See me this weekend on Idaho Reports

You can hear the latest about the legislative session this weekend on Idaho Reports, a weekly Idaho Public Television program that I appear on with other journalists. The programs airs at 10 a.m. this Sunday.

If you miss the show, you can still go online to view it here.

Otter praises citizen feedback

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter provided have the Legislature today information about the input Idaho citizens gave about how to make their government run more efficiently and save money during the economic downturn, his office announced.

Of 493 total submissions registered on the this website, 78 already are already in place and almost 300 have been passed on to state agencies for a closer look, according to the release.

Suggestions included increasing energy efficiency in state buildings and the Capitol.

“I’m pleased to report that hundreds of State-owned buildings throughout Idaho are outfitted with such improvements as better insulation, high-efficiency light bulbs, and motion sensors that turn out the lights and turn down the heat when rooms are unoccupied,” Otter wrote in a letter to legislators.

“I will continue searching for innovative ways to meet the needs of the people of Idaho while ensuring accountability, efficiency and fiscal responsibility,” Otter wrote to legislators. “I also encourage you to share your expertise and innovative ideas using the Web site’s public forum.”

Urban renewal takes center stage

A House subcommittee on urban renewal, chaired by Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, is getting ready to meet.

It will hear seven bills related to urban renewal issues, so there’s a lot on its plate to cover before the House goes on the floor at 10:30 a.m. Among the most noticeable changes: voter approval would be required to start an urban renewal district in a city, and commissioners in a district would be elected, not appointed.

Smith said the hearing may go into Wednesday as well.

UPDATE: There was a long line of people waiting to testify, including Melinda Anderson, director of the Urban Renewal Agency in Twin Falls. The subcommittee didn’t have time for her — and others — to testify before members were due on the House floor at 10:30 a.m.

After hearing the presentation from all the legislators that outlined the proposals, Anderson would not comment to the Times-News, saying she wanted to talk to the committee first.

“I’m going to wait until tomorrow,” she said.

Prepping for presentation

Sometimes, presenting to a legislative committee is more of a privilege than a right.

The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday spent part of its meeting prepping for a presentation to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

The presentation’s this week, and there was a keen awareness among the lawmakers that they shouldn’t overstep any bounds and try to do the work of JFAC. Instead, they’ll present more of a statement and recommendations for JFAC to consider.

Coming on the heels of high profile JFAC presentations with the governor’s staff, State Superintendent Tom Luna and agency heads, the legislators readily admit that they play second fiddle to others.

Actually, JFAC hasn’t always heard from legislative committees; that’s a practice that began within the last decade. Its not legally required, so JFAC can stop accepting their input if that’s desirable.

As for their 15-minute presentation — which includes a Q and A segment–  they’ll be making the encouragement that JFAC preserve remediation, the math initiative and reading initiative programs as line items on the education budget. There are rumblings in the statehouse of broader lump sum distributions of funding because of the budget shortfall, but Sen. John Goedde, R- Coeur d’Alene, said maintaining those programs as line items in the budget is crucial for their preservation amid cuts.

But he’s not telling JFAC to do anything. He’s just asking.

And that’s for a simple reason.

“If we make them mad, they won’t invite us back,” Goedde said.

Legislators spend lunchtime with reporters

Lunchtime doesn’t mean legislators quit answering questions from aggressive reporters.

House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke and Senate President Pro-Tem Bob Geddes addressed on Tuesday the Headliner Luncheon, an event sponsored by the Southwest Chapter of the Idaho Press Club.

The event gave reporters and bloggers the opportunity to grill lawmakers in a Boise restaurant about how the session’s going.

Among the nuggets that emerged:

* Optimism that the session is in its halfway mark.

* A lively discussion on a bill that would ban texting while driving, which wasn’t opposed by either lawmaker. Bedke, R-Oakley, cited an accident that happened along the route from his town to Burley because of texting while driving.

* The probability that agencies will experience “sticker shock,” as Bedke, R-Oakley put it, when the full impact of cuts comes out.

“They’ll come to the realization that none of their sacred cows are exempt,” Bedke said.

The lunchtime meal had turkey and ham sandwiches — no beef — sparing cows a trip to the chopping block.

Extra scholarship money may come with early graduations

The House Education Committee had a hearing today on a bill that would give high school students some extra scholarship money for college if they graduate early from high school.

Here’s how it works: If a student graduates from high school a year early, it’s essentially saving the state about $4,500. That’s the state funding that would have gone to the student’s school district if he had continued to be in high school.

So 35 percent of that money — about $1,500 — would become a scholarship for the student. Another 35 percent would go to the school district, and the remaining 30 percent would stay in state coffers.

And the program’s voluntary for school districts and students. Magic Valley legislators on the committee — Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, Rep. Donna Pence, D-Gooding, and Rep. Sharon Block, R-Twin Falls, seemed open to the idea.

“I know, having been a former teacher, that the issue of gifted children and children with high academic abilities very often does not fit into the academics of our school system and this is something that needs to be addressed,” Block said. “Very often they become discouraged. … They need a challenge.”

The full story will be in the Times-News and at magicvalley.com  on Tuesday.

JFAC debates budget numbers

The Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is debating budget numbers now: The big words coming up are pessimism vs. optimism.

Ultimately, JFAC will choose target numbers for this fiscal year, which ends in June and the next fiscal year starting on July 1. Setting the budget target is crucial because it’s a number that’s a “best guess” at what the state’s revenues will be.

A low number means more immediate cuts; a high budget number means hoping for the best and being forced to make mid-year cuts if the budget target set was too high.

Among the points made:

Sen. Dean Cameron, c0-chairman, said that even with an economic recovery, it still takes several months for the revenues to make their way into state coffers and show an increase.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said she preferred to look at it as a “glass half full” situation, with contingency plans in place just in case the revenues are worse than expected.