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Governor Got Most of What He Wanted: Teachers, State Workers, Highways All Fared Well

Posted on: Thursday, 13 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Shawna Gamache, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

Apr. 13--In this year's State of the State speech, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne set 15 major goals for the legislative session, including a request for first-year funding for last year's major initiative on highway borrowing. Here's what lawmakers said to his ideas in the legislative session that ended Tuesday night.

Pay workers more: Yes

Give a 3 percent raise to the state's employees, starting in 2006.

Cost: $10.7 million for 2006, $17.1 million for 2007.

Result: The state's workers got their raises in February, and some workers -- like nurses and correctional officers -- got a piece of a $5 million targeted raise too.

Extra raises for prison, parole staffs: Yes

Raise the salaries of corrections officers at Idaho's prisons, and for probation and parole officers as well as a 0.5 percent raise for Idaho State Police officers.

Cost: $818,000

Result: Lawmakers approved significant raises for security staffers, giving correctional officers $2.6 million of a $5 million targeted raise on top of a 3 percent across-the-board raise given to all state employees, and granting the governor's request for the state's police.

Teacher raises: Yes

Increase starting minimum salaries for Idaho teachers to $30,000 from $28,000

Cost: $27 million

Result: The House and Senate unanimously passed this, and Kempthorne signed it into law.

Medicaid redesign: Yes

Redesign Medicaid to reduce costs and focus on prevention, wellness and personal responsibility by splitting the program into four parts.

Savings: Unknown

Result: Signed into law.

Fill rainy-day fund: Yes

Transfer $67 million of the state's surplus into the budget stabilization fund, refilling it to almost 5 percent of state revenues.

Cost: $67 million

Result: Lawmakers one-upped the governor, transferring $70 million, exactly 5 percent, into the fund.

Raise circuit breaker: Yes

Increase the number of Idahoans eligible to receive $1,200 in state funding toward their property taxes by raising the income limit for eligibility to $30,000 from $22,630, with an expected 9,255 additional claimants expected.

Cost: $7.3 million

Result: Lawmakers passed a proposal that raises the exemption to $28,000 or 185 percent of the national poverty level, whichever is higher.

Reverse mortgages: Yes

Create a state program allowing homeowners who meet the homeowner's exemption and circuit breaker qualifications -- basically low-income, elderly, widowed and disabled residents -- to get reverse mortgages with the state subsidizing their mortgage payments and taking payment from the later sale of their homes or from their estates after death.

Cost: $500,000

Result: The plan passed.

Drug treatment: Yes

Create a 400-bed community-based drug-treatment center to treat reoffenders and prisoners who committed drug-related crimes.

Cost: $1.5 million this year

Result: The Department of Correction will soon consider bids to build and manage the center, set to be built this summer in the Treasure Valley.

Connecting Idaho: Yes

Give the Idaho Transportation Department first-year funding of the Connecting Idaho program, paving today's highways with tomorrow's dollars.

Cost: $218 million for 11 projects.

Result: Lawmakers approved $200 million for six projects:

-- Add more lanes to I-84 between Caldwell and Meridian and buy up land at the Ten Mile interchange in Meridian. Cost: $70 million.

-- Complete preliminary plans and buy land to expand I-84 between Orchard Road and Isaac's Canyon to three lanes: $13.9 million.

-- Buy land to extend Idaho 16 between I-84 and Emmett. Cost: $5 million.

-- Complete construction on U.S. 95 between Worley and Setters: $45.6 million.

-- Begin construction on U.S. 30 between McCammon and Soda Springs, starting with work on Topaz to Lava Hot Springs: $30.5 million.

-- Buy land to widen U.S. 95 between Garwood and Sagle, using money cut from the McCammon project. Cost: $35 million.

Sex-crime penalties: Yes

Double the maximum sentences for the "most severe" sex crimes, require violent sexual predators to register quarterly with the state, and require sex offenders moving to Idaho to register within 48 hours.

Cost: Unspecified

Result: Lawmakers approved these and removed the statute of limitations for prosecuting cases of child sexual abuse.

Crack down on gangs: Yes

Make gang recruitment illegal, toughen the penalties for gang members who commit crimes, and make it a felony to supply firearms to a criminal gang.

Cost: Unspecified

Result: Lawmakers passed the Idaho Criminal Gang Enforcement Act and Kempthorne signed it.

Eminent domain: Yes

Create a law that limits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that governments can seize private property from one person and give it to another for private economic uses.

Cost: Unspecified

Result: Lawmakers passed a series of eminent-domain bills, including one like the one Kempthorne described. They also passed bills clarifying the rights of homeowners when land and property are seized. Three bills await the governor's signature.

Parks: Yes and No

Upgrade Idaho's parks by renovating and expanding six existing parks and creating a new park in eastern Idaho, with a location to be determined.

Cost: $33.5 million

Result: Lawmakers approved $11.5 million and gave the state authority to dig up and sell up to $15 million worth of gravel from Eagle Island State Park in the Treasure Valley.

Community colleges: No

Create a statewide community college network to offer more courses without building new buildings.

Cost: $5 million

Result: Lawmakers rejected an immediate change, deciding the issue should be studied this summer and reconsidered next session.

High-school math: No

Increase math and science requirements for graduation from high school to four years of math and three years of science.

Cost: A portion of the $1.5 million for high school reform.

Result: The State Board of Education faced opposition from lawmakers who felt small districts couldn't hire enough qualified teachers. The board decided last week to re-offer the plan next year.

$50 energy rebates: No

Help Idahoans pay their energy bills. All claimed dependents on 2004 individual income taxes or all who filed for the grocery tax credit would have been eligible for a $50 check. A family of four would have received $200.

Cost: $63 million

Result: Legislators said it cost too much and offered little relief. They decided the money would be better spent on rural-development initiatives and the governor's parks program.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

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Source: The Idaho Statesman, Boise

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