fully answered was why the State is in the liquor business. The director of the State Liquor Dispensary told the committee that their number one responsibility is to promote sobriety. And yet they want to sell more. As I used to tell my kids, where I went to school that doesn’t add up. It reminds me of a story I heard once about the Russian peasants that got depressed growing potatoes and therefore drank more vodka which necessitated growing more potatoes with which to make more vodka.

Another little item brought to the committee was a proposal to designate the Three Bear Soil as the official state soil. You can imagine the puns that came from that one, but we dug our way out by returning it to sponsor. It was reminiscent of the time a bill was brought to make the rattlesnake the official State Reptile. Not very many bit on that one either.

With our close quarters it is hard not hear what is going on around you. Two of my close neighbors on the floor were discussing aquifer recharge as a possibility given the snow that is coming this year. I couldn’t help but to reflect on the last big battle that took place with Idaho Power a couple of years ago. One said that there is rumor that Palisades will fill this spring, another said he had heard it would not. All of this discussion probably means that no one really knows how much water there will be.

And on a personal note, if what is happening at my ranch is any indication there is a lot of snow piled up, most of which at the present time is in the roadways. It has been more than a decade since the snow pack at our place has looked like this. Going home this weekend provided an opportunity to dig things out at home to make room for more snow. We are not complaining by any means, after all we have been asking for this.

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By Idaho State Representative Tom Loertscher

Every session of the Legislature takes on its unique character. What is out of the ordinary for this time around is that in the House after three full weeks there have been fewer than a dozen bills passed. That’s not a bad thing, just a little unusual. Those that have gone through so far are the ones that are annual updates, but not much of substance. If you listen to the talk and business behind the scenes that is about to change.

I find it helpful to talk to other legislators to see what they are thinking and try to get a feel for items they are involved with. For instance I was visiting with a couple of members of JFAC trying to see what they see for this up-coming budget.

One thing that deserves attention is that over the years the Legislature has put so many statutory requirements into our budget process, that it is beginning to come back to haunt us. If we do just those things that are mandated by our own laws, we need about a four percent growth rate just to maintain current levels of commitment. That number is without any increase for state employees or school teachers and also does not look at starting anything new. Auto pilot for airplanes is a good thing, but not for budgets. At least that is not how it works in the real world.

Another issue that is getting a lot of attention in conversations is a tax credit for conservation easements. The idea being floated is for land owners to sell their ability to development for a period of time or permanently as a means of maintaining open space. The State has never been involved in these before, at least on the funding end as it is being proposed this time. Now what was that about starting something new?

An issue that has not been talked about much by the media has been the naturopathic rules that are before the Health and Welfare Committees. These rules have been two years in the making and have caused a huge divide between two different groups of Naturopaths. Confusion has led to controversy and the Senate Committee has rejected the rules. I would have liked to have had a hearing in the House Committee, but that is not going to occur for the time being at least. Now what? My feeling is that these folks all need to be locked in a room until they produce results.

Two new election bills have been introduced in the House, one for permanent absentee status and the other is all out vote by mail at the discretion of County Commissioners. Both are vote by mail proposals, one that the voter chooses and the other Commissioners choose for the voters.

The House and Senate Education Committees spent four days this week going over School Superintendent Tom Luna’s ISTARS and the IEA We Teach proposals with passionate discussion from both sides, so I am told. From the tone of the conversations, neither idea has much chance of success this year.

As we now start week four it looks like we have been in the lull before the storm. It is interesting to me to see all of the hand wringing that goes on around this place. I have never been one to dread tough decisions. To me they are opportunities and challenges. It is never easy but is worth the effort.

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