All’s Well That Ends Well

The Idaho Statesman isn’t happy with this legislative session. As is usual, I’m going to take a contrary view.

This was a great session. Yes, it dragged on, and it inconvenienced legislators, chaplains, and others who do business at the Idaho legislature. However, much of the length of this session can be blamed on President Obama’s stimulus which forced a mid-session rewrite of the budget.

What the session accomplished was huge. Election consolidation is an issue that people have been working on for decades, this legislature actually got it done. Defenders of the Second Amendment have got to be happy with legislation protecting citizen’s gun rights in the even of a martial law declaration and making it easier for businesses to allow people to store their guns in their car.

Governor Otter’s quest for a tax increase fell flat, but as Marv Hagedorn has pointed out , the legislature provided more than a $1 billion for Transportation funding, double what we had in 2008.  In addition, the legislature approved repeal of the Ethanol Exemption and an increase in registration fees that will provide guaranteed increases. In addition, the legislature plans to shift some funding for Idaho State Police and Fish and Wildlife away from gas taxes to use that money for transportation.  

Republicans made difficult choices and they got the job done on a variety of issues. Kevin Richert gave the legislature a D+. I would give it a “B.”  But I don’t think the grade is equal.

Idaho House:
Grade: A-

The Idaho House leadership stumbled in the early going, losing two bills on close votes that may have passed if not for some untimely absences. But at the end of the session, Speaker Lawrence Denney (R-9) and his State House Republicans stared down the Governor on taxes and won.

While the Statesman criticized Denney’s sinie die adjournment the week before the end of the session, I think it had its intended effect. It sent a clear message to Otter and the Senate that they were not going to be brow beat into a tax increase smack dab in the middle of a recession. Denney’s move was a powerplay that forced Otter to deal.

Denney came out of the confrontation with Otter with no gas tax increase despite Otter’s insistence on it.   He fought the Gov, and he won. Denney is the king of the hill.

 The Idaho House by my estimation represents the future of the GOP. Good Conservative  Representatives like Raul Labrador, Jeff Thompson, Marv Hagedorn represent a solid conservative future for the party.

The House could have done more to reform education rather than simply cutting it. However, the efforts of House Education Chairman Bob Nonini (R-5) were often frustrated by Senate counterparts. The legislature did take some important steps forward such as legislation that allows traditional school districts to offer some virtual classes, which will produce long-term cost-savings as schools may find creative wasy to leverage virtual classes to save time and money.

More disappointing was that most Democrats and rural legislators who are usually reliable fiscal conservatives stopped a  Senate Bill that would have made the expensive process of school district deconsolidation less financially appealing and saved state money.

Also Speaker Denney would do well to let the sunshine in on legislator’s finances and income sources. The people ought to know and it’s bad policy and bad politics to keep this information from them. 

Idaho Senate:
Grade: B-

The Idaho Senate continued to be a place where good ideas go to die, but thankfully with not as much frequency as in past sessions. The Senate moved through legislation on Gun Rights, election consolidation, and originated a Joint Memorial against the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Senate ultimately held the State House hostage to Governor Otter’s tax increase agenda. If the Idaho State Senate had their way, we’d be in for a tax increase.

The Senate’s loyalty to Otter cost the state millions more than the session itself did. The original ethanol exemption bill (H0096) was held by the State for nearly 1 1/2 months, costing the state nearly $2 million by continuing the Ethanol exemption.

Then to top it off. At the end of the session, Senate Majority  Bart Davis tried what could only be described as shennigans by trying to add an unrelated stretch of road to a highway bill, ultimately leading to the legislature killing the project.

There are some good members of the Senate such as conservative warrior  Senator Russ Fulcher (R-21) , Senator Monty Pearce (R-9), Senator Dean Mortimer (R-32), and newly minted Senator Melinda Smyser (R-10).

 Unfortunately, most of the rest of the Senate made this a session to forget.

Butch Otter:
C+ (provisional)

I give Otter the grade of C+ provided he goes ahead and signs Election Consolidation. Otter did well in how he handled hold backs and budget cuts, but his decision to accept all available stimulus money, and his tunnel vision on transportation made him a thorn in the side of the very people whose help he needs to win re-election.

Otter’s focus ought to have been on cobbling together a good competent budget, and getting that job done. Instead, he continued his focus on an issue he didn’t campaign on, oblivious to what the people of our state were actually saying.

What he left town with was not the humiliating spectre of defeat had the State House simply worn the Senate out into overriding Otter and going home, but it doesn’t look a lot like victory either.

Otter is weakened, but Democrats are in no position to effectively challenge him. As for a GOP Primary, it is really hard to win a Primary campaign based on a tax increase that didn’t pass. If Otter doesn’t do anything stupid, he’ll probably win re-election without a significant challenge.