Newsletter, January 24, 2018
Floor Session:
Due to the infancy of the 2018 Session, our Floor Sessions are still relatively short. We open with a prayer, say the Pledge of Allegiance, go straight to the 15th order of business, which is announcements, and then adjourn for the day. All this takes approximately 15-20 minutes, and twice this week our JFAC meeting ran long enough to cause us to miss the the Floor Session due to its curtailed length. We did, however, hear, and vote, on one Bill: HB335. This was the first Bill of the Session and dealt with Unemployment Insurance Tax rates. It needed to pass early so that businesses would know how to properly account for the tax this fiscal year.
As in previous Legislative Sessions, all votes are "YES" unless otherwise noted.
HB355 Amends the Idaho Tax Code to reduce the taxable wage rate
JFAC:
We are moving at a quick pace in JFAC this year and heard more budget presentations this week, as well as addressing more supplemental requests. We also had a special presentation from the Dept. of Health and Welfare regarding the Idaho Health Care Plan, and the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). In addition, we heard the Governor's revised budget recommendation, and had a presentation from the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee.
Budget Hearings:
Commission on the Arts
Commission for Libraries
Court Operations
Guardian Ad Litem
Judicial Council
STEM Action Center
Small Business Development Centers
TechHelp
Career-Technical Education
Dept. of Commerce
Dept. of Labor
Workforce Development Council
Dept. of Environmental Quality
Soil and Water Conservation Districts
Idaho State Tax Commission
Dept. of Insurance
PERSI
State Controller
Lieutenant Governor
Division of Building Safety
The Supplemental Appropriations were:
Dept. of Agriculture Deficiency Warrant $209,900
Dept. of Health/Welfare Community Hospitalization shortfall $1,000,000
Dept. of Health/Welfare Accounting Error Correction $1,900,000
Dept. of Health/Welfare Additional Medicare Costs $116,000
Dept. of Health/Welfare Ryan White Grant $1,000,000
Industrial Commission Forensic Interviews $400,000
Idaho Transportation Dept. Strategic Initiatives Program Fund $27,700,000
Idaho Transportation Dept. TECM Fund $18,200,000
Idaho Transportation Dept. IRP Software Replacement $1,000,000
Commission on Hispanic Affairs Personnel Fund Shift $26,000
Dept. of Correction Facility Expansions $484,000
Dept. of Correction Medical Services $3,000,000
Transportation & Defense:
There were two meetings this week in which we heard three RS's, and one presentation on Cybersecurity Resilience Planning. The RS's were all recommended to print, and pertained to:
Refund of Gasoline Tax Procedure
Imposition of Tax Upon Motor Fuel
Permits for Overweight Loads
Business:
We held a sub-Committee meeting this week and heard 13 proposed rule changes.
The changes pertained to:
The National Electric Code
Plumbing Safety Inspectors
Idaho State Plumbing Code
Rules of Building Safety
Manufactured/Mobile Home Industry Licensing
Manufactured/Mobile Home Installations
Rules Governing Safety Inspections
Safety Rules for Elevators, Escalators, and Moving Walks
HVAC Installations
Minimum Safety Standards and Practices for Cable Assisted Logging
Safety and Health Rules for Places of Public Employment
Rules Governing the Damage Prevention Board
All rules passed with the exception of a proposed addition to the appendix of the Idaho Building Code that provided guidelines for what are known as "Tiny Homes". The problem was that this addition superseded the existing accepted Code, and we are explicitly forbidden to enact such rules It is a minor detail, but an important action when it comes to working within existing statues and not taking our system of law for granted.
I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns, and I am grateful for the opportunity to represent District 1 in The Idaho House of Representatives.
Lord Bless,
Sage G. Dixon
