Legislators address proposed bills

COEUR d'ALENE - As the legislative committees wrap up their reviews of state agency rules, proposed legislation on more substantive issues is starting to take shape.

Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, said a couple of interesting bills were introduced to the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday.

• Gun rights

"We introduced a bill to codify constitutional carry," he said, explaining that if the bill passes, it will eliminate the need for a concealed weapons permit.

"That is the way I understand it right now," Barbieri said. "Once we get a hearing, I will know a lot more."

Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, and Rep. Don Cheatham, R-Post Falls, also sit on the State Affairs Committee and voted to introduce the bill.

Greg Pruett, from Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, presented the bill.

Sims said she will know more after the bill's first hearing.

• Public records, ethics and transparency

Cheatham said he voted for all four bills introduced in committee Thursday.

Two bills were introduced by Cally Younger from the governor's office dealing with transparency, ethics in government and public records.

Barbieri said the governor wants to consolidate all laws dealing with public records into one law because they are currently scattered throughout Idaho code.

Sims said the same thing about the transparency and ethics laws.

• Chemical abortions

The fourth bill was presented by Kerry Uhlenkott of Right to Life of Idaho and David Ripley of Idaho Chooses Life.

If passed, Barbieri said, the law would require a doctor to be present to examine patients who choose to have chemical abortions.

Sims said the bill would require an examination before and after the abortion.

Sims is also working on two bills that would require urban renewal districts to seek the approval of an elected board before they can exercise eminent domain or borrow money for a project.

• Medicaid expansion and insurance

Rep. Eric Redman, R-Athol, said he has spent a lot of time on health care issues.

Redman sits on the House Health and Welfare Committee, which is reviewing the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare's Medicaid expansion options. He sat through a lengthy presentation on the subject Thursday.

"It was quite the presentation," he said, explaining the agency has provided the committee with 185 pages of Medicaid expansion alternatives. "There are some areas I agree with and others I don't agree with."

Redman said agency officials told the committee the federal government is offering Idaho a waiver to create its own expanded Medicaid system to cover an estimated 78,000 citizens who don't have insurance and don't qualify for subsidized insurance on the Idaho Health Exchange.

"They are saying that the state could charge patients a co-pay if they expand Medicaid," Redman said. "But it's only like $3 or $5, and I don't see that as much of a deterrent to prevent overuse of the system."

Redman said the committee is also looking at expanding workman's compensation insurance coverage to firefighters, who are susceptible to a form of cancer that can be contracted from inhaling smoke from burning synthetic materials.

• Enhanced driver's licenses

Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, sits on the Senate Transportation Committee, which is faced with creating an enhanced driver's license that complies with the federal Real ID Act of 2005.

Enhanced driver's licenses will be required to gain access to many federal facilities including the Idaho National Lab Nuclear facility near Idaho Falls.

"It doesn't affect the employees as much as it does the vendors to that facility," Vick said. "But it's my understanding that nobody has been denied access yet - but they have been warned."

Vick said the Legislature passed a law in 2008 prohibiting the Idaho Transportation Department from creating enhanced driver's licensing.

"We have done several things to make the driver's license more secure," Vick said. "But they still are not Real ID compliant."

Idaho is one of nine states that have failed to comply with the law.

The Real ID Act was passed at the federal level after the 9-11 terrorist attack to improve security in federal facilities and on airplanes. Idaho was granted an extension to comply with the law, but that expired on Jan. 19 of this year.

If the Legislature fails to solve the issue, and Idaho cannot get another extension, Idaho travelers may have to get a federally recognized form of identification by the end of this year to fly on an airplane. Federal regulations will require enhanced driver's licenses to purchase airline tickets some time in 2016.

"You can use a passport," Vick said. "I am not saying that is the solution, but it is an alternative."

Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, is the vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and he believes the committee should address the Real ID issue this year.

"When we fly home on Fridays we have to show our Idaho driver's licenses," Nonini said. "Airports are going to be a real concern."

He said the issue is going to be challenging, but he thinks they can manage something.

"When I served on the transportation committee in the House, we didn't support a Real ID," he said.

Vick said he was not a legislator when that happened in 2008, but said he has learned the Legislature was concerned about requiring a federal identification card.

Nonini said another big issue that will come up this year is transportation funding. While there is no legislation drafted yet, he said "everything is on the table for discussion."

• Instant horse racing

Meanwhile, Nonini has dropped a bill in the Senate State Affairs Committee to limit the proliferation of instant horse racing machines to three locations that already have them.

The State Affairs Committee has also scheduled a hearing to discuss banning the machines on Monday.

"I think it is too early to repeal them," Nonini said. "We need to wait until the Post Falls investigation wraps up to determine if they are legal, and in the meantime we can stop the proliferation."

• Education and agriculture

Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d'Alene, sits on the Senate Education Committee, which is looking closely at testing and will be starting on the tiered-certification ladder issue next week.

"It appears there will be suggestions to change the structure, but we'll see what is proposed," she said.

Souza also sits on the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee, which is busy working through rules and a list of proposed legislation from executive departments.

She said the Senate Agriculture Committee is also busy with rules, updates and reports.

Souza said she was surprised to learn that Idaho is ranked third in the nation for dairies, and that most of the grain grown in Idaho is to feed animal stock.

"In addition, I am working about seven bills; some I have started and several I've been asked to co-sponsor," Souza said. "The Pro Tem of the Senate told me at a lunch meeting (Wednesday) that the Legislature is currently running about 50 initiated bills behind where we were last year at this time."

Representatives Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, and Ron Mendive, R-Post Falls, could not be reached for comment Thursday.