Capitol Letters: Education grants, undocumented drivers and lieutenant governor’s budget

By Ryan Suppe, State Politics Reporter

Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced yesterday a new school parent committee to advise state officials on the “Empowering Parents” grant program.

The $50 million state program, created by the Republican governor and approved by the Legislature last year, covers education expenses such as technology, textbooks, therapy and tutoring. The grants offer up to $1,000 per student or $3,000 per family, giving priority to families who earn $60,000 or less.

The new advisory panel will be made up of seven parents with school-age children who will be appointed by the governor and House and Senate leaders. The committee will advise the Idaho State Board of Education on ways to “implement, administer and improve” the grant program, the governor announced.

“The Parent Advisory Council reinforces our recognition of the important role parents play in our children’s education,” he said. “We want, and need, their help to strengthen and improve this program.”

The Empowering Parents grant program was initially billed as a way to ease education burdens brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Little is pushing to make the grants an ongoing program. He’ll need the Legislature’s approval for that.

Little’s announcement comes as Idaho lawmakers debate ideas for school voucher programs, funding mechanisms that would direct public education money to private schools, which have been branded as opportunities to expand education choices.

Senate Republicans on Monday rejected a bill that would have created a universal voucher program with no income limits. Yesterday, Republican lawmakers discussed with the House Education Committee three scaled-back proposals that would allow private school parents to collect public education funding.

One proposal, from Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, and Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, would expand the Empowering Parents grants to allow private school families to use the funds for tuition.

Little was tight-lipped regarding the new bills, but he’s signaled opposition to voucher proposals in recent months.

Yesterday, he said the grants fit into Idaho’s existing “abundant school choice options.” A news release from the governor’s office noted that Idaho is ranked third in the nation for “education freedom” — that’s according to the Heritage Foundation.

Committee clears bill granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants

A bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain restricted driver’s licenses and vehicle insurance cleared the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday.

It’s not the first time the Legislature has considered the controversial proposal, but past attempts failed to advance beyond a committee, said Estefanía Mondragon executive director of Poder of Idaho, an immigrants rights advocacy group.

The Transportation committee voted to advance the bill to the full Senate without a recommendation that legislation be approved. Typically, committees include such a recommendation or hold the bill, effectively killing it.

“We don’t normally send out something without recommendations,” said Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian. “I think we might need the wisdom of the whole body as we debate and deliberate this.”

Read Reporter Rachel Spacek’s full story here.

Budget request to cover McGeachin shortfall approved

Idaho lawmakers last week approved a budget request from Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke to cover wages for former Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who last year faced a budget shortfall.

McGeachin in June deferred paying out most of one paycheck — about $2,000 — until the current fiscal year to rectify a shortfall, which resulted from McGeachin using her office’s budget to cover $29,000 in legal fees stemming from her refusal to release complete public records.

Bedke, the new Republican lieutenant governor, inherited the lieutenant governor’s budget when he took office in January. Bedke asked lawmakers approve a supplemental appropriation covering McGeachin’s wage deferral in the current fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.

Bedke also requested an additional $5,000 for travel expenses.

The $7,000 budget gap was “created by decisions in the prior administration,” Bedke told the committee last month. Former lieutenant governors paid for “active traveling” using personal income or campaign funds, Bedke said.

“This will allow us to meet the full commitment that we have in the lieutenant governor’s office to the people of the state of Idaho,” he said.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee unanimously OK’d Bedke’s supplemental requests last week, and cleared his fiscal year 2024 budget yesterday.

For the upcoming fiscal year, Bedke requested additional funds for two full-time staff members, who will be paid $65,000 each. Previous budgets for the office funded one full-time chief of staff, while wages for a part-time assistant came out of the office’s operating expenses.

The full-time positions allow the lieutenant governor’s office to be staffed during business hours, which is required by Idaho law, Bedke said.

What’s the cost of execution by firing squad?

A new bill would allow a firing squad as a second form of execution for Idaho, as state officials struggle to obtain drugs for lethal injection.

But the cost to implement that method in Idaho has more than doubled since it was last reviewed by the state prisons system. Today, it would cost $750,000 to build a venue for such an execution, up from $300,000 in 2014, when state officials determined it wasn’t worth it.

“This is a rule of law issue: Our criminal system should work, and our penalties should be exacted,” Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, who’s sponsoring the bill told a legislative committee last week. “When promised and deserved, the death penalty should be duly invoked.”

Read reporter Kevin Fixler’s full story here.

What to expect today

• 8 a.m. House Education. Public hearings are scheduled for two bills dealing with library materials. One would allow parents to sue schools and libraries over materials considered “harmful.” The other would direct library boards to create policies to clearly label age-appropriate material and create a process for parents to challenge materials.

• 8 a.m. Senate State Affairs. The committee is scheduled to consider bills from Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, that would codify a ban on COVID-19 vaccine passports and block state agencies from sponsoring nongovernmental events, such as the Boise Pride Festival.

• 9 a.m. House State Affairs. The committee plans to host a public hearing on a bill that would reduce school board trustee terms from four to two years and make school board races partisan. Also on the docket are proposals regarding absentee ballots and Taiwan.

• 9 a.m. House Revenue and Taxation. Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, is scheduled to present three proposals dealing with development impact fees and the Idaho State Tax Commission.

• 1:30 p.m. House Judiciary and Rules. A public hearing for a bill to allow capital punishment by firing squad is on the docket.

• 3 p.m. Senate Local Government and Taxation. A bill from Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, that would use state sales tax revenue for property tax relief is scheduled for a public hearing.

Find the full list of committee meetings and agendas for the House here, and for the Senate here.

What else happened?

Keep track of high-profile bills as they go through the legislative process. You can find yesterday’s updates here.

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