Most of the Committees have shut down and have stopped hearing bills. That means most of the legislature’s work is done. However, there are still some bills hanging out there, waiting for action.
Project Labor Agreements. This year’s bill, designed to fix last year’s bill, is out of the House State Affairs Committee and headed to the floor. I expect it will pass easily, and will even venture to say that it will be a straight party lines vote. All Senate Democrats, and one lone Republican (Broadsword, R, Sagle, who is not running for reelection) voted against it in the Senate. It should be debated on the House floor Monday.
Our real battlefield is in the court, where we have been successful and will continue to fight this onerous legislation that is an open attack on unions.
Depressing, Part XI. Last week I reported that women in Idaho make about $12,000 a year less than men. This should not be surprising, given the Governor’s lack of leadership in ensuring equitable pay in his own administration.
According to the Statesman, women in Otter’s cabinet make a median salary of around $85,000 a year, while men make about $103,000. The highest paid woman in Otter’s cabinet, Department of Agriculture Director Celia Gould, oversees 259 employees and makes $106,000. She has held that position since 2007. Compare that to the newest member of Otter’s cabinet, Commerce Director Jeff Sayler, appointed in October, who oversees 53 people and makes $145,000.
Firefighters in Limbo. The bill that would help firefighters injured in the line of duty qualify for workers’ compensation made it through the Senate, but seems to be stuck in the House. It has been assigned to House State Affairs. Unfortunately, that Committee has quit meeting so it seems that the bill is dead for the year.
Filling Out Forms is Just too Hard! The bill that would penalize employers who fail to report new hires has hit a wall of opposition in the House. It passed the Senate unanimously. The purpose of the bill is to deter unemployment fraud, estimated to cost the State about $5 million annually.
The House debated, passed, reconsidered and finally killed the bill on Thursday. The extreme right wing faction in the House said that it was a job killing bill that penalized employers for hiring people. It is interesting to note that Rep. Hart (R, Athol), who apparently can’t be bother to fill out his tax return, was an outspoken critic of the bill, stating that Idaho has a “bias against employers.” Rep. McGeachin (R, Idaho Falls) stated that she would “think twice” about hiring people because of the bill. Rep. Marriott, (R, Blackfoot) suggested that employers should be paid for filling out the reporting form.
Low Voltage. The bill exempting certain low voltage work from licensing and oversight passed the House, but is stalled in the Senate. It looks like they won’t get to it this year.
Plumbing Code. Hurrah! This may be the only good think that the legislature did this year. They updated the plumbing code. The bill has been signed by the Governor and is now law.
Shutting the Courthouse Doors. Former employees of Crown Cork who have asbestos related injuries just lost their right to sue. Legislation immunizing Crown Cork from lawsuits has passed the House and the Senate and is sitting on the Governor’s desk. Here are the Senators who voted for workers, and against this special interest legislation:
Bilyeu, D, Pocatello
Bock, D, Boise
Broadsword, R, Sagle
Corder, R, Mtn Home
Davis, R, Idaho Falls
Hill, R, Rexburg
Johnson, R, Lewiston
LeFavor, D, Boise
Malepeai, D, Pocatello
McKenzie, R, Nampa
Schmidt, D, Moscow
Stennett, D, Ketchum
Tippets, R, Montpelier
Toryanski, R, Boise
Werk, D, Boise
It is worth noting that many Republicans voted against this bill, including all of the lawyers in the Senate. The importance of access to the courts is something that lawyers understand, regardless of party affiliation.
Hostage Taking. House Bill 563, which gives tax breaks to the wealthiest 18% of Idahoans is being held by Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee Chairman Tim Corder (R, Mountain Home). Word is that he’s holding it until the House Education Committee, Chaired by Rep. Bob Nonini (R, Coeur d’Alene) gives Senate Bill 1331 a hearing, which would backfill some of the pay cuts teachers took last year.
Apparently, nobody’s blinking. Neither bill has been scheduled for hearing.
While we don’t support tax cuts for the wealthy, we don’t like to see the budget balanced on the backs of teachers either. It’s a classic case, so often seen in Idaho, of picking who gets the short end of the stick. Teachers? Or working families?
Meanwhile, House Bill 559 isn’t moving either, and that’s good news. Recall that this piece of legislation takes excess revenues and returns them to the 18%. Never mind that the 82% helped create those revenues.
What? They Listened? Yes. Regardless of where you are on the abortion debate, there’s a lesson to be learned from this year’s legislation requiring pregnant women to receive an ultrasound prior to an abortion.
What’s the lesson?
Legislators pay attention to mobs of pissed off people, especially in an election year.
The bill has been put on hold, and may be dead. Following an hour long closed caucus in which 50% of the House Republicans were rumored to have voted for holding the bill, legislators emerged and for the most part avoided the press. A couple legislators said they had received truckloads of emails, mostly in opposition to the bill. Rep. Black (R, Boise) even said that his wife, who never talks about legislation, gave him an earful.
The most positive thing to come from this is that Senator Winder (R, Boise), sponsor of the bill, has picked up a challenger. He had been unopposed, both in the primary and the general. Some comments he made apparently hit a nerve and a Boise man has stepped forward to run for the seat as a Democrat. This is good news, as Winder is no friend of labor.
Sine Die. That’s Latin for “without a day.” In other words, it’s when the legislature goes home. Senate leadership optimistically picked today, the 23rd. That’s not going to happen. I picked the 28th, and will get some fabulous prize if I win the pool.
The Silly Season. When the committees shut down, imaginative legislators have too much time on their hands and start trotting out silly legislation. Not that this session hasn’t already had its share of silly legislation--state dogs, fundraising license plates, turning off parking meters--to name a few. Next week I will wrap up the session and run through some of the silliest bills that have consumed legislators’ time and diverted their focus from things that really matter, like jobs.
