Newsletter, February 14, 2018
Floor Session:
This was another busy week. although we did not have a Floor Session on Thursday due to the majority of the House attending the funeral of Bill Molitor. There were still many "clean up" Bills, two appropriation bills, and one notable tax reform bill. H463 was essentially the tax reform proposal put forth from the Governor with help from a couple of legislators. Prior to the Bill reaching the Floor, there was much discussion about the contents of this Bill, and whether or not it should have a grocery tax repeal added to it or not. The general consensus was that we should not risk tax reform by adding a piece that the Governor would veto, and instead run a grocery tax repeal Bill on its own. The battle to override a gubernatorial veto could then revolve around that issue and not jeopardize a reduction in tax rates. When the Bill reached the Floor, an attempt was made to send the H463 to the Amending Order, with the sole purpose of adding a grocery tax repeal to H463. This motion failed, and another motion was made to "divide the question", meaning to split the Bill in two and vote on the two separate pieces. This motion also failed, and we continued to vote on the original Bill which passed along straight party lines.
As in previous Legislative Sessions, all Bills passed and all votes are "YES" unless otherwise noted.
H379 Amends law regarding signees to nonprofit incorporation
H370 Amends law regarding water district meetings and elections
H371 Amends law regarding ground water area administration
H372 Amends law regarding application fee for water rights
H337 Amends law regarding Behavioral Health Planning Council N
H364 Amends law regarding trucking permits
H387 Amends law regarding Purple Heart license plates
H347 Amends law regarding Office of Ombudsman for the elderly N
H393 Amends law regarding Idaho Immunization Board N
HCR34 Honoring Boundary County Library (Rep. Scott and I carried this Bill)
H467 Appropriates $26,000 to Commission on Hispanic Affairs
H468 Appropriates $37,300 to Medical Boards
S1217 Amends law regarding Fish and Game fee collection for credit cards
H405 Repeals law relating to Unfair Sales Tax Act
H451 Amends law regarding income tax credit for medical education
H463 Repeals, add and amends law regarding income tax
H462 Amends law regarding forest lands taxation
H365 Amends law regarding distribution of moneys in liquor account
H416 Amends law regarding State Historical Society holdings
H336 Amends law regarding Medicaid payments to nursing facilities
H409 Amends law regarding nursing home administrators
H411 Amends law regarding sign language interpreters
H403 Amends law regarding investments allowable by State Treasurer
H404 Amends law regarding Credit Rating Enhancement Committee
Committee Reports:
JFAC:
This week continued budget hearings from the various agencies and we did not meet on Friday due to a scheduled presentation for the entire legislature. We also considered two more supplemental requests.
The budgets that were addressed were:
Idaho Transportation Dept.
Bureau of Occupational Licensing
Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Board of Medicine
Board of Nursing
Board of Pharmacy
Board of Veterinary Medicine
State Liquor Division
Idaho State Lottery
State independent Living Council
Historical Society
Dept. of Lands
Endowment Fund Investment Board
Dept. of Correction
Management Services
State Prisons
County & Out-of-State Placements
Correctional Alternative Placement
Community Corrections
Community Based Substance Abuse Prevention
Medical Services
Commission on Pardons and Parole
Joint Millennium Fund Recommendations
Catastrophic Health Care Fund
Dept. of Juvenile Corrections
Dept. of Parks and Recreation
Lava Hot Springs Foundation
Supplemental Requests:
Dept. of Correction $1,900,000
Lava Hot Springs $25,000
Transportation & Defense:
There was only one meeting this week in which we heard seven RS's.
The RS's were all recommended to print:
Military Vehicles, titling and registering
Driver's License fees
License plate fees, centennial design
Rotary license plates
Electric-assisted bicycles
Off-highway vehicles
Over-snow vehicles
Business:
We held three meetings again this week due to the number of proposed Bills that needed to go through our Committee. We heard 13 RS's and heard (2) Bills.
The RS's were all recommended to print:
Motor vehicles, towing
Recorder's fees
Title insurance, reimbursements
Homeowners Associations
Motor vehicle service contracts
Certificates of insurance
Notice of bail
Fire districts, real property
Self-storage, storage agreements
Farm equipment agreements
Labor, franchise employees
Insurance, long-term care
Building codes, local government
The Bills were recommended to the Floor with a "do pass":
H466 Minimum wage, family businesses
H454 Insurance dividends
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
