On Non-Idealogical Issues

Id. Rep. Marv Hagedorn (R-ID. 20) (Idaho Conservative Rating: 100%) has some very interesting notes on his blog. First, regarding Dog Fighting:

…It was right after the Mike Vick case hit the airwaves that my email filled up and my phone started ringing off the hook. Many of our Meridian folks wanted to ensure that Idahoans sent a strong message to those sponsoring dog fighting or contemplating it, that it is an activity that will not be tolerated here.

During all my conversations, we all agreed that it’s a sickening activity. After reading through all of the Idaho code that would be applicable to dog fighting, it appears that all of the code that could be used by our state prosecutors were considered misdemeanor crimes. Fines and jail time varies with the many statutes that could be used, but more importantly was the fact that as a misdemeanour, an Idaho prosecutor is stopped at the boarder when trying to bring someone charged before an Idaho Judge. A change to a felony would allow those charged and running into another state to be extradited back to Idaho for trial. 

To have a Conservative like Hagedorn working on this is a coup for reform-minded forces. Heretofore, the bill has only been pushed by the far more moderate-to-Liberal Tom Trail (R-6, Idaho Conservative Rating: 29%), Hagedorn’s work signals that the issue has little to do with ideology and more to do with common decency.

The Family Task Force that was created by Speaker Denny will be meeting in Idaho Falls on the 30th for our first round of speakers (hopefully) helping us gain insight regarding the impact of broken families and any corresponding increased cost to state taxpayers. We will try to understand any association between the decline of the “traditional family” and increased costs in heath and welfare, prison systems and other state operations and programs. Our hope is to better understand the issues that are contributing to the increase of broken homes and help target funding that could be focused on increasing the ability of families to stay together and raise healthy kids. Our next meeting will be in Boise on Sept 24th for more hearings from folks in this area. 

I like Speaker Denney and I think this is very smart from a policy perspective. The breakdown the family is something we’ve got to look at. Think about the number of women who are divorced or never married with children, and end up on government assistance. If we can find ways to turn that number around, it’ll not only do wonders for our moral environment, but for our economy and social services as well.