Hello Friends,It has been both a privilege and a pleasure to represent you in the Idaho Senate. My committee assignments include Education, Commerce and Human Resources, and Agricultural Affairs and during the interim I will be representing you on the Joint Millennium Fund Committee.Education: One of our success stories this year is the career ladder/teacher pay bill, HB296. As a classroom teacher and member of the Governor’s Task Force for Education, my goal was to increase teachers’ salaries so we can recruit and retain our highly skilled teachers. After three years of meetings and months of negotiation with stakeholders, we passed a consensus piece of legislation that will significantly raise educators’ salaries. We were also able to build in additional benefits, including professional development, mentoring, evaluation training for administrators, plus some flexibility and safeguards for measuring student growth. While HB296 is not perfect, it provides a framework to move education and teacher compensation forward.

Transportation: A pressing need to repair and maintain our roads and bridges offered another major issue for debate during the 2015 Legislative Session. A slew of bills and solutions were submitted during the session, but each was deeply flawed and promptly rejected. In the final days of the session, a Conference Committee was convened in order to resolve disagreements between both houses, and after two days of contentious meetings, a compromise on a “going home bill” was reached. HB312aaS will provide an additional $95 million in dedicated funds for transportation plus surplus money from the general fund. This is a far cry from the $262 million needed for maintenance and repair of our bridges and roads, but it is what was possible this session.

Anti-Bullying: I am excited to report the passage of HB 246, an anti-bullying bill, I co-sponsored with Rep. Ilana Rubel. We heard a great deal of passionate testimony regarding the emotional and physical toll caused by bullying. This bill equips schools and communities with necessary training and resources to address the problem of bullying, and will hopefully serve as an important step in protecting our children.

State Amphibian: After 3 years of working with Ilah Hickman, HB 1, which designates the Idaho Giant Salamander as our State Amphibian, became law. The success of this bill is the result of hard work and determination by Ilah Hickman, a 14-year-old Boise student, who has pushed for the bill’s passage for the past five years. It is a testament not only to Ilah’s many talents, but to the Idaho Spirit: We Never Give Up. Congratulations to Ilah, her friends, and family.

My Bills: This Session, I was pleased to sponsor and co-sponsor a number of bills. They include HB 22, which cleans up an outdated provision relating to the terms of school trustees, HB 122, which clarifies an existing statute concerning student progress, SB 1080a, which provides for the licensure of genetic counselors, SCR 110, which designates National Diaper Need Awareness Week in Idaho, SCR 116, which formalizes the rejection of a rule created by Idaho Department of Agriculture elk importation, HB 126, which creates a more accurate per-pupil method for school funding, and assisted in the passage of HB152aaS, which ensures our deaf and hard of hearing citizens have qualified sign language interpreters.

Sine Die: Though we did sine die in the early morning hours on Saturday, the Governor may need to call us back for a special session. At the 11th hour, the House Judiciary Committee voted down SB1067 which provides $16 million dollars in federal funding for Idaho’s child support enforcement program and puts at risk $30 million in federal funding for needy families. This irresponsible vote by House Republicans jeopardizes $200 million of child support payments made to Idaho’s children. Killing Senate Bill 1067 puts our children at risk and makes Idaho a haven for deadbeat Dads.

I want to stress what an honor it is to serve you in the Idaho Legislature. I truly appreciate all of your visits, attendance at our public forums, and the hundreds of phone calls, emails, and letters. Your input helps me better represent you and our community.

Warmest Regards,