Saturday, March 23, 2013

Week 11 Review

Week 11 Review-



The state exchange bill, HB248, passed the Senate 23 to 12 on Thursday. Twelve of us fought valiantly in debate to try to stop this monumental injustice from coming to Idaho. The 23 Senators who voted for the exchange said that they despise Obamacare, but they think that the state will have more control with a state exchange over a federal exchange. I truthfully believe that we will have less control. If you wish to see my debate, please email me and I will send it to you. The bill now goes to the governor for his signature where he will inevitably sign the measure into law. This is a sad moment in Idaho's history. Those of us who stood up against the idea of having our rights taken away have not given up. I would encourage our citizens to start a referendum.
The various gun bills have made a lot of movement this week. H0183, the measure prohibiting cities and counties from regulating conceal carry, has passed through committee and is awaiting a vote on the senate floor. H0192, the measure that creates a new class of concealed carry called enhanced concealed carry, was passed by the committee as well and is also awaiting a vote on the Senate floor. H0219, the bill prohibiting state officials and state law enforcement from enforcing federal gun bans, has been held up in the State Affairs committee and will probably not be moving forward during this session. Please be sure to contact the State Senate Affairs committee to urge them to pass this bill out of committee.
A bill, which would not allow the federal government to detain any citizen without due process of trial, is also being refused a hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee. This bill would counteract the National Defense Authorization Act which was passed by Congress which strips citizens of their right to trial by jury which protects us from being found guilty without proof. Please contact the Senate State Affairs Committee about this bill.
Several Education bills were undertaken this week, including the bill to pass the education budget. The House voted for the Public Education budget 52-16, the budget will now be coming to the Senate for a vote. Additionally, the senate education and state affairs committee's have heard bills regarding teacher contracts being conducted in public meetings and contracts negotiated should only last one year. This would allow school districts to adjust contracts with the flows of their budgets. SB 1148 which would have allowed flexibility in number of school days to ward off expenses in an economically bad year failed on the Senate floor. SB 1149 which requires good faith negotiations with the teachers passed.
The personal property tax repeal bill (H0315) has been passed by the House and has been passed by the Senate Local Government and Taxation committee and is waiting to go before the Senate Floor. This measure would remove an archaic and costly tax burden on businesses by extending the exemptions to many small businesses and reductions to larger businesses. I still want to make sure that the tax is removed in such a way as to not cause a huge tax shift burden on the county or individual Idahoans.
https://chumly.com/n/1b10c5d

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