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Senator Nuxoll's weekly legislative report
Idaho’s 63rd Legislative Session Summary  Committee,
Health & Welfare Committee, and Resources & Environment Committee
are crucial and constituents have been very responsive. I am very
grateful for your communication and critique of the bills. I am especially
thankful for Priscilla Giddings, my volunteer aide this year. Without
her graciousness, common sense, military expertise of order, vision, and
insight, I would not have been able to accomplish my goals nor my service
to you this year. Thanks, Priscilla!!!
Three of my top priorities going into this year’s session were decreasing federal overreach, protecting the rights of Idaho’s citizens and ensuring fiscal responsibility. Although there has been progress, waiting for the right time might be the theme for this legislative session. Some major issues were: Pro-Life: H 154 requires a physician to conduct an in-person examination and counseling of a pregnant woman prior to prescribing abortion-inducing drugs. This pre-emptive law could save many moms from complications and death caused by RU 486, a chemical abortion drug. I was the sponsor of this bill. Parental Rights: H 113, a major achievement for parental rights for education, states that parents who have legal custody of minor children have a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, education and control of their children. I was the sponsor of this bill on the Senate floor. Shoshone County: Shoshone and Benewah County Commissioners, Forest Service, Department of Lands, Senator Crapo’s office and I met to advance some small scale logging and restoration projects forward in the St. Joe River drainage area. The hope is to start this year promoting logging job opportunities, forestry health, stewardship of forests, and increase county revenue. This meeting included a review of the EPA air quality standards for wood burning stoves. These standards cause a direct attack on rural America. The Coeur d'Alene-Spokane River Basin Adjudication (CSRBA), now pending in the 5th Judicial District Court, is the process of determining and filing claims for water rights on and around the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, St. Joe Rivers and Coeur d’Alene Lake with the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The federal government on behalf of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe has filed more than 300 claims, which encompass more than claims solely on the reservation. The initial settlement discussion in Coeur d’Alene on May 7th will be open to the public. The process can be settled by negotiation or litigation. All of the northern Idaho legislators are major players and have a seat at the negotiations to protect their citizens as provided for in HCR 62 passed in 2014. Clearwater County: H 52 removed the sunset provision on the Youth Challenge Program so the program can continue indefinitely. The annexation bill sponsored by Ken Harvey and the Maniac license plate bills failed this year, but hopefully, they will return next year. Idaho County: H 221 avoids taxing guides and outfitters twice by clarifying within the existing production exemption statutes that a sales tax is to be assessed only on the final product. The State Tax Commission was taxing birds and ammunition twice for the Flying B Ranch, instead of just the final product. I was the sponsor of this bill. Federal Lands: Momentum for the transfer of federal lands to the state is increasing. Even U.S. Senators Crapo and Risch voted in favor of a resolution that paves the way for a land transfer. H 265, which I co-sponsored, would allow Idaho to join with other western states in a compact to continue finding ways to manage federally owned lands including the transfer of lands. It failed in the Senate. Next year, the issue will focus on pursuing the compact to provide more access, more productivity, and healthier forests. SCR 126 requests the Department of Lands perform the duties relating to federal lands. Education: The Senate passed several excellent education bills: SB 1096 promotes parental rights involvement, SB 1070 requests an alternative route for graduation assessment, and SCR 106 asks for an alternative for SBAC testing. However, these bills were not heard in the House Education Committee, therefore, common core standards with SBAC testing were left intact. Several good bills passed, including HCR 3 which restricts student data processing, SB 314 which is asking for a waiver of flexibility from some of Common Core requirements at the federal level, and SB 1071 which requires a civics test for graduation. Local Highway Assistance Council (LHTAC): S 1179 appropriates money for an independent evaluation of LHTAC, a transportation council created to assist Idaho’s local highway districts to utilize available resources and federal funding for road construction. Many contractors complain that they are not getting paid for their work. This failed in the House but the ethical concerns are urgent and must be addressed. The Marriage Resolution: HJM 4 calls upon our State Legislature and our U.S. Congressmen to acknowledge that the power of the United States Judiciary is to interpret as close to the original intent as possible, and uphold the law, or face the possibility of impeachment proceedings, especially with the marriage definition. This much needed resolution sponsored by Representative Paul Shepherd was not heard in the Senate. Small Dredge Mining: H 255 amends existing law to recognize the ‘de minimus’ nature of suction dredge mining. It frees this important small business vocation from unreasonable regulation. It failed in the house. Our small dredge suction miners need to be freed of the EPA regulations and the NPDES permits. Medicaid expansion (also called Healthy Idaho or Medicaid Redesign): Idaho is one of the states in the nation who receives the most federal funding for Medicaid (63%). 25,000 more Idahoans were put on Medicaid this last year, so truthfully, Medicaid was expanded. 74% of Medicaid is for children. 1 out of 3 Idahoans use some agency in the Idaho Health and Welfare Department. Fortunately, even though the Health and Welfare Department promoted Medicaid expansion, it was not considered. Audit of Optum: Optum is a national managed care company hired by the Department of Health and Welfare for mental health. I asked for an audit due to the number and severity of complaints. Last month, there was a joint committee hearing by the Health and Welfare Committees to listen to the concerns of citizens. The greatest concern for constituents was linked to the refusal of specific behavioral health services by Optum. The Office of Performance Evaluation will be conducting an audit to determine their performance over the past two years which could affect their contract renewal. Naturopaths: H 181 provides a framework for naturopathic physicians who have graduated from an accredited Naturopathic Medical School and passed a national exam to become licensed. This bill failed in the Senate due to difficulty in licensing all of the naturopaths with different educations and approaches to natural cures. Idahoans want a choice of naturopaths with different backgrounds. Work on this issue will be done throughout the summer. Transportation funding: If there is to be a fuels tax increase and/or registration increases for much-needed road infrastructure, my hope is that there will also be some other tax relief connected with the bill for our citizens in this year in which state revenue has increased. Constitutional Carry unfortunately was not brought forward this year, but it is expected to be addressed next year. I look forward to working on these important issues with you next year. Let’s remember what Ronald Reagan said, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” But I also agree with Ronald Reagan who always gave hope, “My optimism comes not just from my strong faith in God but from my strong and enduring faith in man.” ~ Senator Nuxoll |
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