Capitol Letters: Lawmakers approve funds for Moscow killings

By Ryan Suppe, State Politics Reporter

The University of Idaho will receive $1 million in state funds to cover costs related to the killings of four students in Moscow last year.

The money will cover Idaho State Police services, increased security, a shuttle service, counseling services, a vigil, media consulting and a security review, according to the budget request.

“They spent more than the $1 million and are still incurring expenses, because they’ve still kept that counseling in place they’ve still provided that additional security,” Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, told the Senate Tuesday. “It’s something that doesn’t go away in just a few months.”

Read my full story here.

Budget committee clears $3.3 billion in public school funding

A slew of public school budget bills, totaling $3.3 billion, cleared the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee (JFAC) yesterday.

That includes $378.5 million in new funding, JFAC co-chair Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told the House yesterday. Altogether, the bills would more than satisfy the Legislature’s promise during last year’s special session to increase education funding by $330 million.

JFAC approved Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s proposals to spend $145 million increasing teacher pay, along with another $97.4 million for salaries for classified employee raises and $48.8 million in discretionary spending, Idaho Education News reported.

“We’re making the teaching profession in Idaho more competitive and rewarding, which keeps great teachers in the classroom to help our students achieve,” Little said in a news release.

Layne McInelly, president of the Idaho Education Association, the statewide teachers union, encouraged the House and Senate to embrace JFAC and Little’s recommendations.

“These proposed budgets show all educators — both certified teachers and classified educators — the respect they deserve by providing the competitive, fair compensation Idahoans want them to have,” McInelly said in a news release.

House overwhelmingly supports property tax relief

A recently introduced bill that would direct hundreds of millions to Idaho property taxpayers had overwhelming support from the House yesterday.

Just seven Democrats opposed the GOP bill that would leverage the state’s projected $1.4 billion surplus and sales tax revenue to relieve property taxes to the tune of about $100 million annually, while directing another $100 million to school districts to pay off bonds and levies.

The bill also would eliminate the March election date when most school districts host bond and levy measures. That was a deal breaker for most House Democrats.

“I think we can have it all,” said House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise. “I think we can address our property tax problems in a way that does not hobble schools’ ability to fund themselves going forward.”

Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, who co-chairs the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, noted that the budget committee earlier in the day had appropriated a historic amount to public schools.

“This is a perfectly reasonable bill,” Horman said. “To remove the March levy date is a smart move to make at this point, and they still have three others they can choose, if they need to.”

New school voucher bill advances

The Senate Education Committee yesterday advanced a bill that would allow private school families to collect $6,000 from the state for tuition.

The bill, from Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, would free up the tuition funds through an existing grant program. The Legislature last year created the Empowering Parents grants to help students buy education materials, such as technology and books, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It builds on a foundation of people being able to customize their education,” Den Hartog told the committee.

Den Hartog’s bill would allow 2,000 private school families to collect the grants, and it would prioritize low-income families. The program would cost the state $12 million and sunset after five years.

Fifty-eight people signed up to testify against the bill during yesterday’s public hearing, but only a handful got to speak. Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, who chairs the committee and ultimately was the only Republican on the panel to vote against the bill, cut the meeting short, as an afternoon session of the full Senate was scheduled.

Paul Stark, executive director of the Idaho Education Association, a teachers union, said yesterday that last year lawmakers, officials from the governor’s office and State Board of Education members assured the union that the Empowering Parents grants would not be a “backdoor” for public money to go to private school.

“Now this bill is before you with private school tuition added,” Stark said, before urging the committee to oppose the bill.

The legislation heads to the full Senate.

Necochea reelected as chair of Idaho Democratic Party

Idaho Democrats reelected Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea to serve another term as the party’s chairwoman.

Necochea, who also serves as assistant minority leader of the Idaho House, was first elected to chair the Idaho Democratic Party last year.

“The Idaho Republican Party has fully transitioned to an extremist organization,” Necochea said in a news release yesterday. “A strong Idaho Democratic Party is our only hope for restoring political balance in our state. We are rising to meet the moment because the stakes could not be higher.”

What else happened?

A bill that would block Idaho businesses from requiring their employees to have a COVID-19 vaccination cleared the Senate.

What to expect today

• 8 a.m. House Education. The committee will host a public hearing on a bill that would force public schools to provide separate bathrooms for transgender students.

• 8 a.m. Senate State Affairs. A proposal to amend the Idaho Constitution’s provision establishing the committee that sets lawmaker wages is on the docket. A public hearing on a bill prohibiting ranked choice voting also is on the agenda.

• 1 p.m. Senate Resources and Environment. The committee will consider a bill removing protections for rattlesnakes.

• 1:30 p.m. House Resources and Conservation. The committee will consider a bill crafted by Yellowstone Bear World, which was recently fined for worker safety violations, that would remove oversight for the wildlife park and similar facilities.

Find the full list of committee meetings and agendas for the House here, and for the Senate here.

Track other bills

Keep track of high-profile bills as they go through the legislative process. You can find yesterday’s updates here.

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