The
Capitol building on a beautiful winter morning.
"STEM Matters!"
brings students to the Capitol
STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math)
January 24, 2017
Computer programing and robotic building were just a few of
the skills demonstrated during the STEM display this week in the Capitol rotunda.
IdahoEdNews
STEM takes over the Statehouse
Andrew Reed 01/24/2017
Students from
elementary to high school showed off their technology and engineering skills to
lawmakers Tuesday in celebration of STEM Matters! — a campaign to raise
awareness about science, technology, engineering and math in Idaho.
Click Here
for the story.
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Overall
a very productive week
The Senate Commerce Committee
approved a significant rewrite of the safety rules regarding logging operations
in the state of Idaho. These rules were the result of a collaborative
effort between the logging industry and the Division of Building
Safety. In the Senate Education Committee Senate Bill 1014
(regarding a school’s technology plan being submitted to the State Department
of Education) was held at the call of the Chairman. Senate Bill 1015
(revising definitions and technical corrections) was sent to the Senate floor
with a due pass recommendation. Mary Spiker, of Pocatello Idaho, was named
teacher of the year. She shared her concern that economic poverty negatively
affects our students’ ability to learn. She also expressed that she has
witnessed economic poverty contributing to misbehavior, lack of critical
thinking, lack of hygiene and lack of empathy.
The Idaho State Capitol had the privilege
of being visited by representatives from the Idaho Stem Action Center, Boise
State University, University of Idaho, College of Western Idaho, College of
Southern Idaho, North Idaho College, Lewis-Clark State College, and the Idaho
Parent Teacher Association where the importance of our education system in
Idaho was discussed.
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Senator Patrick chairing the Change in
Employment Compensation (CEC) Committee meeting. |
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As part of his busy schedule this week, Senator Patrick had the pleasure
of touring an alligator farm this week! |
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Rep. Kauffman meeting wih robot builders during STEM day at the Capitol.
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Two tax cut bills introduced in Revenue & Tax Committee
The first tax bill introduced will
exempt the first $750 of income from taxation, as well as reduce the top income
and corporate rates from 7.4 percent to 7.2 percent. The entire proposal is estimated
to provide roughly $51 million in tax relief.
The second bill would bump the exemption
on Idaho's property tax on business equipment to $250,000 from the current
$100,000.
Transportation
The House & Senate Transportation
Committees held a joint meeting to hear the annual report from the Idaho
Transportation Dept. and then we toured the new Boise downtown underground bus
terminal. It was a great example of a
public private partnership.
I submitted a bill to revive the recently
expired plan that dedicated excess general-fund surplus dollars to statewide
roads projects by adding another two years to the sunset. The so-called surplus
eliminator had a two-year expiration date on it.
My proposal, would give 60 percent of the new
money to statewide highway projects, while 40 percent would go to local
districts. The previous bill gave the
entire surplus to the State system.
AIC in town
Visits with Jerome, Filer, Buhl, TF
In visiting with the Cities, one major
concern was the cost of proposed water quality standards and with the new
Presidential Administration the uncertainty of future regulations.
Public Hearing
Public invited to offer
testimony Fri. morning on health and welfare issues. A large crowd was on hand to testify. Click
here for a recording of this meeting.
JFAC backs supplemental appropriations for F-35
mission (click
for full story)
I serve on the Idaho Military
Advocacy Commission (IMAC) and one of our priorities is to site the F-35
mission at the Idaho National Guard at Gowen Field in Boise. This supplemental was good news.
This week I met with:
Idaho Optometric Physicians, Idaho Chamber
Alliance, Idaho Family Physicians, Idaho Auto body Craftsmen, the Idaho Potato
Commission, Idaho PTA, U of I Student Legislator Ambassadors, Idaho Assn. of
Cities, Idaho Credit Union Leagues, Boise State, STEM Action Center students
and the Idaho State University.
Rep. Kauffman meeting with University of Idaho Legislative Ambassadors.
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Students from the Idaho Home School Coalition visit with members of the Department of education. These students received a 'Passport to Success' booklet and as they learned about each topic a stamp was placed on their booklet. Some of the topics discussed include: Advanced College and Career Advising, Math Initiatives, Drug Free Schools, Technology Services and more.
2017
Capstone Students
One of the nicest things that happens each January is the visit from
the wonderful home schooled students with Capstone.
Every weekday morning, 298,800 children are
headed out the door for school! That was the beginning statement by
Superintendent Ybarra during a week of education funding hearings.
By the end of the week, we will have heard requests for about 68 percent of all
the tax money that is used to fund your state government
responsibilities. Included in the details of our educational system are
student fees, which I am glad to say are among the lowest in the nation.
We also receive federal money at almost 300,000 million for special
education services and nutritional programs. The part of the education
budget that helps offer dual credits or advanced opportunities costs about 7
million a year and will be an item in this budget also. It has made
it much easier for parents to pay for higher education. In fact, there
are many high school students who now graduate with one or two years of college
credits. Along this same line, College of Southern Idaho is committed to
helping our high school students realize their opportunity for
college. One of their budget items covers counselors and a summer camp
opportunity for our young folks to feel more qualified to go on to further
education.
This coming week will find us helping with the
disaster caused by the terrific snowfall. Governor Otter has signed an
executive order for disaster relief and we will cut a check for 2 million
dollars to help in the damage caused by heavy snow pack or that could be coming
with a thaw. One of the new items in all state agency budgets is a shared
cost of Cybersecurity insurance. This is not a quick fix to a new and
far-reaching threat, but will be an ongoing effort to protect our ever growing
technology systems.
It was nice to see several city council
members, Mayor Davis, and city manager Mike Williams. They were in Boise
for meetings and scheduled a visit early on Thursday morning before we started
the day’s schedule. The budget hearings continue next week with a study
of how we use Health and Welfare and Medicaid funds for those of our citizens
who qualify for this needed assistance.
Rep. Maxine T. Bell
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