On Thursday the House Resources and Conservation Committee voted 16-0 to send House Bill 464 to the floor that would give the regulating power to the Idaho Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The commission would have final say on regulatory powers concerning the production of natural gas.

For more information on this story from the Idaho Statesman, click here.

SB 1282 would allow landowners to sell their tags, provided they allow public access. SB 1283 would simply allow landowners to sell their tags, with no requirement for providing public access.

The third bill, SB1256, would expand the big-game tag auctions to include one moose, one wild sheep, one mountain goat and up to three elk, deer and antelope tags for each year. Currently, big-game auction tags only include one bighorn sheep.

For more information on this story from the Idaho Statesman, click here.

According to the Idaho Department of Finance, the Gem State will see $114 million of the money, with about $100 million going directly to homeowners with mortgages serviced by Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Ally Financial and Wells Fargo.

Through the settlement, Idahoans who lost their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 will receive $2,000 in cash from the banks and others could have their mortgage amounts reduced.

The state will receive $13 million from the deal.

Read more about the deal at NationwideMortgageSettlement.com.

Perry introduced a bill Thursday in the House Commerce and Human Resources Committee to prevent that type of thing from happening and the measure will receive a formal hearing next week.

The legislation wouldn’t apply to all welfare programs administered by the state, but would rather focus solely on the Temporary Assistance for Families in Idaho (TAFI). This program is unlike most other welfare programs in that recipients are given cash to covers needs, which is put on state-issued debit cards also used for food stamps.

TAFI has a 24-month lifetime limit for recipients and the maximum benefit is $309 per month. Recipients are required to participate in certain activities to qualify, including work searches and trainings.

The program is administered by the state, but the money is ultimately provided by the federal government through a block grant.

Perry did not cite any known cases of the money being used for tattoos, lottery tickets, adult entertainment cigarettes or alcohol, but says state law doesn’t explicitly prevent it from happening. “We would have to be proactive rather than reactive on this,” Perry said.

Under Perry’s bill, those caught misusing the funds could be penalized by the state in varying degrees, but a larger offense could mean a misdemeanor for an offender.

Businesses would play a large role in enforcement because they would be asked to prevent TAFI recipients from using their cash cards at places dealing in the things Perry wants to prevent.

But the cards present a problem for the state in that they can be used at ATMs and recipients can access cash. Under the measure, the state would track ATM use to monitor if TAFI recipients are using their cards at ATMs in or around casinos, strip clubs or tattoo parlors. “Technology has come a long way and that aids us in these types of reports,” Perry told committee members of the state’s tracking efforts.

Perry doesn’t mind helping needy families, but would like to see the money go toward rent, food and clothing.

If the state doesn’t address the issue, it may receive some attention at the federal level. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are pushing national legislation that would essentially do the same thing as Perry’s bill because they say welfare dollars are being frittered in similar programs across the country.

The Hill reports that Congressman Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., is the backer of the bill to close the loopholes. “It’s pretty rampant around the country,” Boustany told the publication of the cash program’s abuses. “This has really eroded the credibility of the program in the eyes of the American taxpayer — a program that has been successful, by and large.”

The federal measure would give states two years to develop their own rules to comply and states not in conformance would have their cash assistance program money docked.

“We have an obligation to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately,” Boustany told The Hill. 

The measure cleared the House 58-12 and it now heads to the Senate for consideration.

The plan would help high students move through their coursework faster by paying most of the cost for online, summer and overload courses. Students who begin taking extra classes in junior high can finish their high school education by the beginning of what is typically thought of as the junior year.

The yearly cost for the program could be as high as $2.5 million, with the state paying $225 per online course and families paying $75 per class. Students who do not pass their extra classes will be required to pay the full course costs in order to proceed in the program.

Thayn says by rushing students through high school, the state could save up to $7 million in college costs.

The real savings, he believes, will come to families in the program. If students take courses more quickly and graduate after their sophomore year in high school, they can then take dual enrollment college course and graduate with an associate’s degree around the time their peers earn their high school diplomas.

Because students can take concurrent enrollment courses while still in high school, Thayn says families will save money by not having to spend as much on tuition, fees, books, food and other college-related expenses.

The program is not for everyone, however. Participation will be limited to 10 percent of the statewide student population and, even then, students must be motivated to take part. “It really depends on the willingness of the student to take extra classes and do extra work,” Thayn said.

Rep. Mack Shirley, R-Rexburg, the vice chair of the House Education Committee, spoke in favor of the measure, urging lawmakers not to be scared away by the newness of Thayn’s idea. “The thinking is outside the box. It’s a little unusual,” Shirley said. “But the concept is good.”

Shirley recognizes that some details of how the program would operate are still sketchy and will have to be worked out, but said the idea is worth the work.

There was some concern by members of the budget committee about how they would find money to fund the $2.5 million figure, but Thayn said he’s spoken with Jason Hancock, a top aide at the Department of Education about the issue and has been assured funding can be found if the bill clears the Senate and is signed by the governor.

Mason said that there are around $80 million in requests, with roughly half of those being critical. He also said that the department is allocating $17 million of the requested $80 million, by the real backlog number is “around half a billion dollars.”

For more information from the Spokesman-Review, click here.

Harwood’s plan was to have it sent to print but not go any further, thus putting it up on the Legislature’s website in hopes that other states could access it and begin a process of coming together to fight the EPA.

Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, proposed a motion to send the bill to print, citing the 10^th Amendment and the commerce clause within it. This led to some harsh words from Rep. Eric Anderson,R-Priest Lake. Anderson felt that the bill was flawed and that it would reflect badly on the legislative body and him personally. He asked that the committee chairman, Rep. Dell Raybould, R-Rexburg, be careful of the precedent and image to the committee if such legislation is approved.

Said Anderson, “We’re putting our name on something that is admittedly a wrong piece of legislation … This is a precedent, Mr. Chairman, that I think is so full of flaws. This particular piece of legislation … it gives us a conversation piece, but it sets a precedent here that we, I have never been involved with in my life. Any other committee we would be dissecting this, we would be taking this and saying ‘well you know on page 2, line 35 this is impossible to do.’ At the very least this would go to the amending order.”

Anderson believes that to just send a bill to print to bring up discussion is not the right way to do things especially, in his eyes, if the legislation is flawed. “My thoughts, to the sponsor, would be if you want something to go on the Internet let’s make sure that it is much more defined than this. This is nullification junior if all we’re doing is having a statement here that we’re unhappy with federal law. No one is happy with certain elements of federal law and federal dominion,” said Anderson. “I understand that, I get that. I don’t think anybody on this committee doesn’t have some frustration with that.”

The representative found it personally offensive to link his name to this kind of legislation. “I am not going to do a shotgun blast with my name on it out to the Internet that I agreed with this piece of legislation. I won’t do it. To me, this defines who I am, and who I am, by the maker of the motion, is somebody that doesn’t believe in the 10th Amendment, by somebody’s opinion, then so be it. I personally do believe in the 10th Amendment. But, I believe there’s a way to get there. I believe it needs to be judicial, it needs to be properly done. Because all we are doing is yelling in the wind and I don’t care if 12 other states can start to have a discourse or whatever.”

Anderson continued, “I can’t put my name on this. This defines me and I disagree with so much of how this is presented. This is a rejection of federal law. I can’t go there. I will not support the motion to print the way this is today, and I think it does set a precedent, Mr. Chairman, that we’re just going to print whatever just to get some dialogue going.”

Harwood believes that since the EPA was formed under an executive order by President Richard Nixon, it should only apply to federal lands, not the state ofIdaho. Instead, Harwood believes that Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality should be in charge of setting and maintaining environmental regulations within the state, including regulations dealing with the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act—both federal regulations.

Harwood also echoed comments he made to IdahoReporter.com in 2011, when he said that we (the state and its citizens) need to get back to following the Constitution and that this bill would be a step in the right direction, at least to get the conversation started.

A substitute motion was made to send the bill back to its sponsor, which Anderson supported. Once it passed, Anderson had more to say about the committee and the proceedings thus far this session. “I just would like to make this point to you, Mr. Chairman, that historically this has been my favorite committee and I have seen a lot of good things happen on this committee. This year has been a bit peculiar to me. I am not going to attend this committee and have a civics lesson every time I come here about my misunderstanding of the 10th Amendment and somebody else’s more appropriate understanding. I think it’s out of order …”

Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene, brought a retooled bill to force urban renewal agency commissioners to be elected to serve. It would, however, only apply to urban renewal districts created after July 1, 2012. Existing districts would still be able to choose how members are named to their oversight boards.

“Having the board stand for election will have them be more accountable than what they are,” Sims said.

Sims’ 2011 version of the legislation, House Bill 99, cleared the committee but failed on the House floor. The north Idaho Republican believes the new measure is a compromise and will be more acceptable to parties involved.

The measure would also prevent urban renewal commissioners from serving in any other elected office while on the board.

Fellow north Idaho lawmaker, Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls, introduced a measure to prevent urban renewal agencies from using eminent domain, a power the Legislature gave the entities in the past. Nonini believes law doesn’t protect property rights and the practice should be ended. “The Legislature giveth and the Legislature taketh away,” Nonini said.

Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Idaho Falls, brought a measure to require urban renewal agencies to provide more specifics to the public on certain projects.  Thompson’s measure would also limit the types of projects agencies can pursue.

The measures will receive formal hearings in the next week or two.

In a message back to the group, Burnett apologized for the harshness of his tone in a message about diversity training, but says he plans to proceed with the workshops, slated for next week.

“By the way, I have apologized in two open forums with students for the seemingly harsh tone of the language you have quoted,” Burnett wrote. “My intent was simply to be open and transparent, but I could have chosen my words more carefully.”

Burnett is planning training, entitled “Dialogue on Professionalism and Diversity,” next week on its Boise and Moscow campuses and students, faculty and staff are required to attend unless the school approves absences for work or health reasons.

Any students who skip the course and are not excused will have it noted in their permanent records, which will eventually be turned over to the bar association, which certifies new lawyers.

Lawmakers felt the note in the record could make students appear bigoted or uncaring, which could hurt their careers.

As part of the school’s diversity plan, Burnett believes the training will be beneficial to all involved. “The plan seeks to foster an inclusive and respectful learning environment, and to assure a climate of professionalism in which diverse students feel welcome and in which all students understand their professional responsibilities,” he wrote.

In a phone interview, Burnett told IdahoReporter.com the trainings will be open discussions and not simple lectures. All views, including those opposite to those brought forth by the speaker being featured by the school, will be included. “The sessions … will be closed, ‘safe’ conversations in which participants are free and encouraged to express their candid views,” Burnett wrote in his letter.

The law student handbook, Burnett believes, permits the college to note if students don’t attend required meetings. “This section (of the handbook) promotes individual responsibility, and accountability, which are important values in a professional school,” Burnett said.

See a copy of Burnett’s letter to lawmakers here.

Gov. Butch Otter has proposed a number of tax relief ideas with the intent of yielding $45 million in tax cuts.

While there were a number of ideas and suggestions given to the joint committee meeting on growing Idaho’s economy and providing some tax relief, the one overriding theme was Idaho’s personal property tax.

Personal property tax has become a lightning rod issue lately around the Capitol, with many prominent business representatives calling for an end to it. Brent Olmstead, lobbyist for the Food Producers of Idaho, believes this should be the case.

During testimony, Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, questioned the need for the reduction or elimination of the tax that Olmstead suggested during his presentation. Olmstead replied, “In talking with processors and the food processing industry, they find that the business personal property tax to be more onerous, they would rather see that gone than any decrease in income tax. We’d be more than willing to pay a little more in one other area than to continue on with the business personal property tax.”

Alex LaBeau, president of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, echoed Olmstead’s comments, spending the vast majority of his testimony on the positive outcomes from eliminating the personal property tax.

LaBeau has not been shy this legislative session in expressing his distaste for the tax, telling IdahoReporter.com in January that, “It’s not transparent, it’s not administered fairly, and it’s something that is problematic not only for local government, but problematic for business to keep track of.”

During his testimony, LaBeau hit on areas where Idaho has made progress in economic development and growth, including education, human resources and infrastructure (including GARVEE road-building bonding). However, when he came to Tax Policy on his powerpoint slide, there was a question mark, followed by a long pause from him.

Said LaBeau, “What have we done on tax policy (to help economic growth)?” LaBeau cited a study by the Tax Foundation, which in part reads “sales taxes and personal property taxes are associated with lower employment growth.” The report also says, “property taxes are a significant factor in business location decisions.” According to LaBeau, the foundation estimates that a 1 percent tax hike on personal property tax can reduce employment by as much as 2.44 percent.

LaBeau also cited a Business Summit, part of Idaho’s Project 60 economic development program, and recommendations given for economic growth in the Gem State. According to LaBeau, the first recommendation given by businesses was overwhelmingly to eliminate the personal property tax.

“This was not something that was contrived by lobbyists, this wasn’t contrived by our organization or any other organization,” he said. “We were as interested as everyone else to find out what businesses would say so we specifically did not talk to any of the folks that were going to be slated in front of that committee. We wanted to find out what they were going to say. This (the personal property tax) still comes up as the single most hated tax by businesses in this state, and it’s time to eliminate the tax and find a way to get it done.”

Besides the elimination of the property tax, the committees heard testimony in favor of rewarding companies for selling Idaho products, resurrecting funds for agricultural research and development, monetary incentives for job creation and a request that income tax rates be reduced.