The Capitol is now in its 6th week of the session. Committees are very busy hearing
bills and, if approved, forwarding them to the House and Senate chambers. You can watch or listen to all the action
live at http://legislature.idaho.gov/. This is also the site where you can research
bills, find out when/where hearings are being held, and see how your
legislators have been voting on bills, on your behalf. It is a good resource for holding your
legislators accountable.
Rep. Nate’s three issues of the week:
Amend the Blaine
Amendment: Protecting School Choice
A 2016 review
from the Albertson Family Foundation reports the
following:
“The survey shows that, if money were not an issue, the vast
majority of [Idaho] parents would opt out of the regular public schools and
send their children to alternatives. Fully 73% would send their children to
private school or to a charter school, while only 26% of parents would opt to
send them to the regular public schools.”
HJR
1 is a proposal to amend part of the Idaho Constitution. It will preserve and protect Idaho programs
regarding school choice at all education levels. Students, regardless of family wealth or
income status, should be able to choose the best education opportunities in
front of them. The best schools should
not be reserved only for students from wealthy and powerful families. The amendment would clarify that when the
state provides education assistance to students to meet these goals, it is not
the same thing as the state “establishing religion.”
Currently, dual credit programs and Idaho Opportunity Scholarships
allow students to get college credits (with state assistance) at all Idaho
universities. Some students choose BSU,
ISU, CSI, etc. But some students also
choose to get dual credits at Northwest Nazarene University (over 2000
students) and others use state scholarships at NNU and BYU-Idaho (151 students
combined at both church-affiliated schools).
Do these programs violate the state constitution? The Idaho Attorney General’s office says they
probably do. That’s where HJR 1 comes
in.
Article IX, Section 5 (commonly known as the Blaine Amendment)
prohibits the State of Idaho or any political subdivisions from spending tax
dollars to support churches or church-affiliated schools. It is a wise and reasonable standard. However, it has been interpreted that
assistance to students, who then use the assistance at a church-affiliated
school potentially runs afoul of this part of the constitution.
HJR 1 is Joint Resolution to amend the Idaho Constitution by
adding a clarification at the end of Article IX, Section 5. It adds the phrase,
“…nothing [in Section 5] shall be construed to prohibit the
legislature or any county, city, town, township, school district, or other
public corporation from making appropriations, payments, grants, or donations
of public funds or moneys for the purpose of providing grants, scholarships,
loans, or other assistance to students or parents of students for educational
purposes.”
Here’s what the amendment does:
· Preserves Idaho’s clear
separation between church and state.
· Clarifies that education assistance to students is permissible.
· Protects the Idaho Opportunity
Scholarship from legal challenges.
· Protects dual-credit and
concurrent credit programs from legal challenges.
· Ensures that when Idaho provides
assistance to students, then the state will not have to exclude some students’
best options.
· It aligns Idaho with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on school
choice (Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 2002).
The Court ruled when scholarships, grants, loans, etc. go to students or
parents of students—even though some of the money ends up in church
institutions or schools—then such programs are permissible.
Here is what the amendment does not do:
- It does not “funnel money to
churches.”
- It does not establish any
programs to assist students.
- It is not policy;
it is a change to the Constitution.
·
It does not violate the U.S.
Constitution’s “establishment clause.”
·
It does not advantage or
disadvantage churches or church-affiliated schools.
NOTE: The Blaine Amendment
itself (not really an amendment, it’s always been in the Idaho Constitution) is
an artifact of religious bigotry. It was
designed to punish Parochial Schools while protecting Bible-Preaching
Protestant schools – known as Common Schools. The political cartoon above is from 1875, depicting the Parochial Schools
as Catholic crocodiles poised to destroy and eat the common (Protestant,
public) schools and the children. A
Catholic school teacher is being hauled off to the gallows on the hilltop. See this story about the cartoon here. And, see these stories
about the sordid history of the Blaine Amendment here and here.
Here is a link to a great article about the Blaine Amendment bill by Idaho Freedom Foundation's, Wayne Hoffman.
Did you know that non-school taxing
districts have the ability to collect taxes they could have charged in previous
years, but didn’t? It’s true. There are limits each year to how much tax
may be levied on property owners. Many
taxing districts operate below the maximum limit. However, if a taxing district finds itself in
a fiscal pickle, the law allows, and some districts do, retroactively assess
and collect taxes on previous years that were not charged in those years. This
process is called collecting “forgone taxes.”
Many property owners are surprised to
see their assessments suddenly increase because of these forgone tax
collections. The bill, H474, will
require these taxing districts to do three things before capitalizing on these
forgone taxes:
1.
Hold a hearing in conjunction with their
budget hearings about their intent to collect the forgone taxes.
2.
Certify by resolution their intent to collect
on the forgone taxes.
3.
Certify the amount of the taxes proposed to
be assessed on property owners.
4.
Specify how the tax revenues will be used.
It was surprising to me to hear of the
ability of taxing districts to “claw back” taxes they could have charged but
didn’t. It was even more distressing to
hear that exactly the time districts would want to do this (recessions), is
when property owners could least afford it.
Naturally, my first reaction was to advocate
for a repeal of the law allowing the collection of forgone taxes--it just seems unfair. However, a simple repeal would give taxing
districts the incentive to always collect the maximum amount each year, because
they would lack the ability to collect forgone taxes. That was not an appealing option. H474, does better. Taxing districts would still have the
incentive to not “max out” each year, but would also be required to seek public
input and provide information before voting to collect these taxes. It will result in fewer forgone tax
collections in the future. The bill
passed the committee and will be voted on in the House soon.
A Day in the House
My “part time” job as a legislator is fascinating, challenging,
and very rewarding. I thoroughly enjoy
it, and work hard to make sure I am getting the right work done and in the
right way. I was chatting with a
constituent and explaining how a typical day goes, and she thought I should
share it on my update. So, here
goes. This is a brief log of a typical
day:
6:50am: Arrive at Capitol.
7:00am: Join a
teleconference with the Chamber of Commerce from my home district. Give an
update on important issues being considered, the bills I’m working on, and get
feedback from the Chamber about their issues and opinions on current proposals.
7:45am: Return to office, work
on answering emails, prepare “Ultrasound” bill to submit to committee, review
bills for the committee hearing and House session.
8:30am: Two meetings with
senators to discuss support for “Blaine Amendment” bill.
9:00am: Revenue and
Taxation Committee – Vote on the introduction of two bill proposals. Participate in hearing on two bills being
considered. Listen to testimony, ask
questions, etc. Vote on whether to send
the bills to the House for a full vote.
10:15am: Join an advisor (who
is helping me on a bill) to visit with a Deputy Attorney General regarding an
opinion about “Dismemberment Abortion Ban.”
Is the bill constitutional and would the AG’s office be able to defend
it?
10:30am: Return to office,
answer some emails, review my notes on bills to be voted on in House session,
discuss a couple of bills with fellow representatives.
11:00am: House
session. Try to answer a few emails
while preliminary readings are being spoken by the clerk. Follow debate on bills, vote on approximately
7 bills.
12:00pm: Luncheon coupled
with a presentation on the Constitution.
1:00pm: Radio interview
with BYU-Idaho radio (gave updates on bills and committee hearings).
1:10pm: Answer a few
emails, read bills for coming Judiciary and Rules Committee.
1:30pm: Judiciary and Rules
Committee – Busy day, long hearing! We voted
on four bill introductions. We participated
in an extensive hearing about prioritizing victim restitution versus court
fees. The committee heard testimony on a
Senate Concurrent Resolution bill.
3:30pm: Visit with advisor/lobbyist
(helping me with “Ultrasound” and “Abortion Dismemberment Ban” bills) about
status of co-sponsor list. Schedule
legislator visits for following day to add co-sponsors.
3:45pm: Visit with ABATE (a
motorcycle biker group working on ending police overreach regarding profiling
and improper search and seizure). Great
people; they love the Constitution!
4:00pm: Conference call
with school test providers regarding the Fiscal Note on the “Repeal the SBAC”
bill.
4:15pm: Answer emails,
return phone calls, return text messages (actually that happens all day).
5:00pm: Walk with a few
legislators to reception hosted by Beverage Distributors.
6:00pm: No dinner plans
tonight, so return to Capitol, answer emails.
Read and research bills on calendar for following day. There are 22 bills on the calendar, but
thankfully, several of them are holdovers from the previous day (already read
those!).
8:00pm: Drive back to
“home” in Eagle (20 minutes).
8:30pm: Call family, talk
to wife and kids before they go to bed.
9:00pm: Review remaining bills
for coming day; prepare talking points on bills I will be presenting soon.
10:00pm: Relax, do push-ups,
personal study, watch “The Office” on Netflix.
Well, that is a typical day.
Switching from task to task and topic to topic every few minutes is just
part of the job. Of course, throughout
the day there are dozens of brief hallway conversations with legislators,
lobbyists, agency staff, and constituents.
It’s very enjoyable to have these discussions and visits all along the
way. This is a great job, I love nearly
every minute of it, and I am constantly trying to do my best. If you’re ever in Boise during the session,
please set an appointment, or just stop by; it’s always a pleasure to hear
about what’s going on at home and see what I can do for you in the
Capitol.
Bills introduced:
o
HJR 1 – A
resolution to amend the Idaho Constitution to protect education assistance to
Idaho students. Specifically it makes it
so scholarship and grants to students who may wish to use them at any school,
including church-affiliated schools, are permissible and constitutional. This
bill is in the House State Affairs Committee.
If you think the bill should be heard and voted on, you can express your
views to the State Affairs Committee at hstaf@house.idaho.gov.
o
H422
and H423 –
Along with Rep. Scott (District 1), these two bills to address a confusion in
Idaho law concerning the carrying of concealed weapons without a permit. The bills would make it so Idahoans could
carry concealed weapons without a permit anywhere in Idaho that is not
prohibited by state or federal law (like schools, etc.). These
bills are in the Ways and Means Committee awaiting a hearing date. You may contact the Ways and Means Committee
at hway@house.idaho.gov .
o
H420 – A
bill to repeal the state’s requirement that all Idaho school districts must
administer the SBAC (Common Core) test to their students. It leaves the option open, however, if
districts choose the SBAC themselves.
Also, students would not be required to take the SBAC for graduation. This
bill is in the Ways and Means Committee awaiting a hearing date. You may contact the Ways and Means Committee
at hway@house.idaho.gov .
o
H421 – A
bill to repeal the State Health Insurance Exchange. The state health insurance exchange has been
an expensive and frustrating endeavor.
It has cost over $70 million to set up, it binds Idaho to all the
federal rules, leaving no room for Idaho solutions. And, it has lead to a virtual monopoly in
health insurance “choices” for Idaho citizens—only a few insurance companies
have been permitted space on the exchange.
All the while, Idahoans’ health insurance premiums and deductibles have
skyrocketed. This bill is in the Ways and Means Committee awaiting a hearing
date. You may contact the Ways and Means
Committee at hway@house.idaho.gov .
o
H506 – A
bill to restrict and limit the dollar value of gifts given to legislators by
lobbyists and other special interest groups.
This bill has been introduced
into the House Judiciary and Rules Committee, and will have a full hearing in
the a day or two.
Bills in the Works:
o
A bill requiring abortion providers to give information
to women about where and how they can get a free ultrasound prior to an
abortion. This bill was introduced into the House State Affairs Committee this morning;
it will receive a bill number tomorrow and will have a full hearing in the next
week.
o
A bill to ban “dismemberment abortions.” These abortions are horrific, late-term
abortions that Planned Parenthood and other providers conduct—sometimes for the
purpose of harvesting the unborn baby’s organs.
This bill will likely be
introduced into the Senate State Affairs Committee in the coming weeks.
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As
always my goals are to best represent District 34’s views and interests, keep
my oath to protect and defend the U.S. and State Constitutions, restrain government
influence, keep taxes low, and support legislation that is constitutional,
economical, and moral. I always appreciate
feedback from voters and citizens. As you
probably know, citizen input is very important and influential. When you and others contact legislators, they
have the power to protect rights and keep their oaths. Together, we can keep Idaho great and free.
Citizens
can contact their legislators to make their views known by emailing or calling
them. To find your representatives’ and
senators’ contact information you can go here to find your legislator: http://legislature.idaho.gov/about/idmap2.pdf and here to get the addresses and phone
numbers for them: http://legislature.idaho.gov/house/membership.cfm http://legislature.idaho.gov/senate/membership.cfm
If you know someone who
would like to receive this newsletter, please have them go to the following
link and sign up:http://legislature.idaho.gov/lso/gdsubscribe.html
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