2015 Legislative News - Idaho Supreme Court...2015/03/27 · 2015 Legislative News by Senior Judge...

2015 Legislative News

by Senior Judge Barry Wood

You can access the Idaho Legislature, including the text of proposed legislation, calendars and agendas, a legislative directory,

live streaming video with audio on line, and other useful information on their home page at: http://www.idaho.gov/government/legislative.html.

The Bills of Interest may be accessed on the Court’s Website at: http://www.isc.idaho.gov/current_legislative_session

NEW Click here for the current Bill Tracking Sign-in: e-mail: [email protected] / Password: court1996 then click on 2015-Court-Bills-of-Interest

Legislative News for the week ending March 27th

[Week 11 ]

Week 11 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened at the Capitol with the emergence of still another concealed weapons bill,

the House passing the Giant Salamander designation bill, and the Senate passing an amended parental rights bill. The Court’s

appropriation bill, SB 1159, was on the 3rd

reading calendar in the House, which is now held over until Monday.

First, a quick up-date on a couple of events which occurred after Week 10’s Legislative News went out last Friday. Of primary

significance, the House Transportation and Defense Committee rejected HB 299, which was a multi-faceted revenue plan to

address the State’s significant transportation funding gap. The plan had been earlier touted by some as a “grand-bargain,” but went

down in Committee 14-2. The topics of Transportation Funding and Education Funding have been billed as “the two Biggies” this

session and what happens to these two issues will likely dictate when the session ends. On Wednesday, three transportation

funding proposals emerged. The most that can be said at this point is the situation is fluid and uncertain.

On the education funding issue, late Friday of last week came confirmation that the Idaho Legislature has reached consensus

on a major school teacher career ladder pay bill, HB 296. On Monday, the House passed the bill 62 – 8 with NO debate.

On Thursday, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 34-0-1.

SB 1170 did in fact get a committee hearing this year, at least on the Senate side; after being told last week that there would be no

more Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee meetings. This is the judicial qualifications bill sponsored by Senator Burgoyne which

was printed last week. The hearing before Senate Judiciary and Rules was Monday afternoon and the bill received a “DO PASS”

recommendation, and passed the Senate unanimously. It has been set for a hearing by the House Judiciary, Rules and

Administration Committee on today, Friday, March 27.

The new concealed weapons proposal mentioned in the opening paragraph, HB 301, passed the House this week on a vote of 57 –

11 and moves over to the Senate. Should this measure proceed through the legislative process, our readers may want to familiarize

themselves with the specifics.

The Giant Salamander bill (HB 1) was going nowhere until last week when it was resurrected in Committee. Specifically, HB 1

went nowhere at the start of the session because lawmakers were too busy on other important matters; but in response to the time

recently spent on “National Diaper Awareness Week” some legislators were of the view if the Legislature had time to discuss one,

they should have time to discuss the other. HB 1 passed the House Monday on a vote of 57-17 and passed the Senate on Thursday

with a vote of 33-1-1. As the State’s Official Amphibian, the Giant Salamander joins such other prominent state symbols as the

syringa as the state flower; the western white pine as the state tree; the Hagerman Horse as the state fossil; the mountain bluebird

as the state bird; the Idaho Star Garnet as the state gemstone; the cutthroat trout as the state fish; the Appaloosa as the state horse;

and the huckleberry as the favorite pie ingredient.

On the parental rights front, HB 113a passed the Senate on a vote of 27 – 7 and the amended version passed the House on

Thursday by a vote of 56-12-2. One Senator said during the floor debate that this measure would ensure that courts recognize

parents’ “fundamental right” to raise and educate their children as they wish.

All of the Court’s four proposed pieces of Legislation for the 2015 session have now passed both chambers and the bill numbers

are:

H0061 Juvenile corrections, probation

H0062 Victim’s restitution judgment lien period

H0064 Credit for time served

H0158 Dealing with bail on failure to appear warrants

http://www.idaho.gov/government/legislative.html

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/current_legislative_session

http://lso.legislature.idaho.gov/MyBillTracker/Login_input.do

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2015/S1159.htm

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2015/H0299.htm












All four of the Court’s proposed “Defects in the Law” bills have now passed both chambers as well. They are:

S1026 DUI License Suspension/ignition interlock devices

S1027 Senior Judge Eligibility

S1028 Dealing with speed limits

S1029 Financial Transaction Cards, Fraud

HB 264, an IDHW budget bill for the mental health division which contains the $1.7 million for the second crisis center, has now

passed both chambers and moves on to the Governor.

As reported on the last several weeks, SB 1049 which passed the full Senate on a vote of 23 – 11 has received a “DO PASS”

recommendation from the House State Affairs and has moved to the House floor. This proposed legislation would create a

presidential primary election on the second Tuesday in March in the years of presidential elections. All other candidates for state or

federal office would be unaffected and would continue to use the May primary election date. The estimated fiscal note may be as

much as $2 million. Idaho’s District Judges are elected in non-presidential primary years so this measure would likely have little

impact on the May primary voter turnout; however, should this become law, the May voter turnout in presidential primary years

could be impacted which in turn could be a factor in other contested judicial races.

SB 1092, which would ban local regulation of knives including those at schools, died in the House Judiciary Committee on a vote

of 9 – 8.

Also passing the Senate on Monday was SB 1096aa would require all Idaho School districts to develop processes by which parents

can withdraw their child from any “activity, class or program” that the parent believes “impairs the parent’s firmly held believes,

values or principles.” If this bill becomes law, it may make for some interesting custody modification cases. The bill is presently in

the House Education Committee.

SB 1044 has now passed both chambers and has been forwarded on to the Governor for his consideration. This legislation will

forbid the use of eminent domain for trails, greenbelts, bike paths and the like unless they are adjacent to a public road.

HB 158, dealing with bail on warrants of arrest for failure to appear, cleared the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee on Monday

with a “DO PASS” recommendation, passed the full Senate by a vote of 35 – 0, and is on its way to the Governor. The measure is

Court sponsored and previously passed the House on a vote of 67-0-3.

On Tuesday, HJM 4 passed in the House State Affairs Committee along a party line vote of 12 -4. This non-binding Joint

Memorial calls upon Congress to support impeachment of federal judges who rule in favor of same-sex marriage. The bill is

now in Senate State Affairs.

HB 90 has now passed both chambers. This bill moves existing public records, open meeting, ethics in government, and

prohibition against contracts with officers statutes into a new title called Transparent and Ethical Government. A companion bill is

HB 91 which corrects code sections.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 103, which seeks to authorize the Legislative Council to appoint an interim study committee to

continue to undertake and complete a study of the public defender system in Idaho, was before the House on Thursday. The

measure previously passed the Senate by a margin of 33-0-2. It is now in the House on the 3rd

reading calendar.

S1069aa, aa, aaH -- seeking to amend Chapter 11, Title 10 of the Idaho Code by increasing from five to ten years the enforceability

of judgments for the recovery of money issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2015 – was before the House Judiciary and Rules

Committee on Thursday. It is now being amended, but will likely move to adoption this year.

As reported last week, the Senate passed SB 1071aa, which requires students to pass a civics test in order to graduate from high

school. The bill has 21 co-sponsors and passed the Senate by a margin of 29 – 6. The measure is in House Education and is

scheduled for a Committee hearing March 23.

SB 1011, which would eliminate what some have called “instant racing” or what others have labeled “historical horse races” in

Idaho, and which previously passed the Senate on a vote of 25 -9-1, occupied two days of testimony before House State Affairs.

A vote was taken following a good deal of debate and multiple motions, but ultimately cleared the Committee on a vote of 15 – 2.

The bill was debated for two hours on the House floor on Thursday, and passed with a vote of 49-21-0.

HB 100, which has been reported on earlier, is still “resting comfortably” in Senate State Affairs and still awaiting a hearing. This

bill was designed to eliminate a practice known as “PERSI Pension Spiking.” It narrowly passed the House on a vote of 38 – 32.

The bill seeks to do away with a special retirement provision that sharply boosts the pensions of longtime lawmakers who, late in











http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2015/HJM004.htm



http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2015/SCR103.htm





their careers, go to work in much higher-paying state jobs and allowing them to count all of their years of legislative service under

PERSI rules resulting in a significantly higher pension. As previously reported, this proposal is of interest to the Courts because of

the operation of Citizens’ Committee established by Idaho Code §67-406a to which the Supreme Court appoints members who set

legislative compensation.

HB 162, seeking to create a lengthy jury trial fund and pay additional monies for jury service beginning on the sixth day of a jury

trial, is unlikely to receive a hearing before Senate Judiciary and Rules this year.

HB 163, to extend certain of the effective date provisions of last year’s SB1357 (2014) or the so called Justice Reinvestment

legislation, has now passed both chambers. Effective dates of several provisions are proposed to be extended from March 1, 2015

to October 1, 2015 and there is also an emergency provision.

On the Radar

Again, the two issues to keep an eye on (or what may become substitutes of these bills) are the so-called “going home bills”.

These are HB 296 which is the latest version of the “Teacher Pay Bill,” and the latest version of the “Transportation Funding”

issue. Some are suggesting the veto stamp may come out of the drawer to influence the transportation issue.

JFAC is back to work taking care of trailer bills, etc.

All this to say the remaining session could move very fast and conceivably still be over next week or it could languish another

week. Stay tuned as the situation is fairly fluid as of this writing.

Adjournment sine die: March 30 or April 2 – best guess!

As a reminder for our remote on-line listeners who are interested in following legislative proceedings, first look for the appropriate

agenda at http://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/agenda.htm . Then if you locate something of interest, at the designated time tune

in on-line to “Idaho in Session” at http://idahoptv.org/insession/ . From there, click on the “Legislature” icon and follow the

prompts to the desired committee. Please note that JFAC has its own icon. In 2014 the Committee rooms were upgraded to include

video as well as audio.

As always, if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or questions, please send them back this way -- [email protected].

Thanks for reading.




http://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/agenda.htm

http://idahoptv.org/insession/

mailto:[email protected]


[Week 10 ]

Week 10 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened at the Capitol with more arrests of protesters, and high interest Committee

hearings on both guns and abortion. The arrests began with 9 people who tried to block the entrance to the Legislative Services

bill-drafting division on the west wing of the first floor of the Capitol Building as part of the on-going “Add the 4 Words” protest.

All nine initial protestors were charged with trespass. Later in the day, additional arrests were made in second and third rounds of

protests. By day’s end, some 25 had been arrested.

The gun hearing on HB 243 dealing with concealed weapons in House State Affairs ran late and was continued until Monday

afternoon. This bill is before House State Affairs today (March 20), as well as a new proposed bill for printing dealing with

concealed weapons.

HB 154 (the so called “chemical abortion bill”) was sent to the Senate’s 14th

order for amendments. This bill is of interest to the

judiciary because one new provision of the bill seeks to add a civil cause of action and another provision deals with the Court

protecting anonymity by closing court hearings and other measures.

The Senate on Monday also approved SB 1092 which would ban local regulation of knives, including those at schools. The bill is

now over to the House Judiciary Committee where it is tentatively scheduled for a committee meeting on Monday, March 23.

Also passing the Senate on Monday was SB 1096a which would require all Idaho school districts to develop processes by which

parents can withdraw their child from any “activity, class or program” that the parent believes “impairs the parent’s firmly held

beliefs, values or principles.” If this bill becomes law it may make for some interesting custody modification cases. The bill is

presently in the House Education Committee.

HB 158 dealing with bail on warrants of arrest for failure to appear cleared the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee on Monday

with a “DO PASS” recommendation. It has now passed the full Senate by a vote of 35 – 0 and is on its way to the Governor. The

measure is Court sponsored and previously passed the House on a vote of 67-0-3.

SB 1044 has now passed both chambers and will be forwarded on to the Governor for his consideration. This legislation will forbid

the use of eminent domain for trails, greenbelts, bike paths and the like unless they are adjacent to a public road.

On Tuesday, HJM 4 passed in the House State Affairs Committee along a party line vote of 12 -4. This non-binding Joint

Memorial calls upon Congress to support impeachment of federal judges who rule in favor of same-sex marriage.

On Wednesday, HB 1 came back before the House State Affairs Committee which reversed itself and passed the bill through

Committee. This measure would designate the Giant Salamander as the official state Amphibian. The Committee had previously

killed the bill on January 19. This bill is now on the second reading calendar of the House.

A Judicial Qualifications bill has been printed in Senate Judiciary. The bill is SB 1170 and is sponsored by Senator Grant

Burgoyne who has worked with the Courts in trying to clarify the existing statutes on appointment and elections of judges. This

bill, while printed, will not receive a Committee hearing this session. A second bill (HB 212), which in small part deals with

judicial elections, is sponsored by the Secretary of State and passed the House on a vote of 65-3-2. This bill is awaiting a hearing

before Senate State Affairs, but given the late date is questionable whether it will advance further this session.

SB 1124 dealing with the sealing of certain court records of juvenile offenders has been withdrawn by its sponsors and will not

advance this year.

HB 90 has now passed both chambers. This bill moves existing public records, open meeting, ethics in government, and

prohibition against contracts with officers statutes into a new title called Transparent and Ethical Government. A companion bill is

HB 91 which corrects code sections.

Former House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee chair Celia Gould has been appointed by Governor Otter to the

PERSI Board.

Cindy Wilson, a long time high school government teacher from Meridian, has been appointed to the state Board of Correction

replacing J.R. Van Tassel of Lewiston. Wilson will join chair Debbie Field (a former House Judiciary, Rules and Administration

Committee chair) and Dr. David McClusky of Twin Falls.

Col. Ralph Powell has been reappointed as head of the Idaho State Police by Governor Otter.

SB1095a, the tiered sex offender registration proposal of the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), passed the Senate on a

20-14 vote but is now being pulled for this session amid concerns including those regarding the fiscal note.















Senate Concurrent Resolution 103 (SCR 103), which seeks to authorize the Legislative Council to appoint an interim study

committee to continue to undertake and complete a study of the public defender system in Idaho, was before the House on

Thursday. The measure previously passed the Senate by a margin of 33-0-2. It is now on the House Third Reading Calendar.

S1069aa, aa seeking to amend Chapter 11, Title 10 of the Idaho Code by increasing from five to ten years the enforceability of

judgments for the recovery of money issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2015, was before the House Judiciary and Rules

Committee on Thursday. It is now being amended but will likely move to adoption this year.

It was previously reported that JFAC had unanimously approved funding for a second Crisis Center after a failed vote to eliminate

the appropriation from Health and Welfare’s budget. This second center follows the one funded last year which is located in the

Seventh Judicial District, specifically Idaho Falls. The appropriation is included in HB 264 as part of IDHW’s Mental Health

Services/Psychiatric Hospitalization/Substance Abuse Services appropriations bill of $88,007,100. According to the Statement of

Purpose accompanying the bill, an enhancement to this division includes “$1,720,000 for a Behavioral Health Community Crisis

Center to be located in North Idaho.”

As reported last week, the Senate passed SB 1071a which requires students to pass a civics test in order to graduate from high

school. The bill has 21 co-sponsors and passed the Senate by a margin of 29 – 6. The measure is in House Education and is

scheduled for a committee hearing March 23.



A vote was taken following a good deal of debate and multiple motions, but ultimately cleared the Committee on a vote of 15 – 2.

It now moves to the House floor.

As reported last week, SB 1049 which passed the full Senate on a vote of 23 – 11 is now assigned to House State Affairs and

awaiting a Committee hearing. This proposed legislation would create a presidential primary election on the second Tuesday in

March in the years of presidential elections. All other candidates for state or federal office would be unaffected and would continue

to use the May primary election date. The estimated fiscal note may be as much as $2 million. Idaho’s district judges are elected in

non-presidential primary years, so this measure would likely have little impact on the May primary voter turnout; however, should

this become law, the May voter turnout in presidential primary years could be impacted, which in turn could be a factor in other

contested judicial races.

HB 100 which has been reported on earlier is still awaiting a hearing in Senate State Affairs. This bill is designed to eliminate a

practice known as “PERSI Pension Spiking.” It narrowly passed the House on a vote of 38 – 32. The bill seeks to do away with a

special retirement provision that sharply boosts the pensions of longtime lawmakers who, late in their careers, go to work in much

higher-paying state jobs and allowing them to count all of their years of legislative service under PERSI rules resulting in a

significantly higher pension. As previously reported, this proposal is of interest to the Courts because of the operation of Citizens’

Committee established by Idaho Code §67-406a to which the Supreme Court appoints members who set legislative compensation.

HB 162, seeking to create a lengthy jury trial fund and pay additional monies for jury service beginning on the sixth day of a jury

trial, is unlikely to receive a hearing before Senate Judiciary and Rules this year.

All of the Court’s four proposed pieces of Legislation for the 2015 session have now passed both chambers and the bill numbers

are:




H0158 Dealing with bail on failure to appear warrants

All four of the Court’s proposed “Defects in the Law” bills have now passed both chambers as well. They are:



S1028 Dealing with speed limits


HB 163 to extend certain of the effective date provisions of last year’s SB1357 (2014), or the so called Justice Reinvestment

legislation, has now passed both chambers. Effective dates of several provisions are proposed to be extended from March 1, 2015

to October 1, 2015 and there is also an emergency provision.

On the Radar………….

March 23 is the last scheduled House Judiciary and Rules Committee meeting for the year. The Senate Judiciary and Rules

Committee is not scheduled to have another meeting, except to graduate the pages.


















Two bills to keep an eye on (or what may become substitutes of these bills) are the so-called “going home bills”:

HB 296 is the latest version of the “Teacher Pay Bill”

HB 299, the latest version of the “Transportation Funding” issue, has generated significant interest because section 15 of the

proposal deals with the potential to transfer certain moneys from the general fund to the transportation and infrastructure fund if

certain triggers are met.

JFAC’s target date to complete all budget setting will not be met and another date is yet to be announced. This Committee’s

agenda recites that it is “Subject to the Call of the Chair,” typically meaning that JFAC will not entertain a contentious

appropriation bill until the bill has passed at least one of the chambers.

All this to say the remaining session could move very fast and conceivably still be over next week, or it could languish another

week. Stay tuned as the situation is fairly fluid as of this writing.







Thanks for reading.







[Week 9 ]

Week 9 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened with JFAC continuing to set budgets, primarily those relating to Education.

Also included were budgets for Idaho’s higher education institutions and junior colleges. This schedule hit a snag on Wednesday

when the House Education Committee failed to advance a teacher pay proposal. This rejection followed testimony on Tuesday

over the proposed “Teacher Career Ladder Pay Bill,” or HB 222. Tuesday’s committee testimony was heard before a large crowd

in the Lincoln Auditorium and lasted well over five hours. Following Wednesday’s committee proceedings, JFAC delayed its

budget setting process which in turn may negatively affect the target adjournment date previously set of March 27.

JFAC also approved $6.4 million dollars to the Department of Education for school broadband service in the next fiscal year

starting July 1, 2015 following a court declaration that the existing Idaho Education Network (IEN) Broadband Contract was null

and void. Individual school districts are reported to be saving significant sums of money now that they are allowed to switch from

the IEN to local broadband providers and the districts are also reporting better bandwidth. The State Department of Education

released a savings figure of $1.3 million dollars for just the remainder of this current school year. On Thursday Legislative budget

analysts released further results of the savings which reflect a 37% decrease in costs and a 61% decrease in the cost per megabit.

Last Friday, JFAC unanimously approved funding for a second Crisis Center after a failed vote to eliminate the appropriation from

Health and Welfare’s budget. This second center follows the one funded last year which is located in the Seventh Judicial District,

specifically Idaho Falls.

In other financial news this week, JFAC approved another $400,000 in state general fund monies for the Wolf Control Board for

the next fiscal year.

A new bill was introduced on Monday that re-writes the two pending concealed weapons bills which were printed earlier this

session but have not received hearings. The new bill, HB 243, removes the statutory exception for elected officials to carry

concealed weapons without a permit.

Also on Monday, the Senate passed SB 1071a which requires students to pass a civics test in order to graduate from high school.

The bill has 21 co-sponsors and passed the Senate by a margin of 29 – 6. The measure now moves over to the House for

assignment to a committee.

House Concurrent Resolution 18 has been introduced stating certain legislative findings and making a formal application to

Congress to call a convention for the sole purpose of proposing ratification of an amendment to the United States Constitution that

requires a balanced federal budget.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 118 has been introduced to declare March 20 of each year as “YMCA DAY” in Idaho.

A second version of a cannabis oil bill has been introduced. SB 1146 is a proposal to allow certain people to use oil extracted from

cannabis plants.



A vote will be taken next week.

As reported last week, SB 1049 which passed the full Senate on a vote of 23 – 11 is now assigned to House State Affairs and is

awaiting a Committee hearing. This proposed legislation would create a presidential primary election on the second Tuesday in

March in the years of presidential elections. All other candidates for state or federal office would be unaffected and would continue

to use the May primary election date. The estimated fiscal note may be as much as $2 million dollars.

Also as reported last week, HB 100 which was designed to eliminate a practice known as “PERSI Pension Spiking” and which

narrowly passed the House, is awaiting a hearing before Senate State Affairs. The bill seeks to do away with a special retirement

provision that sharply boosts the pensions of longtime lawmakers who, late in their careers, go to work in much higher-paying state

jobs and allowing them to count all of their years of legislative service under PERSI rules resulting in a significantly higher

pension. As previously reported, this proposal is of interest to the Courts because of the operation of Citizens’ Committee on

Legislative Compensation established by Idaho Code §67-406a to which the Supreme Court appoints members who set legislative

compensation.

HB 162 seeks to create a lengthy jury trial fund and pay additional monies for jury service beginning on the sixth day of a jury trial

and is still awaiting a committee hearing before Senate Judiciary and Rules.

Three of the Court’s four proposed pieces of Legislation for the 2015 session are now on the Senate 3rd

reading calendar. The bill

numbers are:





http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2015/HCR018.htm






http://legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title67/T67CH4SECT67-406a.htm





The fourth bill of the Court’s bills, or HB 158 dealing with bail on failure to appear warrants, has passed the House and has been

assigned to the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee and will likely be heard Wednesday, March 18.

All four of the Court’s proposed “Defects in the Law” bills have now passed both houses and three have been forwarded to the

Governor for his consideration. They are:




The fourth, S1028 dealing with speed limits, has already been signed into law by Governor Otter.

HB 163 to extend certain of the effective date provisions of last year’s SB1357(2014), or the so called Justice Reinvestment

legislation, will likely be heard before Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee next Wednesday, or March 18. Effective dates of

several provisions are proposed to be extended from March 1, 2015 to October 1, 2015 and there is also an emergency provision.


March 13: JFAC’s target date to complete all budget setting will not be met and another date is yet to be announced.







Thanks for reading.







S%201028

HB%20163





[Week 8 ]

Week 8 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened with about two dozen people being arrested because they tried to block the

respective chambers of the legislature in a continuation of the “Add the Words” protest.

A possible resolution to some components of the education funding challenge may be coming together with the unveiling of a

teacher career ladder proposal. This was actually presented to the House Education Committee last Friday after the Legislative

News for week 7 had already gone to print. This possible agreement may make the targeted March 27 adjournment sine die

achievable, although a lot of work remains, including whether an agreement can be reached on remaining education funding issues

as well as transportation funding.

Before JFAC on Monday was a series of motions related to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s budget. Two large items

were the Medicaid budget and the Welfare budget. These are large dollar items and drew a lot of attention from both the budget

writers, as well as most everyone who has an eye on funding. JFAC continued its actual budget setting process this week and is

scheduled to finish March 13.

The Court’s budget was set before JFAC on March 4, after two split votes. Following the JFAC action, a draft of the actual

appropriations bill has been circulated as well as a proposed Statement of Purpose. No bill number has been assigned as of this

writing. Highlights of the appropriation above base funding are the following:

Phase 2 of the Odyssey Technology ............................... $2,180,000

Move the law library to old Ada County Court ............. $ 151,300

Remodel basement of Supreme Court Building ............. $ 549,000

Two new Magistrate Judges ........................................... $ 235,400 (9 months)

Additional Senior Judge Days ........................................ $ 161,300

Education Conferences ................................................... $ 80,300

Two of the Court’s requests that did not receive funding are: the Judicial Excellence and Education Survey Program at $293,700

and Guardian ad Litem at $40,000. It should be noted, however, that the Supreme Court asked for one magistrate judge in Kootenai

County, and was funded for a second magistrate judge in Canyon County. The total appropriation for the year will be $65,318,700.

On Tuesday, the Idaho Senate opened its floor proceedings with a Hindu prayer which prompted a protest by three Senators.

Wednesday, March 4, the Idaho Legislature approved House Concurrent Resolution 15 and observed its first “Idaho Day” to

celebrate its 125th

anniversary of Statehood.

House Concurrent Resolution 16, on the Third Reading calendar in the House, seeks to congratulate Benewah County and its

residents for the county’s Centennial Anniversary in 2015.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 112, adopted in the Senate and now moving to the House, seeks to recognize and congratulate

Boundary County and its residents on its Centennial Anniversary to be celebrated during 2015.

House Concurrent Resolution 14, adopted by the House and sent to the Senate, recognizes and honors the Idaho Farm Bureau

Federation for its 75 years of accomplishments and service to Idaho agriculture.

SB 1049 has now passed the full Senate on a vote of 23 – 11 and will now move over to the House for assignment to a committee.

This proposed legislation would create a presidential primary election on the second Tuesday in March in the years of presidential

elections. All other candidates for state or federal office would be unaffected and would continue to use the May primary election

date. The estimated fiscal note may be as much as $2 million dollars.

HB 100 which was designed to eliminate a practice known as “PERSI Pension Spiking” narrowly passed the House on Tuesday,

including a reconsideration of the bill. The bill seeks to do away with a special retirement perk that sharply boosts the pensions of

longtime lawmakers who, late in their careers, go to work in much higher-paying state jobs and allowing them to count all of their

years of legislative service under PERSI rules allowing for a significantly higher pension. This is of interest to the Courts because

of the operation of Citizens’ Committee established by Idaho Code §67-406a to which the Supreme Court appoints members who

set legislative compensation.

A new bill which had been introduced to make permanent day-light savings time in Idaho, HB 198, is likely to not go forward this

year as it may be in conflict with federal law.

HB 162 seeking to create a lengthy jury trial fund and pay additional monies for jury service beginning on the sixth day of a jury

trial cleared the House and is now over in the Senate and will be set for Committee hearing.

Three of the Court’s four proposed pieces of Legislation for the 2015 session are before The Senate Judiciary and Rules

Committee for a hearing on the merits this Friday afternoon, March 7. The bill numbers are:











The fourth bill of the Court’s bills or HB 158 dealing with bail on failure to appear warrants has passed the House and has been

assigned to the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee and is awaiting a hearing date.

Three of the Court’s proposed “Defects in the Law” bills are on the Third Reading Calendar in the House. They are:




S 1028 dealing with speed limits has already moved through the House.

Of importance to District Judges, HB 163 to extend certain of the effective date provisions of last year’s SB1357 (2014), or the so

called Justice Reinvestment legislation, has passed the House and will be before Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee next week.

Effective dates of several provisions are proposed to be extended from March 1, 2015 to October 1, 2015 and there is also an

emergency provision.


March 13: JFAC’s target date to complete all budget setting.







Thanks for reading.










http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2014/S1357.htm




Legislative News for the week ending February 27th

[Week 7 ] Week 7 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened with “supplemental budget items” coming before JFAC. One such measure

which is of interest to the Courts was a relatively close JFAC vote of 12-8 to complete refurbishing of the old Ada County

Courthouse, which will ultimately become the permanent home of the State Law Library. The Law Library was moved from the

Supreme Court buildings first floor years ago to accommodate the Court of Appeals. In addition to the Law Library, the space

across the street from the Supreme Court building will also house the University Of Idaho College Of Law and will be known as

the Idaho Law & Justice Learning Center. The Idaho Supreme Court is due to take occupancy of part of the building later this

summer.

Also coming before JFAC on Monday was a series of motions related to the Idaho Department of Correction’s FY 15 (the current

year we are in that ends June 30, 2015) budget. One item dealt with the IDOC’s JRI appropriation for FY15 which was allocated

$500,000 to train probation and parole officers to implement the new legislation; however, the Department is expected to spend

only $338,700 of that before the end of the fiscal year, so that budget amount was reduced by $161,300 and went to cover other

expenses of the Department.

JFAC started its actual budget setting process on Tuesday February 24 and is scheduled to finish March 13. The Court’s budget is

scheduled to be set before JFAC on March 4 beginning at 8 am MST.

Regarding the Idaho Education Network issue mentioned last week in which the House suspended its procedural rules to hurriedly

take up HB 168 to provide $3.6 million in stopgap funding for high school broadband service to replace the now voided state

contract with IEN vendors, the Senate followed suit on Monday, sending the measure to the Governor on a vote of 33-0-2. The

legislation was signed into law by Governor Otter on Wednesday.

Senator Patti Anne Lodge returned to the Senate on Monday after an illness which caused her to be absent from the 2015 session

until this week. Senator Lodge is the Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee. Vice Chair Marv Hagedorn had been

filling in as Chair for the first 6 weeks of the session.

This week saw proceedings in the Senate to confirm three members to the State Public Defense Commission: namely, Nampa

Attorney Bill Wellman, former State Representative Darrell Bolz, and current State Appellate Public Defender Sara Thomas.

A lawmaker’s question in a House State Affairs Committee hearing on HB 154 during a nearly 3 full hour proceeding drew a lot of

media attention. The question related to whether a woman could swallow a small camera for doctors in order to conduct a remote

gynecological exam.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 110 recognizing National Diaper Awareness Week was in Senate Health and Welfare Committee on

Wednesday.

A new proposal, HB 198, has been introduced to eliminate day-light saving time in Idaho.

House Joint Memorial 4, introduced last week, has not yet been set for a Committee hearing. This Joint Resolution calls upon

Idaho’s U.S. congressmen to bring clarity to the U.S. Congress as a whole; specifically (according to the Statement of Purpose)

that the:

“power of the United States Judiciary’s purpose is to interpret as close to the original intent as possible and rule in

compliance of Executive and Legislative branches to the Constitution and its original intent. To keep their oath of office

which is to uphold the law, not to make or change it or face the possibility of impeachment.”

HB 162 seeking to create a lengthy jury trial fund and pay additional monies for jury service beginning on the sixth day of a jury

trial cleared the House Judiciary and Rules Committee on Wednesday.

HB 89, the so called “Constitutional Carry” bill which would allow Idahoans to carry concealed guns without a permit, received

significant attention with a committee chair criticizing supporters for contacting legislators’ families back home while the

legislators themselves are in Boise for the session.

A second concealed weapons bill of the 2015 session has been introduced in the Senate as SB 1090. This new proposal is an NRA-

backed bill which would, among other things, remove the current exemption for elected officials to carrying a concealed weapon

without a permit.

HB 113, the so called “Parental Rights Bill,” narrowly passed the house after an hour long debate. The vote was 37-31.

Three of the Court’s four proposed pieces of Legislation for the 2015 session went before the full House on Monday and all

passed. The bill numbers are:













These have now moved over to the Senate for committee hearings, and as of this writing are scheduled on March 2 for a hearing in

Senate Judiciary and Rules.

The fourth bill of the Court’s bills, H0063 regarding revisions to bail on bench warrants for failure to appear, was pulled to be

re-worded. The new proposal is now printed as HB 158 and was before the House Judiciary and Rules Committee on February 25

on the merits. The bill received a “DO PASS” recommendation.

All four of the Court’s proposed “Defects in the Law” bills have now passed the Senate and are over on the House side. Three of

them are before the House Judiciary and Rules Committee and set for a hearing on the merits on March 3:




S1028 dealing with speed limits has already moved through the House.

Of importance to District Judges, HB 163 to extend certain of the effective date provisions of last year’s SB1357(2014), or the so

called Justice Reinvestment legislation, is on the 3rd

reading calendar of the House. Effective dates of several provisions are

proposed to be extended from March 1, 2015 to October 1, 2015 and there is also an emergency provision.

SB 1049 has now received a hearing in Senate State Affairs and a divided committee vote has advanced the bill to the floor. This

proposed legislation would create a presidential primary election on the second Tuesday in March in the years of presidential

elections. All other candidates for state or federal office would be unaffected and would continue to use the May primary election

date. The estimated fiscal note may be as much as $2 million.

The new bill HB 90 seeking to consolidate Idaho’s existing public records law, open meetings law, and ethics in government laws

into one single title, has now cleared the House on a vote of 67-0-3. HB 91 is a companion bill with code corrections related to the

measure.


March 2: Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee bill hearings

March 3: House Judiciary and Rules Committee bill hearings

March 4: The Supreme Court’s budget setting is before JFAC beginning at 8 a.m.








Thanks for reading.


















[Week 6 ] Week 6 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened with a good deal of time and attention being directed at “big ticket” items

before JFAC. The first was a presentation by Idaho Transportation Director Brian Ness regarding what is needed to build and

maintain Idaho’s aging roads and bridges; all of which amounts to significant funding needs. The second was an announcement by

JFAC co-chair Senator Cameron that JFAC would be debating the Idaho Education Network (IEN) funding situation on Tuesday,

which was a late and previously unscheduled agenda item. This is the system that provides broadband and video-conferencing

services to a number of Idaho High Schools.

Relating to the Transportation funding issue, and by week’s end, at least two significant proposals had been floated and one bill

had passed the House. One proposal would add a projected $200 million for roads and bridges by doing such things as add a tax of

8 cents per gallon of gasoline; add a tax of 12 cents a gallon on diesel; followed by additional 1 cent tax increases per gallon in

future years; raise registration fees on cars by 50%; raise registration fees on commercial trucks by 25%; raise trip permits for

over-legal loads by 50%; and tack on a $140 a year extra registration fee for electric cars and $75 a year for hybrids.

A second proposal was to fund the road and bridge repairs by increasing the state’s sales tax by 1% across the board. Some of the

logic heard expressed in support of this second proposal is that everyone in Idaho gains by having good roads and bridges and that

an increase in sales tax is more “fair and equitable” than an increase in fuel taxes as outlined above because those who live in rural

areas must necessarily drive more, therefore consuming more fuel, and hence are paying a disproportionately higher share of the

transportation repair bill than the city folks. [“Fair and balanced reporting here; I report and you decide.”]

The legislation relative to the transportation funding dilemma which passed the House, HB95, seeks to exempt from sales tax the

materials used in the construction, repair and improvement of public roads. Estimates have ranged that this tax relief would have a

fiscal impact of $15- to 20- million dollars on the state’s general fund.

Regarding the Idaho Education Network issue mentioned in the opening paragraph above, and following Tuesday’s quickly

scheduled JFAC meeting, the House suspended its procedural rules and took up HB 168 on Thursday which provides $3.6 million

in stopgap funding for high school broadband service to replace the now voided state contract with IEN vendors. According to

news reports, the broadband to the affected high schools was due to be shut down over the weekend.

On Thursday, February 19, the germane committee co-chairs reported to JFAC (as it relates to the Idaho Judiciary, this means the

co-chairs of the respective Senate and House Judiciary and Rules Committees).

Following these germane committee reports, JFAC voted unanimously to accept the revenue projection for next fiscal year of

$3.12644 billion, which figure was already approved by both Governor Otter and the Joint Economic Outlook & Revenue

Projection Committee. This projected revenue figure reflects a 5.5% increase in state general fund tax revenues over last year.

The practical significance is this number reflects the “size of the pie” to be divvied up.

Today, February 20, there was a public hearing for budget-related issues before JFAC, where general members of the public are

able to address the committee.

JFAC will start its actual budget setting process on Tuesday February 24 and is scheduled to finish March 13. The Court’s budget

is scheduled to be set before JFAC on March 4. Following the budget setting process, JFAC will then start taking up appropriation

“trailer bills,” or those required to fund matters approved by the legislature which are outside of the initial budget setting process.

An example of what this means was last year’s judicial pay bill which was not in the Court’s original budget request; but following

passage of SB 1394 (2014), a “trailer bill” was required to then fund the pay legislation.

In terms of “going home,” the end of the budget setting process by JFAC is considered a significant milestone and usually signals

an acceleration of the pace of bill activity through the respective chambers. Lists will start to be formed of bills which must be

decided before adjournment, and there is a risk to many bill sponsors that their legislation may get left behind for consideration in

another year.

The deadlines for both individual legislators to file a “personal bill” and for “germane committee” introduction have now expired

in both chambers. Any proposal must now come through one of the “privileged” committees in order to receive a “print hearing.”

This is yet another milestone in the session.

A second concealed weapons bill of the 2015 session has received committee approval to be printed. This new proposal is an

NRA-backed bill which would, among other things, remove the current exemption for elected officials to carrying a concealed

weapon without a permit. The bill, SB 1090, is in addition to the previously printed “Constitutional Carry” bill reported on last

week. There is also SB 1092 dealing with knives for those who may be interested.

Three of the Court’s four proposed pieces of legislation for the 2015 session went before the full House on Monday and all passed.

The bill numbers are:









These will now move over to the Senate for assignment to committee, and as of this writing are scheduled for March 2 for a

hearing in Senate Judiciary and Rules.

The fourth bill of the Court’s bills, H0063 regarding revisions to bail on bench warrants for failure to appear, was pulled to be

re-worded. The new RS on this revised proposal was before the House Judiciary and Rules Committee on February 17 for a print

hearing and the replacement bill , HB 158, is expected to be before the House Judiciary and Rules Committee for a hearing on the

merits on Monday, February 23.

All four of the Court’s proposed “Defects in the Law” bills have now passed the Senate and are on the House side and are before

committee:




S 1028 dealing with speed limits has already moved through the House Transportation Committee and is on the House Second

Reading Calendar.

Also this week the House Judiciary and Rules Committee entertained a print hearing on what is now HB 163 to extend certain of

the effective date provisions of last year’s SB1357(2014), or the so called Justice Reinvestment legislation. Effective dates are

proposed to be extended from March 1, 2015 to October 1, 2015 for certain sections of the bill and there is also an emergency

provision. This bill is also scheduled to be heard on the merits before the Committee on Monday February 23.

The IDAPAs related to SB 1357 (2014) (JRI) involving the rules governing the Supervision of Offenders on Probation or Parole,

and the rules governing establishment and operation of a Limited Supervision Unit by IDOC have completed their course through

the respective Committees and were accepted.

SB 1049 has been introduced and assigned to Senate State Affairs for hearing. This proposed legislation would create a



much as $2 million dollars.

The new bill seeking to consolidate Idaho’s existing public records law, open meetings law, and ethics in government laws into

one single title has now been printed as HB 90. HB 91 is a companion bill with code corrections related to the measure.

SB 1103 has been printed which would allow Human Trafficking victims to be able to petition the Courts to erase their criminal

histories.

A packed House State Affairs Committee heard testimony on HB 113 on Thursday morning, including testimony from Michael

Henderson, Staff Attorney for the Idaho Supreme Court. This is a bill which seeks to expand parental rights in Idaho to include

legal guardians and also seeks to declare a parent’s right to make decisions regarding education of their child a “fundamental

right.” Time ran out and the hearing was continued until Friday morning.

In other Capitol news, Governor Otter reports he is ready to come back to work following a hip replacement; Senator Elliot Werk

from Boise resigned from the Senate to accept a job serving on the State Tax Commission; and Lt. Governor Brad Little’s JFAC

presentation took 12 seconds.


February 23: JFAC starts setting FY 2016 Budgets

February 23: House Judiciary and Rules Committee bill hearings

February 24: Senate Majority Leadership lunch with the Supreme Court

March 2: Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee bill hearings

March 4: The Supreme Court’s budget setting is before JFAC beginning at 8 am MST

March 13: JFAC’s target date to complete all budget setting





















http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/02/19/3653321_parental-rights-bill-sparks-lengthy.html?rh=1

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/02/19/3653321_parental-rights-bill-sparks-lengthy.html?rh=1






Thanks for reading.



[Week 5 ] Week 5 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened with a packed Senate State Affairs Committee hearing room on the question

of whether the “instant racing” machines are actually “pari-mutuel” betting, or pooled betting, as on live horse races. Even a

Shetland pony wearing a “service animal” sash was brought into the Capitol as part of the overflow crowd for the hearing. At issue

was SB 1011 which would repeal the 2013 law that authorized betting on “historical” horse races, or broadcasts of past horse races.

Objections have been raised that the 2013 law has led to slot machine-like betting terminals that are now operating in three

different locations in Idaho. So many people appeared for the hearing that it had to be moved to the Lincoln Auditorium, and

following a full morning of testimony, was ultimately continued to Wednesday. Following a second morning of testimony, the

Senate State Affairs Committee voted to repeal the 2013 law. Here is a news account from the political blog, EYE ON BOISE,

regarding a face-off between two 80 year olds, following the Committee vote referenced above:

Here’s how high feelings were running after today’s Senate committee vote to repeal “instant racing” in Idaho: In the marble hallway outside the Lincoln Auditorium, Idaho ranching icon Harry Bettis, in a white cowboy hat, approached the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s lobbyist, Bill Roden, who had given the closing statement in favor of the bill, and loudly called him a “damn liar,” amid other comments. Roden walked away before Capitol security arrived.

“He was trying to get me to punch him, but I’m smarter than that,” Roden, 86, said afterward. He said the two also had a "shouting match" last year.

Bettis, 80, is one of five owners of Les Bois Park. In today’s testimony, the president of the company running the park said if instant racing is repealed, Les Bois Park will close.

On Monday it was announced by DFM that Idaho’s general fund revenues (tax revenue) came in about $1 million dollars ahead of

projections. This brings the fiscal year to-date total about 1.2% over the revised forecast numbers. This is good news as JFAC

moves toward the budget setting process.

On February 10, the Senate just barely passed a bill to allow the creation of a new specialty license plate “Friends of the NRA”.

HB 16 passed by a vote of 18-15.

State Appellate Public Defender Sara Thomas told JFAC on Tuesday that the attorneys in her office are making an average of

about $16,000 less than their counterparts in the Idaho Attorney General’s Office who handle the same cases.

Three of the Court’s four proposed pieces of Legislation for the 2015 session were before the House Judiciary and Rules

Committee on February 11 for a hearing on the merits. The bill numbers are:

H0061 Juvenile, corrections, probation



The result of the February 11 hearing was each of the above three bills were sent to the floor of the House with a “DO PASS”

recommendation.

The fourth bill, or H0063 regarding revisions to bail on bench warrants for failure to appear, was pulled to be re-worded. The new

RS on this revised proposal will be before the House Judiciary and Rules Committee on February 17 for a print hearing.

As reported in prior weeks, the deadline for individual legislators to file a “personal bill” has expired in both chambers, and the

“germane committee” deadline is February 16 (the 36th

legislative day) or next Monday. However, the House Judiciary and Rules

Committee has received special permission from the Speaker of the House to hear a number of proposed measures for print beyond

the February 16 pre-established cutoff date. These will be heard February 17, and will likely include the proposal to extend the

effective dates of certain provisions of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, or SB 1357 (2014). Following the germane committee

deadline, and unless special permission has been granted, any bill must come from a “privileged committee.”

Justice Linda Copple Trout, Interim Administrative Director of the Courts, delivered the Idaho Supreme Court’s

Budget presentation to JFAC on February 12. The presentation was very well received.

JFAC will start its actual budget setting process on Tuesday February 24 and will finish March 13. The Court’s budget is

scheduled to be set before JFAC on March 4. Following the budget setting process, JFAC will then start taking up appropriation

“trailer bills,” or those required to fund matters approved by the legislature which are outside of the initial budget setting process.

An example of what this means was last year’s judicial pay bill which was not in the Court’s original budget request; but following

passage of SB 1394 (2014), a “trailer bill” was required to then fund the pay legislation.

Of the Court’s proposed four “Defects in the Law” bills, three are scheduled for a hearing on the merits in front of the Senate

Judiciary and Rules Committee next week, maybe as early as Monday the 16th

, and they are:









http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/FY2016%20JFAC%20Speech-Short.pdf





S 1028 dealing with speed limits moved through the Senate on Tuesday with a vote of 31-2-2. It has now moved to the House for

assignment to committee.

SB 1049 has been introduced and assigned to Senate State Affairs for hearing. This proposed legislation would create a



much as $2 million dollars.

The IDAPAs related to SB 1357 (2014) (JRI) involving the Rules governing the Supervision of Offenders on Probation or Parole,

and the Rules governing establishment and operation of a Limited Supervision Unit by IDOC, came before the full Senate

Judiciary and Rules Committee on February 9. After discussion, the proposed rules were held pending additional hearing time.

The IDAPA rules developed by PERSI relating to the transfer of the Judges Retirement Fund (JRF) to PERSI for administration

following HB 660 (2012) and the receipt of the required IRS Letter of Determination that the JRF was a qualified plan were before

the full Senate Commerce Committee on February 10. The Committee ran out of time to get to the rules and a hearing will be

rescheduled.

The Supreme Court’s legislative outreach during the annual legislative session continued this week with the following two lunch

meetings:

February 9th

House Minority Leadership

February 12th

Senate Minority Leadership

On February 12, the Senate Education Committee introduced SB 1071 that would require students to pass a basic civics test to

graduate from high school. According to the proposal, a student could take the test at any point after enrolling in the 7th

grade and

would need to correctly answer at least 70 of 100 questions. Questions would come from the same test that all immigrants applying

for U.S. citizenship must pass.

On February 12, during the noon hour, a public rally against the sale or transfer of public lands was held on the Capitol Steps. The

rally was mostly attended by sportsmen.

Also on February 12, both Chambers held observances for Lincoln Day, which included recitations of the Gettysburg Address.

And lastly, this Friday morning, a second concealed weapons bill has received Committee approval to be printed. This new

proposal is an NRA-backed proposal which would, among other things, remove the current exemption for elected officials from

carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The bill has not yet been assigned a number. This bill is in addition to the

previously printed “Constitutional Carry” bill reported on last week.

On the Radar

February 16: Presidents’ Day, a holiday for most, but the legislature will be in session.

February 17: Print hearings before House Judiciary and Rules on the Court’s Bail revision bill, as well as changing effective dates

of Justice Reinvestment provisions.

February 18 or 19: Germane Committee Reports to JFAC (as it relates to the Idaho Judiciary, this means the co-chairs of the

respective Senate and House Judiciary and Rules will address JFAC). Exact date and time have not yet been posted.

February 20: Public Hearing for budget-related issues has been scheduled by JFAC where general members of the public will be

able to address the Committee.

February 23: JFAC starts setting FY 2016 Budgets. February 24: Senate Majority Leadership lunch with the Supreme Court.

March 4: The Supreme Court’s budget setting is before JFAC beginning at 8:00 am MST.








Thanks for reading.


[Week 4 ]






http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2012/H0660.htm





Week 4 of the 2015 Idaho Legislative Session opened with the elected Clerks and the Administrative District Judges being present

at the Supreme Court for their annual meeting. The agenda included some remarks by each of the 5 Supreme Court Justices during

the lunch program, and was followed by a presentation on the Court’s Legislative and Budget priorities for FY 2016.

Also on Monday, February 2, Chief Justice Roger Burdick delivered the State of the Judiciary to the Legislature; 11:10 am MST

before the Senate Chambers and 11:35 am before the House Chambers. The theme of this year’s presentation was “transformation”

and was very well received.

In other State of the Judiciary news, legislative leadership has now announced that beginning with the session in 2016, the second

Wednesday of every session will be set as the date of the speech by the Chief Justice. In 2016, this will be January 20.

Following the January 29 print hearing before the House Judiciary and Rules Committee on the Court’s proposed four pieces of

Legislation for the 2015 session, each has now been assigned a bill number and is scheduled to be heard before the House Judiciary

and Rules Committee on February 11. The assigned bill numbers are:

H0061 Juvenile, corrections, probation


H0063 Bail revision


The Court’s proposed four “Defects in the Law” bills received a print hearing on January 30 before the Senate Judiciary and Rules.

Each has now been assigned a bill number and they are:



S1028 Speed limits


S 1028 dealing with speed limits was assigned to the Transportation Committee and went before the Committee on February 5 for

a hearing on the merits. Following this hearing, the Committee sent the measure to the floor of the Senate with a “Do Pass”

recommendation.

As of this writing, the Committee hearings before the Senate Judiciary and Rules on the remaining three defects bills has not been

set, but likely will be February 13 at the earliest.

House Concurrent Resolution No. 2 has been introduced seeking to commemorate the 150th

anniversary of the building of Eagle

Rock Bridge, the first bridge ever to cross the Snake River, which began the founding of a settlement which would ultimately

become Idaho Falls, Idaho.

For any of our readers who have a little extra time on their hands and/or who may be otherwise stimulus starved, you may wish to

peruse S1025 which is a mere 300 pages. According to the Statement of Purpose, this legislation relates to business organizations

and adopts the “Harmonized Uniform Business Organizations Code” created by the Uniform Law Commission. The stated purpose

of the legislation is to harmonize Idaho’s unincorporated and incorporated entity statutes so they can be integrated into a single

code of entity laws. When our readers finish these 300 pages, and if still looking for more stimuli, your attention is directed to

S1030 for another 39 pages of code corrections to numerous provisions of the Idaho Code. Two additional stimulators are H0090

consisting of 41 pages which reorganizes parts of existing Idaho Code into a new Title 74 “Transparent and Ethical Government”,

and H0091 consisting of still another 171 pages of code corrections.

H0090 or the “Transparent and Ethical Government” proposal moves the portions of existing Idaho Code dealing with public

records, open meetings and government ethics, among other related provisions under this proposed new Title 74. There will likely

be additional proposed legislation introduced as early as next week seeking to add a non-judicial appeals process when a public

records request is denied -- essentially a mediation process.

On Monday, the House State Affairs committee introduced H0067, laying the groundwork for Idaho to be one of the states seeking

to participate in an Article V constitutional convention seeking to create a balanced budget amendment to the United States

Constitution. The vote was along party lines, 12 – 3. The bill sets out procedures for appointing delegates from Idaho to such a

convention as well as seeks to set certain parameters regarding the participation. This proposal is printed as.

On February 4, District Judge Eric Wildman from Jerome, who is serving as Idaho’s water adjudication judge, appeared with

Director Gary Spackman before JFAC and gave a presentation on Idaho’s several on-going water adjudications. An additional

matter being considered is the possible commencement of an adjudication of the Bear River Basin in Southeastern Idaho.

February 5 was the second Annual Senator Denton Darrington Lecture on Law and Government held in the Idaho Supreme

Court Courtroom. The featured speaker was Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia,

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/legislative/State_of_the_Judiciary-2015.pdf




http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2015/minidata.htm














Pennsylvania. The program was also broadcast live via web-cast through Idaho Public Television. This annual lecture, sponsored

by the University of Idaho College of Law, the Idaho Supreme Court, and the Idaho State Bar and Law Foundation, was

established to address a wide range of topics related to the improved administration of the justice system and feature well respected

national, state and regional speakers of interest to Idaho citizens, students, and officials from all three branches of government.

This year’s Darrington Lecture was entitled “The Constitution in the 21st Century”, and focused on a general discussion of the

history of general warrants and writs of assistance in the Colonial days of America which in good measure lead to the

Revolutionary War, and how those historical concerns carry forward into the debates of today over 4th

Amendment protections

against unreasonable searches and seizures in light of existing technology such as Google, drones, GPS cell phone technology and

the like. The lecture was also attended by the Blackfoot High School students who were in Boise for the “We the People” contest.

Rosen, who hails from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, also illustrated the work performed at the center to

promote some of the intended uses of the new Idaho Law Justice and Learning Center (old Ada County Courthouse) which will

open later this summer; specifically those surrounding civics education.

The deadline for individual legislators to file “personal bill” has expired in both chambers, and the “germane committee” deadline

of February 16 (36th

legislative day) is rapidly approaching. Following the germane committee deadline, any bill must come from a

“privileged committee.” A little further into the session, comparison figures from Legislative Services will start to be published to

compare this year’s printed bill numbers to prior sessions.

The Legislature continued devoting much of its time this week to a review of administrative rules (IDAPAs) which have been

drafted by the various State of Idaho executive branch agencies since the last session. Because each Legislative Chamber reviews

and votes on these rules independently of the other, this is a time consuming process. Readers can access the rules coming before

the respective Committees for review by visiting the Idaho Legislature Home Page, and clicking on the link Administrative Rules

http://adminrules.idaho.gov/legislative_books/2015/index.html .

The IDAPA related to SB 1357 (2014) (JRI) and the Rules governing the Supervision of Offenders on Probation or Parole, and the

Rules governing establishment and operation of a Limited Supervision Unit by IDOC came before the full House Judiciary and

Rules Committee on February 5 at 1:30 pm. The date the Senate Judiciary Committee will take these up is Monday February 9.

The IDAPA rules developed by PERSI relating to the transfer of the Judges Retirement Fund (JRF) to PERSI for administration

following HB 660 (2012) and the receipt of the required IRS Letter of Determination that the JRF was a qualified plan will also be

scheduled for hearings before the full Senate and House Commerce Committees, but as of this writing the dates have not been set.

The first JFAC appropriations bill of the 2015 session of major significance has advanced through both chambers. The bill is

H0026, and seeks to appropriate almost $18 million for the Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund. Deficiency warrants are worth

paying attention to because they relate to paying “last years” bills, and basically “come off the top” of the money available for

appropriation for the upcoming fiscal year (FY16).

Over the years, the Supreme Court, working with the Administrative Director of the Courts, has substantially increased its

legislative and executive outreach during the annual legislative session. These meetings have proved to be of significant benefit to

all three branches. This process is in place again this year with the following schedule:

January 15 Governor Otter and staff were at the Supreme Court

February 6 (Noon – 1:00 pm) – House Majority Leadership

February 9

(Noon – 1:00 pm) – House Minority Leadership

February 12

(Noon – 1:00 pm) – Senate Minority Leadership

February 24

(Noon – 1:00 pm) – Senate Majority Leadership

The Idaho Education Network, which is the statewide broadband network designed to link Idaho high schools across all parts of

the state was the subject of a long and challenging JFAC hearing on February 5. The contract involved in this case has been before

the Idaho Supreme Court and is now back before a district judge in Ada County. The $60 million contract has been judicially

declared illegal and void.

On Thursday, the House State Affairs Committee agreed to print a new bill (H0089) regarding concealed weapons. Under the

proposal, Idaho residents would be able to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The legislation has been tagged “the

Constitutional Carry” bill.

Medicaid expansion was back before legislative Committees this week. Led by IDHW Director Dick Armstrong, the governor-

appointed panel appeared before the House Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday and is scheduled to appear before the

Senate Health and Welfare Committee today, February 6.

On the Radar

February 11: A special hearing on Justice Reinvestment – Implementation, Status, Cost Savings, and Use of FY 2015

Appropriations will be presented to JFAC by the JRI Steering Committee (IDOC Director Kevin Kempf, Executive Director of the

http://adminrules.idaho.gov/legislative_books/2015/index.html





Idaho Pardon and Parole Commission Sandy Jones, and Patti Tobias on behalf of the Idaho Judiciary). The hearing is presently

scheduled for 8:00 - 8:40 am MST.

February 11: The Courts 4 Legislative bills are scheduled before the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee for

hearing.

February 12: Former Chief Justice Linda Copple Trout, Interim Administrative Director of the Courts, will deliver the Court’s

budget presentation to JFAC, presently scheduled for 8 a.m. to 8:50 MST.

February 18 or 19: Germane Committee Reports to JFAC (as it relates to the Idaho Judiciary, this means the Co-Chairs of the

respective Senate and House Judiciary and Rules will address JFAC). Exact date and time have not yet been posted.

February 20: Public Hearing for Budget-Related Issues has been scheduled by JFAC where general members of the public will be


February 23: JFAC starts setting FY 2016 Budgets. The exact date for the Idaho Supreme Court Budget Setting has not yet been

posted.








Thanks for reading.




Legislative News for the week ending January 30th

[Week 3 ] Week 3 of the Idaho Legislature opened at 8 a.m. sharp with a large crowd already gathered for the House State Affairs Committee

being held in the Lincoln Auditorium on H0002 -- the “Add the Words” bill seeking to provide civil rights protections regarding

sexual orientation and gender identity. The size of the initial crowd required three overflow rooms being opened in adjacent Senate

Committee hearing rooms to accommodate interested persons; both those wishing to testify as well as observers. The hearings then

lasted over three days, with the measure ultimately failing in Committee on Thursday along a straight party-line vote, 13-4.

Two Gubernatorial Appointment hearings with relevance to the Idaho Judiciary were held this week before the Senate Judiciary

and Rules Committee. Sara Thomas was reappointed as the Idaho State Appellate Public Defender, and Gary Scheihing was

appointed to the Commission of Pardons and Parole.

By at least one measure of how the session is moving forward, and as reported last week, the last day for filing a “personal bill” by

an individual legislator in the Senate was last Friday, January 23, and in the House is today, January 30. This means that the

deadline for any individual legislator to ask that a bill be introduced has now passed. Following this personal bill deadline, there is

a “germane committee” deadline of February 16 (the 36th

legislative day). Following the germane committee deadline, any bill

must come from a “privileged committee.”

The Legislature continued devoting much of its time this week to a review of administrative rules (IDAPAs) which have been

drafted by the various State of Idaho executive branch agencies since the last session. Because each Legislative chamber reviews

and votes on these rules independently of the other, this is a time consuming process. Readers can access the rules coming before

the respective Committees for review by visiting the Idaho Legislature Home Page, and clicking on the link Administrative Rules

http://adminrules.idaho.gov/legislative_books/2015/index.html .

Two areas of IDAPA rules developed since the 2014 legislative session which involve the Courts were heard by subcommittees of

germane committees on January 21. The first of those related to SB 1357 (2014 - JRI) and the Rules Governing the Supervision of

Offenders on Probation or Parole, and the Rules governing establishment and operation of a Limited Supervision Unit by IDOC.

Steve Bywater presented testimony to the House Judiciary and Rules subcommittee. The subcommittee voted to send the proposed

rules to the full Committee for approval. These two IDAPAs are tentatively scheduled to come before the full House Judiciary and

Rules Committee on February 3 at 1:30 pm MST. The date the Senate Judiciary Committee will take these up has not been

established as of this writing; but may be as early as February 2.

The second were IDAPA rules developed by PERSI relating to the transfer of the Judges Retirement Fund (JRF) to PERSI for

administration following HB 660 (2012) and the receipt of the required IRS Letter of Determination that the JRF was a qualified

plan. The actual transfer of the JRF to PERSI for administration was effective July 1, 2014. These IDAPAs were before a

subcommittee of the House Commerce and Human Resources Committee on January 21. The subcommittee voted to recommend

approval of the Rules as drafted to the full Committee. These IDAPAs will also be scheduled for hearings before the full Senate

and House Commerce Committees, but as of this writing the dates have not been set.

The first JFAC appropriations bill of the 2015 session of major significance is advancing through the House floor calendar. The

bill is H0026, and seeks to appropriate almost $18 million for the Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund. Deficiency warrants are

worth paying attention to because they relate to paying “last years” bills, and basically “come off the top” of the money available

for appropriation for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2016).

On January 28 a panel of Magistrate Judges made a presentation to the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee. This educational

outreach to the Legislators was well received. A similar presentation has already been arranged in 2016 before the House Judiciary

and Rules Committee. The presenters and topics were:

Administrative Office of the Courts – Senior District Judge Barry Wood (Introduction)

District 4 – Judge Michael Oths (Who we are and where we come from)

District 1 – Judge Debra Heise (Child Protection)

District 2 – Judge Kent Merica (Family Court Services)

District 3 – Judge Dayo Onanubosi (Juvenile Courts)

District 5 – Judge Rick Bollar (Domestic Violence)

District 6 – Judge Rick Carnaroli (Criminal Courts)

District 7 – Judge Ryan Boyer (Problem Solving Courts)

On January 29, Michael Henderson and Barry Wood appeared before the House Judiciary and Rules Committee for print hearings

on the Court’s proposed four pieces of Legislation for the 2015 session. Each was approved for printing by the Committee and will

soon be assigned a House Bill number. As of early Friday morning, the bill numbers had not yet been assigned to enable the listing

here.






On January 30, Michael Henderson is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee at 1:30 pm MST for

print hearings on the Court’s proposed four “Defects in the Law” bills. This hearing just got finalized January 28 and there was not

time to provide you notice.

On the Radar

February 2: Chief Justice Roger Burdick will deliver the State of the Judiciary to the Legislature. The schedule is 11:10 am MST

before the Senate Chambers; 11:35 am MST before the House Chambers.

February 2: Elected Clerks and Judges Conference/ New Clerk Orientation at the Supreme Court

February 3: Administrative Conference

February 4: Idaho Department of Water Resources, together with Judge Eric Wildman, will present the water adjudication budget

before JFAC

February 5: The Second Annual Senator Denton Darrington Lecture on Law and Government is scheduled to begin at 4 pm

MST in the Idaho Supreme Court Courtroom. The featured speaker is Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National

Constitution Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program also will be live via web-cast through Idaho Public Television. The

annual lecture is sponsored by the University of Idaho College of Law, the Idaho Supreme Court, and the Idaho State Bar and Law

Foundation. The lecture was established to address a wide range of topics related to the improved administration of the justice

system and feature well respected national, state and regional speakers of interest to Idaho citizens, students, and officials from all

three branches of government.



Idaho Pardon and Parole Commission Sandy Jones, and Patti Tobias on behalf of the Idaho Judiciary). The hearing is presently

scheduled for 8:00 - 8:40 am MST.


budget presentation to JFAC, presently scheduled for 8 :00 - 8:50 am MST.


respective Senate and House Judiciary and Rules will address JFAC. Exact date and time have not yet been posted).

February 20: Public Hearing for budget-related issues has been scheduled by JFAC where general members of the public will be



posted.



agenda at http://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/agenda.htm . Then if you locate something of interest, at the designated time,

tune in on-line to “Idaho in Session” at http://idahoptv.org/insession/ . From there, click on the “Legislature” icon and follow the



As always, if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or questions, please send them back this way -- mailto:[email protected].

Thanks for reading.

Legislative News for the week ending January 23rd

[Week 2 ]

Even though the Legislature has really just begun, there is already a prediction of an ending date, with some suggesting March 27

as adjournment sine die.

Other dates of interest which have been established by Legislative Leadership are the last day for filing a “personal bill” by an

individual legislator in the Senate is January 23, and in the House is January 30. This means that any individual legislator can ask

that a bill be introduced up to these dates. After the personal bill deadline has passed, there is a “germane committee” deadline of

February 16 (36th

legislative day). Following the germane committee deadline, any bill must come from a “privileged committee”.

Monday was the official state Martin Luther King Jr./Idaho Human Rights Day Holiday but the Idaho Legislature had a full day of

legislative activities on the schedule. Chief among them were JFAC beginning a full week of hearings on Health and Human

Services budgets. Next week beginning January 26 is Education week before the Committee.




On the actual legislation side of things, H0001, which was a renewed effort to get the Giant Salamander designated as the Official

State of Idaho Amphibian, received a House State Affairs Committee hearing. The bill never made it through Committee amid

lawmaker’s concerns about “federal overreach.” There have been annual attempts over the last five years by a young lady who is

now an 8th

grader to get this legislation through the process.

Court reporters may want to be aware that H0030 dealing with certified shorthand reporters has been printed. We have not had

time to evaluate what impact, if any, this may have.

The Legislature devotes much of its time in the first few weeks of every session to a review of administrative rules (IDAPAs)

which have been drafted by the various State of Idaho executive branch agencies since the last session. These rules are drafted to

implement or interpret laws enacted in prior sessions. This year is no exception, and the review process by the respective germane

committees has begun in earnest. Idaho Law provides that the legislature can veto agency rules in whole or in part. Many of those

rules do not attract very much attention; however some draw considerable attention. A few ultimately get rejected. Each

Legislative Chamber reviews and votes on these rules independently of the other. Readers can access the rules coming before the

respective Committees for review by visiting the Idaho Legislature Home Page, and clicking on the link Administrative Rules.

HJR 2 (2014), which was on the ballot in November, 2014, sought to amend Article III of the State’s Constitution by adding a new

section 29 preserving to the Legislature the ability to approve or reject, in whole or in part, these executive branch rules; and to

provide that the legislature’s approval or rejection of a rule would not require the approval of the Governor. The stated purpose of

this proposed amendment was to protect the separation of powers because these rules, once enacted, have the force and effect of

law. The proposed Constitutional Amendment required a simple majority to become law; it failed by 4,705 votes or 49.4% to

50.6%.

Two areas of IDAPA rules developed since the 2014 legislative session which involve the Courts were heard by Sub-Committees

of Germane Committees on January 21. The first of those related to SB 1357 (2014) (JRI) and the Rules governing the Supervision

of Offenders on Probation or Parole, and the Rules governing establishment and operation of a Limited Supervision Unit by IDOC.

Steve Bywater presented testimony to the House Judiciary and Rules Sub-Committee. The subcommittee voted to send the

proposed rules to the full Committee for approval. These two IDAPAs are tentatively scheduled to come before the full House

Judiciary and Rules Committee on either January 27 or 29.

The second were IDAPA rules developed by PERSI relating to the transfer of the Judges Retirement Fund (JRF) to PERSI for

administration following HB 660 (2012) and the receipt of the required IRS Letter of Determination that the JRF was a qualified

plan. The actual transfer of the JRF to PERSI for administration was effective July 1, 2014. These IDAPAs were before a

subcommittee of the House Commerce and Human Resources Committee on January 21. The subcommittee voted to recommend

approval of the Rules as drafted to the full Committee. These IDAPAs are also tentatively scheduled for hearing before the full

House Commerce Committee next week.

President Obama made a visit to Boise on the afternoon of January 21, 2015, which required some accommodation of schedules

for Legislators who wished to take time off and attend the President’s speech at BSU.

On the Radar

January 28: a panel of Magistrate Judges will make a presentation to the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee

January 29: the Court’s proposed four pieces of legislation are tentatively scheduled before the House Judiciary and Rules

Committee for a print hearing beginning at 1:30 pm MST. Click here to check the Committee’s agenda online, beginning late

afternoon of January 28 for confirmation of the schedule.

February 2: Chief Justice Roger Burdick will deliver the State of the Judiciary to the Legislature

February 2: Elected Clerks and Judges Conference/ New Clerk Orientation at the Supreme Court

February 3: Administrative Conference

February 4: Idaho Department of Water Resources, together with Judge Eric Wildman, will present the water adjudication budget

before JFAC

February 4: The Court’s four “Defects” bills are tentatively schedule for a print hearing before the Senate Judiciary and Rules

Committee

February 5: The Second Annual Senator Denton Darrington Lecture on Law and Government is scheduled to begin at 4 pm

MST in the Idaho Supreme Court Courtroom. The featured speaker is Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National




http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2014/HJR002.htm




Constitution Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program also will be live via web-cast through Idaho Public Television. The

annual lecture is sponsored by the University of Idaho College of Law, the Idaho Supreme Court, and the Idaho State Bar and Law

Foundation. The lecture was established to address a wide range of topics related to the improved administration of the justice

system and feature well respected national, state and regional speakers of interest to Idaho citizens, students, and officials from all

three branches of government.



Idaho Pardon and Parole Commission Sandy Jones, and Patti Tobias on behalf of the Idaho Judiciary).


budget presentation to JFAC.


respective Senate and House Judiciary and Rules will address JFAC. Exact date and time have not yet been posted).

February 20: Public Hearing for Budget-Related Issues has been scheduled by JFAC where general members of the public will be



posted.



agenda at http://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/agenda.htm . Then if you locate something of interest, at the designated time,

tune in on-line to “Idaho in Session” at http://idahoptv.org/insession/ . From there, click on the “Legislature” icon and follow the



As always, if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or questions, please send them back this way to mailto:[email protected].

Thanks for reading!

Legislative News for the week ending January 16th

[Week 1 ]

For those who wonder how the beginning date of the Legislature is set each year, see Idaho Code § 67-404, which provides the

session begins on the Monday closest to the 9th

of January. In 2013 the date was January 7. In 2015 it was January 12. In 2016 it

will be January 11.

The 1st Regular Session of the 63

rd Idaho Legislature opened Monday, January 12, 2015. A Joint Session of the House and Senate,

together with both the Idaho Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals in attendance, heard Governor Butch Otter’s 9th

combined

State of the State and Budget Message.

Additional written materials provided included FY 2016 Budget Highlights which included: “ . . . the Governor recommends a

3% change in employee compensation (CEC) to be based on merit with flexibility for directors to address agency needs. He also

recommends “fully funding increased health benefit costs, thus cancelling the scheduled shift of costs to employers.” This is a

recommendation for executive branch agencies, and will be considered by the Legislature. A legislative committee held meetings

and heard testimony from affected state employees last week and continued this week. The CEC discussed above does not apply

to judicial employees (Justices and Judges because of SB 1394 from the 2014 session), but will likely apply to the Court’s non-

judicial employees. Other priorities of the Governor for this session include:

Funding for an additional Crisis Center like the one put in Idaho Falls in 2014

Calls for hearings on Idaho Medicaid redesign following the findings of a Workgroup

Calls for collection of sales tax on internet sales of goods

Significant funding increases for Public Schools

Re-bidding of the Idaho Education Network Wi-Fi contacts for public schools

Increase the numbers of Community Colleges

Increased funding for Transportation infrastructure

Reduce the rate of the State’s income tax




http://legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title67/T67CH4SECT67-404.htm

http://gov.idaho.gov/mediacenter/speeches/sp_2015/SOS%20FY%202016.pdf

http://gov.idaho.gov/mediacenter/speeches/sp_2015/SOS%20FY%202016.pdf

Following the Governor’s presentation to the Joint Legislative Session, the Department of Financial Management released the

Idaho General Fund Revenue Report for January, 2015 listing FY2015 General Fund Revenues to date which shows the revenues

are exceeding the FY 2014 actual collections but are slightly below projected revenues.

In other budget related news, Governor Otter – working through his staff – has predicted a 5.5% growth in state general fund

revenue next fiscal year (but is recommending a spending increase at a level of 5.2%). The Legislature’s joint Economic Outlook

& Revenue Assessment Committee set their own revenue projection, which closely mirrored the Governor’s. This determination is

key because the dollar figure adopted by the Legislature’s joint committee provides the basis for setting the state’s budget. Idaho is

clearly in a much better financial position than it was just a few short years ago during the big economic downturn. This is

particularly good news for the Court’s large Odyssey project and its continued funding needs.

On January 12, the members of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee received a report from the Legislature’s Office of

Performance Evaluation which concluded that when the Legislature doesn’t allocate monies for pay raises for state employees and

instead directs agencies to use any salary savings for raises, the result is an inequitable distribution of raises and a “perverse

incentive” for state agencies to not follow their budgets. Click here for OPE’s report.

The District Judges were in town January 12-14 for the annual District Judges Conference. On the evening of January 12, an

award was presented to outgoing Director of the Idaho Department of Correction Brent Reinke (see photo in today’s E-News).

On January 13, the district judges appeared at the Capitol and the seven Administrative District Judges made a presentation to the

House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee. The Committee members asked questions of some of the presenters and the

program was well received. This presentation was broadcast statewide over Idaho Public Television’s “Idaho in Session” network.

The Justice Reinvestment Steering Committee (JRI) also met this week. This working group consists of the Director of IDOC, the

Director of the Idaho Parole Commission, and Patti Tobias on behalf of the Idaho Supreme Court, together with a representative of

the Governor’s Office. Of significant interest legislatively, there may be a proposal to amend certain effective date provisions of

SB 1357 (2014). This group is also working closely with the Court’s Felony Sentencing Committee (FSC) on the implementation

of SB 1357.

The Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges met with Governor Otter and members of his staff on January 15 for

lunch and an informal discussion on matters of interest to both Branches. Similar meetings with each legislative leadership team

from both houses are being scheduled as well. These are annual events during the legislative session and we are very fortunate in

Idaho to have such close working relationships with leadership from the other Branches of government.

On the actual legislation side of things, three bills have been introduced in the House as of this writing:

H0001 is a renewed effort to get the Giant Salamander designated as the State Amphibian. There have been multiple attempts

over the last several years by a young school student to get this legislation through the process and it has provided some good

humor along the way.

H0002 seeks to amend existing law to provide that freedom from discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity

is a civil right. This printing is mentioned because it relates to the so-called “Add the Four Words” movement which resulted in

numerous protests in the Capitol building during the 2014 Legislative Session, resulting in arrests of protesters, which in turn

resulted in court proceedings for some of our magistrate judges.

H0003 seeks to clarify by amendment the statute containing the qualifications required to serve in the Idaho Legislature to

match the requirements contained in the State’s Constitution. In a 2014 court case (Caleb Hansen v. Ysursa), the district judge

recommended that the inconsistency be addressed to help eliminate confusion by someone looking only at the statute for the

requirements. This proposed legislation is mentioned in part because there is also a bill being proposed to clarify appointment and

election criteria related to judges. This proposal is being circulated to all judges for comment before it is actually printed, so our

readers are encouraged to examine this proposal and provide feedback.

In other news around the Capitol which will have some impact on the Courts as they work with the Idaho Department of

Correction, Governor Otter appointed Debbie Field as chair of the Idaho Board of Correction. Field is a former chair of the House

Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee, and replaces Robin Sandy who recently retired from the board.

On the Radar:

January 28: a panel of magistrate judges will make a presentation to the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee.

February 2: Chief Justice Roger Burdick will deliver the State of the Judiciary.

February 12: Interim Administrative Director of the Courts Justice Trout will deliver the Court’s budget presentation to JFAC.

http://dfm.idaho.gov/publications/eab/gfrr/gfrr2015/gfrr_jan2015.pdf

http://legislature.idaho.gov/ope/publications/reports/r1501.html






Pre-Session Legislative News [Week -0-] The first Legislative News for the 2015 Session will be included in the E-News on Friday, January 16. However, here is a brief

primer on how and what to follow the first week.

Click here to access the 2015 Legislative Home page. From this page, you can access many different matters of interest including

calendars and agendas of the various legislative committees, the budget hearing schedules, the newly updated 2015 Legislative

Directory, create your own individualized Bill Tracker, and you can watch live coverage of House and Senate floor proceedings, as

well as legislative committee hearings. Just click on the link

you are interested in.

On Monday, January 12 at 1:00 pm MST you can tune in to the Governor’s combined State of the State and Budget address. On

Tuesday, January 13 at 1:30 pm MST you can listen live to the House Judiciary and Rules Committee where there will be a

presentation by the Administrative District Judges. From the Legislative Home page link above, just click on the “Video and Audio

Streaming” link and you will be taken to the “Idaho in Session – Legislature Live” page (www.idahoptv.org/insession/leg.cfm).

From there, click on the appropriate links.

For Committees, scroll down to the “Committees/Locations” section and follow the prompts.

As of this writing, Committee agendas are not yet available or posted, but you can check the “Calendars and Agendas” link on the

Legislative Home Page starting Monday, the 12th

. These are usually posted by late afternoon for the next day’s business.

>> Monday, January 12th is the first day of the session

>> Building Productive Legislative-Judicial Relationships

>> 2015 Legislative Review Teams

2015 Budget & Legislative Priorities The Court’s Budget Priorities for the 2015 Legislative Session

The Court’s Legislative Priorities for the 2015 Legislative Session

Judicial Recruitment and Excellence | Court Technology | Child Protection | Senior Judges

Yearly Reports Advancing Justice Guardianships and Conservatorships Language Access

Court Assistance Office Idaho Court of Appeals Problem-Solving Courts

Domestic Violence Courts Idaho Supreme Court Sentencing Alternatives

Family Court Services Juvenile Justice

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/

http://www.idahoptv.org/insession/leg.cfm

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/Building_Productive_Legislative%20-Judicial_Relationships-CURRENT.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/Legislative_Review_Teams-2015-Session.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_Budget_Priorities.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_Legislative_Priorities-NEW.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_Judicial-Recruitment-Excellence.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_Technology.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_ChildProtection.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_SeniorJudges.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_AdvancingJustice.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_Guardianships-Conservatorships.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_Language-Access.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_CourtAssistanceOffice.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_Court-of-Appeals.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_Problem-Solving-Courts.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_DomesticViolence.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_SupremeCourt.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_SentencingAlternatives.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_FamilyCourtSvcs.pdf

http://www.isc.idaho.gov/links/2014_ISC_YearlyReport_Juvenile-Justice.pdf

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