Courts, prisons, attorneys, juvenile justice
January 9, 2003
January 13, 2003
January 15, 2003
January 15, 2003 – Subcommittee
January 21, 2003
January 21, 2003 – Subcommittee
January 23, 2003
January 27, 2003
January 29, 2003
January 29, 2003 – Subcommittee
January 31, 2003
February 3, 2003
February 5, 2003
February 7, 2003
February 11, 2003
February 13, 2003
February 17, 2003
February 19, 2003
February 25, 2003
February 27, 2003
March 3, 2003
March 5, 2003
March 11, 2003
March 13, 2003
March 17, 2003
March 19, 2003
March 21, 2003
March 27, 2003
DATE: | January 9, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:05 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/EXCUSED: | None |
GUESTS: | Pamm Juker, Chief Clerk |
MIINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and welcomed the new members on the Committee. The Chairman asked all of the members to introduce themselves and give a brief history, including what they did and which district they represented. |
RS 12232: | The Chairman then introduced the Chief Clerk, Pamm Juker, to explain the printing contract legislation. RS 12232 provides for the printing of House and Senate bills, resolutions, memorials and amendments, and fixing the price for printing the same. Ms. Juker gave a brief explanation on why the printing contracts were renewed and presented to the Legislature each year and how the printing contractors were selected. The Bureau of Copy Services currently does the printing. Bids are taken each year and the Bureau has been the lowest bidder. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12232 and send the legislation directly to the second reading calendar. Motion carried. Representative Clark will carry the bill on the floor. |
RS 12233: | The next item presented by the Chief Clerk was RS 12233, which provides for the printing of the House and Senate legislative daily journals and fixes the price for printing the same. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12233 and send the legislation directly to the second reading calendar. Motion carried. Representative Nielsen will carry the bill on the floor. |
RS 12234: | The Chief Clerk explained RS 12234 which provides for the printing of the House and Senate legislative permanent journals and fixing the price for printing the same. The cost for printing the journals has been cut from last year because the number published was reduced by 20. |
MOTION: | Representative Sali moved to introduce RS 12234 and send the bill directly to the second reading calendar. Motion carried. Representative Ridinger will carry the bill on the floor. |
RS 12235 | The last item to be presented by the Chief Clerk was RS 12235 which provides for the printing of the session laws, fixing the price for printing the same and the price which the public shall be charged for copies. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12235 and send the bill directly to the second reading calendar. Motion carried. Representative Shirley will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjournment, Chairman Field introduced Heather Riley from the Prosecuting Attorney’s office. The Chairman also told the members that the Committee would be meeting on the following Monday and the meeting would include a presentation by Director Dan Charboneau of the Idaho State Police and the meeting on Wednesday would include a presentation by Director Brent Reinke with the Department of Juvenile Corrections. In conclusion, the Chairman asked the members to let the secretary know if they planned on going on a prison tour and/or attending the Supreme Court dinner. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m. |
DATE: | January 13, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/EXCUSED: | Representative Sali |
GUESTS: | Director Dan Charboneau, Idaho State Police; Jim Woods, Idaho Department of Correction |
MINUTES: | The Chairman called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ridinger moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 9, 2003, as written. Motion carried. Chairman Field introduced Director Dan Charboneau who gave the members a brief overview of the Idaho State Police Department. |
ISP BRIEFING: | Director Charboneau gave the members a handout describing the State Police mission statement, its values and a vision statement (Exhibit A.) The Department derives its statutory authority from multiple sections of Idaho Code. One section creates the Department and the position of Director, and provides for any divisions and units deemed necessary for the administration of its duties. Patrol activity and associated duties are authorized by another section. The Bureau of Criminal Identification is mandated by Section 67-2911. Responsibilities for liquor, drug and racketeering violations are also mandated. The Department provides a wide spectrum of safety, enforcement and support services. ISP troopers patrol Idaho’s roadways. They partner with detectives and other law enforcement agencies in serving search warrants and responding to crowd control and other public safety issues. One highly publicized area of state police detective work, whether assisting local agencies or pursuing cases of the Department, is that of clandestine meth laboratory seizure. Employees of the Department operate Idaho’s forensic laboratories, analyzing evidence submitted by every law enforcement agency in Idaho. They maintain a number of criminal registries through the Bureau of Criminal Identification. In conclusion, the Director said the most important item was in the last sentence of the handout which suggested interested people contact Ann Thompson, Assistant to the Director to obtain more information or to schedule a tour of the Meridian facility. Chairman Field thanked the Director for his remarks and for taking the time to appear before the Committee. |
RS 12333: | The Chairman recognized Jim Woods with the Department of Correction to explain the proposed legislation. Mr. Woods said the Department is seeking to increase the allowable maximum cost of supervision fee to fifty ($50.00) dollars. That fee is currently thirty-five ($35.00) dollars. In addition to the monthly cost of supervision, there are other offender paid costs for rehabilitation services, urinalysis testing and electronic monitoring. If the fee is increased, the Department can include some of these programs with no additional costs to the offender. It will also allow better drug and alcohol programs and better electronic surveillance. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to introduce RS 12333. Motion carried. |
RS 12414C1 | The Chairman recognized Representative Leon Smith to explain the proposed legislation. Representative Smith said the legislation provides clarification and amendments concerning the Small Lawsuit Resolution Act to make the Act function in different court settings and in conformance with existing law and Supreme Court rules. The Act was approved by both the House and Senate last year. After the legislation was passed, many groups with competing interest in the bill met several times and reached compromises which resulted in the current proposed legislation. Representative Smith asked that RS 12414C1 be introduced to print. The Committee will then have the opportunity to hear testimony in more detail. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12414C1. Motion carried. |
HB 51: | Chairman Field said the sponsor of HB 51 requested that the bill be held in Committee. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to hold HB 51 in Committee. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjournment. Representative Clark appointed a Subcommittee consisting of Chairman Clark and Representatives Edmunson, Wills, Ring and Boe to consider the Rules of the Idaho Division of Veterans Services. That meeting will immediately follow the adjournment of the full Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 15, 2003. There being no further business, the Committee was adjourned at 2:10 p.m. |
DATE: | January 15, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:40 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/EXCUSED: | Representatives Nielsen, Bieter |
GUESTS: | Brent Reinke, Department of Juvenile Corrections |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes of the meeting held on January 13, 2003. Representative Ridinger moved to accept the minutes as written. Motion carried. |
DEPT. JUVENILE CORRECTIONS: |
The Chairman introduced Director Brent Reinke who gave a brief overview of the Department of Juvenile Corrections. The Director gave each member a pamphlet which they could refer back to (Exhibit A.) The Director said Idaho is a rehabilitation state and the Department’s mission is to prevent and reduce juvenile crimes. The Department has developed numerous partnerships with agencies, courts, counties, and others to prevent and reduce juvenile crime. There are 170,631 ten to seventeen year-old juveniles in Idaho. 6,500 juveniles are currently on probation. There are 44 probation departments and 11 detention centers. 828 juveniles are served by the Department. Average statistics of juveniles in custody are: age 16.4, 82.6% are male The Chairman thanked the Director and his staff for appearing before the |
ADJOURN: | The Chairman said there would be no meeting on Friday. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:25 p.m. |
DATE: | January 15, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Clark, Representatives Edmunson, Ring, Wills and Boe |
ABSENT/EXCUSED: | None |
GUESTS: | Richard Jones, Administrator, Div. of Veterans Services |
MINUTES: | Chairman Clark called the meeting to order and recognized Richard Jones to explain the pending rules submitted by the Idaho Division of Veterans Services to the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee. The Chairman asked if there had been any controversy over any of the rules and the Administrator indicated there had not. The Administrator said three of the following dockets provide clarification to existing rules and the last two dockets were new chapters which deal with the new State Veterans Cemetery and wheelchair confined veterans. |
21-0101-0201: | This pending rule clarifies nursing care eligibility requirements for admission to Idaho State Veterans Homes and changes the requirement that residents pay a $100 security deposit. |
21-0102-0201: | This pending rule clarifies eligibility to receive emergency grants; change certain requirements; improve fiscal management and clarifies who may make requests for reimbursement for service officer training. |
21-0103-0201: | This pending rule changes the requirement that all veterans homes must charge the same and provides a means for veterans homes to write off uncollectible debts. |
21-0104-0201 | This pending rule deals with a new chapter in the rules which provides for the operation and maintenance of Idaho’s new State Veterans Cemetery. Mr. Jones said the cemetery is scheduled to open in the year 2004. These rules follow national guidelines for all veterans cemeteries. |
21-0105-0201 | The last pending rule discussed by the Administrator is also a new chapter which provides for a wheelchair confined veteran’s transportation payment pilot project. This will supplement the VA van program. These vans are not able to transport wheelchair confined veterans. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to recommend to the full committee that the Idaho Division of Veterans Services pending rules be accepted. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m. |
DATE: | January 21, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Randy Tilley, Department of Financial Management; Greg Sali, Research Analyst, Bd. Of Corr.; Director Tom Beauclair, Dept. of Corr.; Ken McClure, Idaho Liability Reform Coalition |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Kulczyk moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 15, 2003, as written. Motion carried. The Chairman recognized Randy Tilley to present a review of parole eligibility to the members. |
PAROLE
ELIGIBILITY: |
Mr. Tilley passed a handout to each member which was a review of parole eligibility dates of incarcerated offenders (exhibit A.) Mr. Tilley said paroles are granted by the Department of Pardons and Parole, whereas probations are granted by the courts. Of all offenders who are past their parole eligibility dates, sixteen have tentative parole dates, ninety have disciplinary reports in the last 90 days, twenty-nine are in residential substance abuse treatment, 240 were passed to full-term release date and the balance were continued to another hearing date. The average parole cost per day is $3.80. The recommended caseload per parole officer is 60 offenders. The annual salary for a senior parole officer is $50,000, including benefits. Challenges being faced are deciding acceptable levels of risk, who assumes the responsibility for the risk and how to assure that those released will not commit new crimes. |
Chairman Field thanked Mr. Tilley for the information and recognized Director Tom Beauclair to discuss the Idaho Department of Correction. |
|
DEPT. OF CORRECTION: |
Director Beauclair gave each member a handout (exhibit B) explaining the Departments mission statement, vision and values. The Director said the Department has merged five divisions to two, created efficiencies and deleted funding for several positions. The reorganization of the Department saved $660,000. There have been budget cuts, but the impact of those costs has resulted in a reduction in security and supervision of offenders, a reduction in programs and education for offenders, an increased risk to staff and offenders and anticipated increases in length of stay. The incarcerated growth rate is projected at 6% for 2003. Probation and parole growth is projected at 5.8% for 2003 and there will be significant growth in the next five years. In conclusion, the Director said the Department needs to be more streamlined. Balance is the key. New options need to be explored. |
Chairman Field thanked the Director for taking the time to appear before the Committee. |
|
RS12581 | The last item on the agenda was RS12581 and the Chairman recognized Ken McClure to explain the proposed legislation. Mr. McClure said this legislation would modify rules for the determination and imposition of tort liability in Idaho. It would modify three provisions of tort reform enacted in 1987, but not revisited since. It would clean up the repeal of joint and several liability by repealing exceptions for environmental damages and damages associated with medical devices and pharmaceutical products. It would reduce the cap on non-economic damages to $250,000. It would impose limits on punitive damages. It would modify the appeal bond requirements to enable defendants to appeal large awards for punitive damages by posting a bond for compensatory damages and the first million dollars of punitive damages. The bill would have no negative fiscal impact. Mr. McClure gave the members an Idaho Liability Reform Coalition Board list (exhibit C.) In conclusion, Mr. McClure said this issue is controversial. The proposed legislation needs to be introduced and returned to the Committee in bill form, so that all interested parties may have a chance to testify. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to introduce RS12581. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | Chairman Field said several meeting agendas are in the planning stages. The Committee needs to plan on meeting on Friday, January 31. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:35 p.m. |
DATE: | January 21, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:40 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Jim Clark; Representatives Edmunson, Ring, Wills and Boe |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Director Brent Reinke, Dept. of Juvenile Corrections |
MINUTES: | Chairman Clark called the meeting to order and asked the members to review their minutes. Representative Ring moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on January 15, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
RULES REVIEW: | Chairman Clark called upon Director Brent Reinke to explain the pending rules of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections which created the Custody Review Board. Director Reinke said Chapter 05.01.03 is a new chapter providing rules for the Review Board. The Board is made up of citizens. Juveniles who are within 6 months of their 19th birthday may apply to have the Custody Review Board hear their cases. This new chapter is modeled after a similar chapter of the Commission of Pardons and Parole. The rules are established to ensure that the Juvenile Corrections system in Idaho and the Custody Review Board will be consistently based on the principles of accountability, community protection and competency development. Victims are kept informed of the entire process. It is good for the victims, good for the offender and for the family of the offender. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to recommend to the full Committee that the pending Rules of the Custody Review Board be accepted. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the subcommittee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. |
DATE: | January 23, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:00 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Rep. Ellsworth |
GUESTS: | Mike Kane, Idaho Sheriffs Assn., Patti Tobias, Adm. Director of the Courts |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ridinger moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on January 21, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
RS12564: | The Chairman recognized Mike Kane to explain the proposed legislation. Mr. Kane said this legislation would close a loophole currently existing in Idaho law regarding sexual contact between a jailor or correctional officer and a prisoner. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS12564. Motion carried. |
RS12565: | The next item on the agenda was RS12565 and Mr. Kane was recognized to explain. This legislation clarifies the existing law regarding who may be liable for deliberately ignoring signs, barricades or other devices, entering closed areas and becoming lost, thereby causing the need for a search and rescue. The legislation makes it clear that persons who are authorized to be on the land and who become lost cannot be held liable. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to introduce RS12565. Motion carried. |
H 72: | Representative Leon Smith was recognized to explain the bill. The legislation provides clarification and amendments concerning: notice provisions; scheduling order; case removal; evaluation designation and appointment or removal; evaluator compensation; procedural process; award of costs and fees; evidence admissibility; determination for judgement and trial de novo; and other technical corrections to make the Small Lawsuit Resolution Act function in different courts and in conformance with existing law and Supreme Court rules. Representative Smith said the act, as amended, is already in effect. All interested parties agreed to the language changes. The Supreme Court has promulgated rules to put the Act into effect. Therefore, time is of the essence in passing this bill. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send H 72 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Smith will carry the bill on the floor. |
DRUG COURT: | Chairman Field recognized Patti Tobias to explain the drug and family courts to the Committee. Ms. Tobias gave each member a handout which explained in detail the Idaho Drug Court Act and the Idaho Family Court. As of December 2002, thirty drug courts are operating in all seven judicial districts. Thirteen drug courts have been added in just the last twelve months and the number of offenders supervised was 627 participants, which represents an increase of 62 percent from a year ago. Drug Courts in each county determine the eligibility of offenders who may be admitted into drug courts following a substance abuse assessment and a criminogenic risk assessment. Violent offenders and sex offenders are excluded from eligibility. 97% of drug court participants become employed and 89% of drug court graduates are not convicted of any further crimes. |
FAMILY COURT: | Ms. Tobias said five of the seven judicial districts now have a Family Court Services Coordinator. The Coordinator either provides services directly or maintains a list of qualified service providers to assist the family. Offices are located in 26 counties. In 2002, Family Court Services Coordinators either arranged or directly provided mediation services to nearly 400 families. State appropriations paid for indigent families that the court determined would benefit from mediation. It is estimated that over a thousand additional families in Idaho benefitted from mediation last year. Pharis Stanger with the Department of Health and Welfare was recognized to answer some funding questions from the members. Possible Medicaid coverage will be looked into and a report given. |
ADJOURN: | The Chairman thanked Patti Tobias for her presentation and told the Committee members that there would be a meeting held at approximately 1:00 p.m. next Friday, January 31, to hear testimony on S 1001 regarding the death penalty. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:40 p.m. |
DATE: | January 27, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:45 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Representative Campbell; Dianne Cromwell, Court Reporters; Director Tom Beauclair, Department of Correction |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ring moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 23, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
RS12547: | Chairman Field recognized Representative Campbell to explain the proposed legislation. The purpose of the bill is to direct a portion of the proceeds and monies obtained through seizures of property and monies of those convicted of drug related crimes be used to aid in the funding of drug courts. Representative Clark questioned the following language on page 2 of the legislation in lines 46, 47 and 48: “If the county does not have a drug court, then to the drug court fund of the nearest county that has a drug court.” |
MOTION: | Representative Ring moved to introduce RS12547. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Boe moved to introduce RS12547 with a language correction. |
UNANIMOUS CONSENT |
Representative Sali requested unanimous consent to move RS12547 to the end of the agenda in order to resolve the problems with the language. There being no objection, further hearing on RS12547 was postponed and the proposed legislation was moved to the bottom of the agenda. |
RS12580 | Chairman Field recognized Representative Andersen to explain. Representative Andersen said the purpose of the bill is to change the maximum possible prison sentence for the crime of incest from 10 years to 25 years. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to introduce RS12580. Motion carried. |
H 34 | The Chairman recognized Dianne Cromwell to explain the bill. Ms. Cromwell said the court reporters need more money and this bill would increase the cap on renewal fees to a maximum cap of $200 and increases the cap rate for the total amount that may be charged on delayed renewals from $100 to $400 dollars. Representative Clark questioned the fiscal impact on the statement of purpose. Ms. Cromwell said there would be no fiscal impact on the general fund. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to send H 34 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Sali moved to send H 34 to General Orders with committee amendments attached as follows: on line 13, change $200 to $80 and on line 25, change $400 to $160. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Clark moved to hold H 34 in committee. In support of his motion, Representative Clark said this bill would cause too large of an increase, even at the $80 level when our current economy is considered. Motion carried. |
H 50 | Chairman Field recognized Director Beauclair to explain the bill. The Director said current practice allows probationers and parolees to leave the state on the Interstate Compact Agreement and it costs approximately $50 to $100 to process the application. All the cost of the transfer is borne by the Idaho Department of Correction. The bill would allow the Department to charge offenders up to a maximum of $100 for an interstate compact application fee. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to send H 50, with a corrected Fiscal Impact, to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Boe will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 71 | Chairman Field recognized Director Beauclair to explain the legislation. The Director said the Department is seeking to increase the allowable maximum Cost of Supervision fee from the current $35.00 to $50.00. In addition to the monthly Cost of Supervision, there are other offender paid costs for rehabilitation services, urinalysis testing and electronic monitoring. Each one of these requires separate bookkeeping actions. If the Department is allowed to increase the fee to $50.00, some of these programs can be included with no additional costs to the offender. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send H 71 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Wills will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 86 | Chairman Field recognized Caralee Lambert to explain. Ms. Lambert said the purpose of this legislation is to provide notice to the Director of Legislative Services of temporary rules adopted by agencies. The legislation requires that copies of temporary rules be sent to the Director at the same time an agency sends such rules to the Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator for publication in the Administrative Bulletin. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send H 86 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Ridinger will carry the bill on the floor. |
RS12547 AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION |
Representative Sali moved to return RS12547 to the Sponsor in order that a new RS may be drafted correcting the problems with the language. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjournment, Representative Smith suggested that all members interested in learning more regarding the Tort Reform bill meet after the regular Committee meeting on Wednesday. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m. |
DATE: | January 29, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:45 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Sarah Scott, Commission on Aging; Kathy Baird, Dept. of Correction; Marty Durand, ACLU; Bill Douglas, Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Smith moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 27, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
H 52: | The Chairman recognized Sarah Scott to explain the bill. Ms. Scott said the bill is necessary to set a threshold at which the Idaho Commission on Aging is required to report to law enforcement complaints of abuse, neglect or exploitation. In the past, the Commission has been required to report all complaints where such abuse, neglect or exploitation has caused any injury. This requirement has caused reports to be made to law enforcement that never reach the level of sustaining a criminal action. The Commission has received requests from law enforcement agencies that only complaints involving serious injury be reported. This bill would give the Commission the necessary discretion to screen cases that are reported to law enforcement. Questions were raised by the members as to how to define serious injury compared to not serious. It might be best to err on the side of caution in these cases. |
MOTION: | Representative Sali moved to send H 52, with a spelling correction in the Statement of Purpose, to the floor with a Do Pass Recommendation. In support of his motion, Representative Sali said the Commission is pretty aggressive in searching out the truth in these cases. This bill adds a layer of process that is needed. Motion carried. |
H 3 | Representative Clark was recognized to explain the bill. Representative Clark said there is a certain small group of people whose whereabouts should be known to ensure public safety. The legislation applies only to the worst sexual offenders who are deemed sexual predators by the State Offenders Classification Board, or by a similar board in another state. There are currently 21 individuals in Idaho who would be affected by the bill. These individuals include offenders convicted of rape or first-degree murder during rape. Representative Clark said this bill was prefiled to provide all interested parties with an opportunity to study the language. The concerns that were voiced have been addressed by amendments to the bill which delete “cause to be disseminated by widest possible means” and insert “publish in a newspaper in general circulation within the county once a week for three consecutive weeks.” The time frame of 7 days in the last sentence of the bill was changed to 30 days of registration. After that last sentence, the following language was added: “The sheriff shall charge a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) in addition to any other fees authorized by this chapter to be paid by the sex offender to offset the cost of publication.” Kathy Baird was recognized to answer some questions from the members on the list of crimes which would classify an offender as a sexual predator and the $50 fee charged to the offender. Ms. Baird said there is currently a list of heinous crimes in the Idaho Code and if an offender fails to register, this is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison. |
PRO: | Marty Durand with the ACLU was recognized to give testimony. Ms. Durand said the ACLU is not opposed to this legislation. However, there is a concern that if this bill is passed, there should also be a step required to make sure that the information is absolutely accurate. |
PRO: | Bill Douglas, Kootenai County prosecutor, was recognized to testify in support of the bill. Mr. Douglas said he was also a Director of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Mr. Douglas told the members about a case where Dave Merritt was sentenced to life without parole. He raped a 14-year old girl and brutally murdered her after befriending her and her mother. Dave Merritt was a registered sexual offender who had moved from Washington state. The girl’s mother had no way of knowing a sexual predator was living next door to her. This legislation only applies to a small number of individuals. It allows the sheriffs to do their jobs more efficiently and it would provide needed protection for the public by publication of these sexual predators in the newspaper. |
MOTION: | Representative Harwood moved to send the bill to general orders with committee amendments attached. Representative Smith registered some concerns regarding the funding and Representative Clark said this would just be another step in publishing a list of the worst of the worst. This law should be passed and be given a year in order to see what the costs are. Representative Bieter voiced concerns regarding the accuracy of the list of sexual predators. Representative Wills spoke in favor of the bill. Motion passed. Representative Bieter asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. Representative Clark will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjournment, Chairman Field said the Committee will meet on Friday, January 31, 2003, to hear testimony on the death penalty bill. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m. |
DATE: | January 29, 2003 |
TIME: | 3:15 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Clark; Representatives Edmunson, Wills, Ring and Boe |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Peggy White, Deputy Attorney General; Michael Becar, Executive Director, POST |
MINUTES: | Chairman Clark called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Wills moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 23, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
RULES REVIEW OF IDAHO STATE POLICE AND POST: |
Peggy White was recognized to explain the rules. Chairman Clark asked Ms. White if there had been any controversy over the rules and Ms. White said the pending, temporary and proposed rules of the Idaho State Police, Docket Nos. 11.05.01 governing alcohol beverage control, 11.07.01 governing motor vehicle rules, 11.07.02 governing safety glazing material, 11.07.03 governing emergency vehicles, 11.10.03 governing the Sex Offender Registry , 11.11.02, rules of the Idaho POST Academy and 11.12.01, rules governing record checks for transfers of handguns, contained no changes of real substance. Some mandatory language has been added, there is a change on the sex offender registry so that updates may be done digitally. There is clarification about letting people know electronically. Mandatory language has been added on the POST rules. Ms. White went over these changes with the members. Ms. White then directed the members attention to the POST Academy fee |
MOTION: | Representative Edmunson moved to recommend to the full Committee that the pending, temporary and proposed rules and the POST fee rules be approved. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the subcommittee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. |
DATE: | January 31, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:04 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representative Ellsworth, Representative Smith |
GUESTS: | See attached sign-in sheets |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Harwood moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 29, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
REPORT ON RULES REVIEW: |
Representative Boe, a member of the subcommittee delegated to review the rules, said the Clark Subcommittee reviewed the pending rules of the Department of Juvenile Corrections, the pending rules of the Idaho State Police, the fee rules of the POST academy, the pending rules of the Division of Veterans Services and the pending rules for the Commission for Pardons and Parole. The subcommittee also reviewed the Notice of Proclamation of Rulemaking of the State Board of Correction. The subcommittee recommends that all rules be approved by the full committee. A copy of the report is attached. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to accept the subcommittee’s report on the rules. Motion carried. |
S 1001 | Chairman Field said S 1001 dealing with the death penalty was not an easy fix to the law. The taking of a human life is serious. So is the protection of an innocent life. Chairman Field thanked all those who spent literally hours of their time to help sort through the Supreme Court decision and draft this legislation to bring Idaho in compliance with the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Ring v. Arizona. Chairman Field recognized Caralee Lambert to explain the bill. Ms. Lambert said the Supreme Court decision effectively cancelled the |
PRO | Greg Bower, Ada County prosecuting attorney, was recognized. Mr. Bower said a group met over several months to draft the bill. The state prosecutors support the bill and urge the Committee to send it to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
CON | Marty Durand with the ACLU was recognized. Ms. Durand said the ACLU opposes the bill because there is a possibility of executing innocent people. Idaho has exonerated more people than it has executed. Death penalty trials are very expensive. The ACLU would like to know the fiscal impact. Life in prison is a better solution. |
PRO | Roger Bourne, Ada County prosecuting attorney, was recognized. Mr. Bourne was involved in the process of working on the legislation together with a great number of other people in order to bring Idaho’s law in compliance with the decision of the Supreme Court. This gives the jurors the ability to determine who the worst of the worst are. If the jury decides there are no aggravating circumstances, the jury can turn the case back over to the judge. This bill brings Idaho into the mainstream with other states. |
CON | Anne Pasley-Stuart with the Association of Social Workers spoke in opposition to the bill. It is the Association’s belief that taking a life is never justified. Retaliation is not a sign of a civilized society. In August of 2001, a man was exonerated on death row after being incarcerated for 17 years. The Association does not wish to discount the pain that the families of the victims feel. It currently costs approximately twice as much to execute someone as it does to keep someone in prison for life. In conclusion, Ms. Paslely-Stuart asked that the bill not be passed. |
PRO | Paul and Shirley Blomberg were recognized to give their testimony. Mr. Blomberg said on July 6, 2000, their daughter, Samantha Blomberg Maher was randomly abducted and murdered. Darrell Payne did this crime. He was sentenced to death, but since the Supreme Court decision, that sentence has been in appeal. Mr. Blomberg asked the members to support the bill to reinstate the death penalty. Mrs. Blomberg said she was not a lawyer or a politician, but just a mom. The Blombergs has spend the last 2 ½ years going through the trial processes during which Mr. Payne was finally sentenced to death. His guilt has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. These murderers should be denied 20 appeals. No one seems to be talking about guilt or innocence. Samantha’s body was found in a septic tank with a hole in her head. Anyone who could do this is an animal. These murderers are a waste of time and a waste of space. They are a waste of life. They deserve death and they deserve it quickly. Do not put a dollar amount of Samantha’s life. Let the punishment fit the crime. |
CON | Dennis Benjamin, a criminal defense lawyer, was recognized. Mr. Benjamin said the bill goes beyond what is required by the Supreme Court. It is fiscally irresponsible to reinstate the death penalty without knowing its true cost. The death penally has been a failure in Idaho. Three times as many death row inmates have been released from prison as have been executed. |
PRO | LaMont Anderson, chief of litigation for the Attorney General’s office, was recognized. Mr. Anderson said he was involved with the drafting of the bill. With all due respect to death penalty opponents, no one in this state has been completely exonerated. Idaho does not have a time limit on death cases. There has been a controversy on deterrents. It has been concluded that the death penalty is a deterrent. Additional protections for a defendant have been included in the bill. |
CON | Mia Crosthwaite, representing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise, was recognized. The Catholic Church supports an abolition to the death penalty because it feels the punishment is “cruel and unnecessary.” Today society has the ability to enforce a fixed life sentence without chance of parole. The Church urges the Legislature to take this opportunity to put a moratorium on the death penalty while its effectiveness and justice are studied. |
PRO | Erin Bransom, a college student at St. Mary’s, did some research regarding the death penalty. It would cost the state almost a million dollars to incarcerate a person for 50 years. Murderers should reap what they sew. Perhaps someday the death penalty will no longer be needed. |
PRO | Appellate Public Defender Molly Huskey was recognized. Ms. Huskey said it the job of the public defenders to advocate for their clients. The opportunity to participate on the committee which drafted the legislation allowed the defenders to get some protections included that might not have been in the bill. Because of this, Ms. Huskey supports the bill. |
PRO | Brian Whitlock with the Governor’s office was recognized. Mr. Whitlock reaffirmed to the members that if the bill is passed, the Governor will sign it. He thanked everyone who has worked on the language. From the Governor’s standpoint, we would encourage the members to pass the legislation. |
PRO | Mike Woslager was recognized to speak in favor of the bill. Mr. Woslager said he believes in the jury system and that the jury will do a good job. Offenders who commit heinous crimes need to pay a debt to society. The framers of the United States Constitution did not consider the death penalty to be excessive punishment. The death penalty represents justice in these cases. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send S 1001 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Representative Bieter and Representative Boe spoke in opposition to the motion. In support of the motion, Representative Wills said this is a tough bill to consider. This is not retaliation. The expense or cost factor should not be a consideration here. These issues were not taken lightly and this legislation represents the best of the best. Roll call vote was called for. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYERepresentatives Field, Clark, Sali, Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills and Andersen. Voting Nay-Representatives Boe and Bieter. MOTION PASSED 12-2-2. Representative Field will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:40 p.m. |
DATE: | February 3, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:35 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Michael Kane, Ada County Sheriffs; Ann Thompson, Assistant to the Director of the State Police; Major Ralph Powell, Forensic Services Commander; Carolee Kelly, Dept. of Correction, Marty Durand, ACLU; Dennis Benjamin, Attorney |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ridinger moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 31, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
RS 12681: | Michael Kane was recognized to explain the proposed legislation. Mr. Kane said the purpose of this bill is to allow the counties to set sheriff’s service of process fees in an amount reasonable related to the actual cost of such service, but not to exceed such actual cost. Idaho Code currently allows counties to set fees based upon actual cost, but the current version of the sheriff’s fees statute does not allow this flexibility. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12681. Motion carried. |
RS 12684: | Chairman Field recognized Michael Kane. Mr. Kane said currently the sheriff’s revolving fund allows the sheriff to obtain money from the county clerk for travel and hotel expenses in a more streamlined fashion than through the normal county claims process. The money ultimately comes from the sheriff’s budget and must be replenished from the sheriff’s budget which is set by county commissioners. The purpose of this legislation is to expand the amount of money held in the sheriff’s revolving fund from $5,000 to $10,000 and to allow the sheriff to use the revolving fund for training purposes and for other duties such as transportation of prisoners. Because the revolving fund is replenished from the sheriff’s budget, it will not affect local property taxes in any way. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to introduce RS 12684. Motion carried. |
H 47 | Ann Thompson was recognized to explain the bill. Ms. Thompson said this bill is known as the video voyeurism bill. Ms. Thompson asked the members to hold the bill in committee. There are many horror stories about people being videotaped without their knowledge. The police tried to state the places where this might happen. However, after this bill was printed, quite a few problems were discovered. This law, if passed, might affect innocent people. The idea is a good one, but the language needs to be worked on and re-drafted. Chairman Field said, if there were no objections, H 47 would be held. No objections were voiced, so H 47 will be held in committee. |
H 48 | Chairman Field recognized Major Ralph Powell to explain the bill. Major Powell said the purpose of this bill is to amend the Idaho DNA Act of 1996 by adding “burglaries” to the list of crimes for which individuals convicted or pleading guilty to must provide DNA samples for addition to the Idaho DNA Database. Nearly 80% of felony offenders have burglary offenses in their past. Crimes enumerated on the first page of the bill are crimes that have been committed. The crimes enumerated on the second page of the bill represent attempts to commit the crime. In answer to a question concerning the costs to do a more DNA testing, Major Powell said the police have already purchased kits and employees are already in place. The Major said amendments have been drafted adding subsection (f) the language that assault or battery upon certain personnel constituting a felony and (g) domestic violence constituting a felony. Ms. Kelly was recognized to speak to the bill. Ms. Kelly said there are currently 192 offenders incarcerated for aggravated battery and domestic violence. The addition of these offenders would cost approximately $6.00 per offender. There is a large quantity of the kits for taking DNA data stored for use. The cost of replacement kits is already in the budget. Also federal grants have helped cover the cost of employees and kits and the funding through grants will be continued. |
CON: | Marty Durand with ACLU was recognized. Ms. Durand said DNA reveals more than fingerprints. It identifies your past and future. The bill comes with a large potential for abuse. Burglary is not necessarily a violent crime. If a person goes into a convenience store and takes a package of gum, this is not a violent crime. The bill goes beyond the scope of the DNA Database Act. Non violent offenders could be included. Part of the problem is Idaho’s definition of burglary. In conclusion, Ms. Durand asked the members to oppose the bill. |
CON: | Dennis Benjamin was recognized to give his testimony. Mr. Benjamin said he supports the DNA Database concept. However, he opposes this bill as it is currently drafted because the language is too broad. Many other states do not define burglary as broadly as Idaho does. Perhaps if the language was limited to residential burglary only, this would limit the scope and catch the offenders it is designed to catch. Also the language, as written in this bill, is mandatory. A balance needs to be drawn between privacy and the investigative rights of government. The balance in this case swings too far. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to send H 48 to general orders with committee amendments attached. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Sali moved to send H 48 to general orders with committee amendments attached and with a language change on line 21, page 1, inserting “where the structure is a residence.” |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Clark moved to hold H 48 in committee. In support of his motion, Representative Clark said this is a prefiled bill. It should have come before the committee as proposed legislation so the language could be amended to satisfy all concerns. The current language in the bill is too broad and far reaching. After some discussion on the Amended Substitute Motion, Motion carried. H 48 will be held in committee. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjourning, Chairman Field said because of the volume of RS’s currently in committee, there would most likely be meetings on both Wednesday and Friday. There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m. |
DATE: | February 5, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Representative Trail; Representative Campbell; Caralee Lambert and Director Beauclair |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Kulczyk moved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on January 3, 2003, with the correction of a misspelled name, changing “Durance” to “Durand.” |
RS 12913C1: | Caralee Lambert was recognized to explain. Ms. Lambert said the purpose of the proposed legislation is to exempt from the death penalty eligible persons who are mentally retarded, as dictated by the United States Supreme Court in the 2002 Atkins v. Virginia decision. Pursuant to this legislation, the issue of mental retardation would be raised and determined by the court prior to trial. This legislation would also set forth a fixed life sentence if the jury unanimously finds beyond a reasonable doubt any statutory aggravating circumstances. It is not anticipated that there will be any additional costs with this legislation. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to introduce RS 12913C1 Motion carried. |
RS 12427C1 and RS 12665: |
These two pieces of proposed legislation were sponsored by Representative Trail. Chairman Field said there were apparently some concerns raised regarding the two RS’s and asked for unanimous consent to put RS 12427C1 and RS 12665 on Friday’s Agenda. There being no objection, the legislation was moved to Friday, February 7, 2003. |
RS 12666: | Representative Trail was recognized to explain. Representative Trail said this legislation amends Idaho Code 18-1601 regarding rape by clarifying the act of rape, particularly in instances where the act is perpetrated on females who are limited in their ability to make reasonable consent. Law enforcement and prosecution officers have found it difficult to build effective prosecution cases under the existing code. Consequently many incidents are not prosecuted. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to introduce RS 12666. Motion carried. |
RS 12764: | Representative Campbell was recognized to explain. The purpose of this legislation is to provide funding for drug court purposes from asset forfeitures in drug cases. The legislation would provide fifty percent of the proceeds from the sale of personal or real property used in illegal drug activities to the district court fund in the judicial district where the real or personal property was seized. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to introduce RS 12764. Motion carried. |
H 71: | The last item on the agenda was H 71 and Director Beauclair was recognized. The Chairman explained that this is the bill which was pulled back from the floor because there were concerns regarding the fiscal impact. Director Beauclair said work was progressing on drafting amendments to clarify the fiscal impact. Chairman Field said it was the intention to send the bill back to the General Orders with committee amendments attached once those amendments are drafted. The Committee would entertain a motion to hold the bill for a time certain. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to hold H 71 in Committee for a time certain of Tuesday, February 11, 2003. Cathy Holland-Smith and Randy Tilley were recognized to answer some questions regarding the fiscal impact on the bill. They explained that there is the General Fund, but there are also a myriad of dedicated funds. JFAC authorizes the additional spending authority. This is a timely issue and it is a way to put money back on the books and allow the Department of Correction flexibility on how the money is spent. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m. |
DATE: | February 7, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:05 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representative Leon Smith |
GUESTS: | Bob Aldridge; Jim Jones; Senator Bart Davis; Jim Hansen; Representative Wendy Jaquet; Director Brent Reinke; Heather Reilly; Dar Olberding |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Nielsen moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 5, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
RS 12794: | The Chairman recognized Bob Aldridge to explain. This proposed legislation revises the definitions of “separate property” and “community property” and clarifies that income includes the rents, issues and profits from various property. In order to make all the definitions consistent with each other and with case law, the bill first amends the two definition sections in the Probate Code to simply cross reference to sections 32-903 and 32-906 and then adds the “rents, issues and profits” language to section 32-906. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12794. Motion carried. |
RS 12821 | Chairman Field recognized Jim Jones to explain. Mr. Jones said this legislation requires that a state licensing board furnish information when a prospective employee has a controlled substance problem and a hiring decision is being made. The employer is required to request the information and the prospective employee’s licensing board is required to supply it. This requirement only applies to an employee who will be handling or dispensing controlled substances and is intended to prevent drug tampering and drug theft. |
MOTION: | Representative Ring moved to introduce RS 12821. Motion carried. |
RS 12827 | Representative Shirley was recognized to explain. A short time ago, a prefiled bill was brought before the Committee dealing with renewal fees for shorthand reporters. That bill was not approved and was held in Committee. With the approval of the Committee and the shorthand reporters, this proposed legislation was drafted. In order to permit the Board of Certified Shorthand Reporters to continue to fulfill its statutory mandate, it is necessary to increase the previously established cap on the amount that the board can charge for renewal fees. Increasing the cap rate on renewals from forty dollars to seventy-five dollars will provide the board with the flexibility to adopt, by rule, renewal fees that exceed the currently established amounts. In addition, the legislation increases the cap rate for the total amount that may be charged in the event of a delayed renewal. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12827 with the following correction: add a period after “delinquent” on line 24 and delete the rest of the sentence on lines 24 and 25. Motion carried. |
RS 12427C2 | Representative Bieter was recognized to explain. This legislation adds a new chapter to the Idaho Code to be known as the Idaho Judicial Independence Act. This Act provides a voluntary system of public financing for Idaho Supreme Court and Court of Appeals candidates who run for election. To qualify, candidates must demonstrate a base of support by collecting 2000 contributions of $5 each. Those $5 contributions can only come from registered voters and are deposited with the Idaho Judicial Independence Act Trust Fund. The Act sets up a Commission on Judicial Election Practices within the Secretary of State’s office to oversee the functioning of the system. Representative Clark said Idaho Code has a single subject rule. This legislation appears to amend a tax code within an elections bill. Reference to that section of the code needs to be removed. Jim Hansen with Idahoans for Fair Elections was recognized. Mr. Hansen said this section is common where opportunity is provided for a tax credit. It is not a separate subject. However, if there is concern, that verbiage may be deleted. |
MOTION: | Representative Nielsen moved to introduce RS 12427C2. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Sali moved to return RS 12427C2 to sponsor. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Boe moved to introduce RS 12427C2 with the deletion of the language regarding tax credit. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE: Representatives Field(18), Ellsworth, Edmunson, Nielsen, Shirley, Boe, Bieter, Andersen. Voting NAY: Representatives Clark, Sali, Ridinger, Harwood, Kulczyk, Ring, Wills. Motion passed 8-7-1. |
RS 12665 | Senator Bart Davis was recognized to testify. The Senator said this resolution calls on the Legislature to authorize the Legislative Council to appoint a committee to undertake and complete a study of all relevant issues relating to selection/election of judges, including the financing of judicial elections. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to introduce RS 12665. Motion carried. |
RS 12864 | Representative Jaquet was recognized to explain. Representative Jaquet said this bill will remove statutory restrictions placed on the Department of Corrections regarding the imposition of solitary confinement and other conditions of confinement on death row. Removing the restrictions will give the Department the ability to better manage the behavior of death-sentenced inmates by giving it the discretion to grant and withdraw ordinary privileges afforded to other high-security inmates, while still requiring the Department to house such inmates in the highest security level. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12864. Motion carried. |
RS 12839 | Dar Olberding was recognized to explain. This legislation makes it clear that activities conducted under the express authority of statutes cannot be public or private nuisances. This amendment should avoid any further misinterpretation in the future. |
MOTION: | Representative Sali moved to introduce RS 12839. Motion carried. |
RS 12900 | Director Reinke was recognized to explain. This legislation amends the Juvenile Corrections Act, Section 20-504(14) to strike the language “criteria and operating procedures.” |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to introduce RS 12900 and send it directly to 2nd reading calendar. Motion carried. |
RS 12902 | Heather Reilly was recognized to explain. Ms. Reilly said this is a housekeeping bill to make the code consistent with two other sections. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to introduced RS 12902. Motion carried. |
RS 12934 | The last item on the agenda was RS 12934 and Chairman Field recognized Heather Reilly to explain. This legislation would create a new statute criminalizing the use of the Internet to entice, solicit, seduce, lure or persuade a child to engage in a sexual act. Currently, Idaho law does not have a statute to address this dangerous type of communication. This legislation would bring Idaho up to date and prepare for advanced communications in the future. |
MOTION: | Representative Ridinger moved to introduce RS 12934. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:05 p.m. |
DATE: | February 11, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representative Ellsworth |
GUESTS: | Director Tom Beauclair; Mike Kane, Ada County Sheriffs; Vicky Beall, Boise County Sheriffs; Wayne Tousley, Twin Falls County Sheriff |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ring moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 7, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
H 71: | Chairman Field explained that the amendments to the bill, as previously discussed, were before the Committee. A motion would be entertained. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to send H 71 to General Orders with committee amendments attached. Motion carried. Representative Wills will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 115: | The Chairman recognized Mike Kane to explain. Mr. Kane said this bill adds a couple of words to the law pertaining to sexual contact. The Sheriffs are asking that this language be included so that manual manipulation can also be criminalized. |
MOTION: | Representative Ring moved to send H 115 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Ring will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 116: | Mike Kane was recognized to explain the bill. Mr. Kane said the bill provides that liability for search and rescue costs shall not apply to any person who is authorized to be in a closed area and becomes lost. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send H 116 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Edmunson will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 145 | The Chairman recognized Mike Kane. Mr. Kane gave each member a handout (Exhibit A) and said this is a law that is already in place. The purpose of this bill is to allow the counties to set sheriff’s service of process fees in an amount reasonably related to the actual cost of such service, but not to exceed such actual cost. Mr. Kane asked to yield to Vicky Beall with the Boise County sheriff’s office. Ms. Beall said this bill will allow government to set fees to accurately reflect their cost. A handout (Exhibit B) shows Boise County sheriff’s office estimated costs for civil process service. Representative Wills asked what happens to the costs when the sheriff’s office is unable to serve someone and has to go back several times. Ms. Beall said there was a flat fee no matter how many times service was tried. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to send H 145 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Representative Sali spoke against the motion saying the language does not have enough sideboards on it. Counties might perceive this as a way to charge more than the actual costs are. Representative Nielsen also spoke against the motion. Motion carried. Representatives Sali, Nielsen and Shirley asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. Representative Smith will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 146 | Mike Kane was recognized to explain the last bill on the agenda. Mr. Kane said this bill in no way, shape or form will affect property taxes. It just gives the sheriffs a little more flexibility. Mr. Kane asked to yield to Sheriff Tousley of Twin Falls County. The sheriff said his clerk prefers this system. It allows the sheriff to go to the clerk and draw monies to pay for expenses. This amount of money comes out of the sheriff’s budget and must be balanced out each year. It allows the sheriffs the flexibility to travel. The expansion will cover many other expenses such as training. It is a very good system. Mr. Kane said this bill does not ask for new monies. It is a revolving fund and simply allows the sheriffs more flexibility. |
MOTION: | Representative Nielsen moved to send H 146 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. In support of the motion, Representative Wills said the County Commissioners can turn a request for sheriff’s fees down. This is a revolving fund only. Representative Smith said County Commissioners have the ultimate say. The County Commissioners are the sideboards in this bill. Representative Clark spoke in opposition to the motion. Motion carried. Representative Smith will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Chairman Field explained how the testimony would be taken on Thursday, February 13, 2003, regarding the Tort Reform legislation. The members should expect the meeting to be a long one, during which questions will be welcome. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m. |
DATE: | February 13, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | See attached sign-in sheets. |
MOTION: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ridinger moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 11, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
H 92: | The Chairman recognized Ken McClure to explain the bill. Mr. McClure said he is an attorney representing the Idaho Liability Reform Coalition. Mr. McClure gave the members a current list of the Coalition membership (Exhibit A.) He said the list is growing daily. It has been the goal throughout the time that the tort reform has been worked on to make the law fair and predictable. This bill would modify the rules for the determination and imposition of tort liability in Idaho. It would modify three provisions of tort reform enacted in 1987 by the Legislature. It cleans up the repeal of joint and several liability by repealing exceptions for environmental damages and damages associated with medical devices and pharmaceutical products. It would reduce the cap on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering to $250,000 instead of the 1987 cap of $400,000, with calculated annual increases by the Idaho Industrial Commission. The bill would impose limits on punitive damages and it would modify the |
CON: | Dave Kerrick, legislative affairs counsel for the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association, was recognized to present the opposition’s side. Mr. Kerrick said the bill protects out of state interests. Doctors are requesting this bill, although it does not deal with doctors. There never has been a punitive damage awarded against a doctor in the state of Idaho. The $250,000 cap limits everyone. There is no data showing that a problem exists. Opinions and conjecture have been voiced. This would create a greater work load for the courts. There is no discussion about additional social costs and the bill would seem to shift deterrents away. Tort reform will not cut insurance prices. Mr. Kerrick gave the members a report entitled “Premium Deceit,” a comprehensive review of the impact of tort law changes on insurance and loss cost to date. The study finds that states with little or no tort law restrictions have experienced the same level of insurance rates as those states that enacted severe restrictions on victim’s rights. In conclusion, Mr. Kerrick asked what the consideration was for passing this kind of legislation when insurance rates are a function of business and investment cycles in the insurance industry and not a function of Idaho claims. Idaho currently has a very comprehensive tort reform bill. |
PRO: | Steve Millard, president of the Idaho Hospital Association, was recognized. Mr. Millard said he represents hospitals throughout the state. Some of the cost drivers for health care are wages, salaries, pharmaceutical costs and malpractice insurance. A small hospital in the state had an increase of 54% in its insurance premiums. This cost of insurance already impacts under-served areas of the state. The hospitals are angry about the large premium increases which are caused because of the growth and severity of the claims. The cap will possibly, in the long run, mitigate against higher premiums. |
CON: | Kurt Holzer, attorney in private practice, was recognized. Mr. Holzer said data indicates that punitive damage awards in Idaho are very uncommon. Responses to a survey question indicated in all the cases presided over by judges in 235 years of combined experience, there were a total of 20 cases in which punitive damages were awarded. Over the past two years punitive damages were awarded in less than one case in a thousand. Idaho juries are smart and will do the right thing. Insurance reform and arbitration could be the answers to the problems. In conclusion, Mr. Holzer asked the members to hold the bill in committee and allow all interested parties to work on drafting new legislation. |
PRO: | Greg Nelson, representing the 57,400 members of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation was recognized. Dr. Nelson said the Federation represents over half of the farmers in the state of Idaho and the Federation supports H 92. Rural Idaho has trouble keeping medical professionals because of the high insurance rates to protect doctors from malpractice. Also, farmers in general use burnings that create dust and noise. This bill puts some parameters on what is happening in this state. |
CON: | Wayne Soward, Idaho Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Soward said significant factors affecting Idaho insurance rates are financial markets, reinsuirance payments, dividends, claims against insured, governmental rate regulation and state minimum surplus requirements. Insurance companies in the 1990’s were guilty of underpricing. When the market turned around, they needed to increase their premiums. Some companies have gone out of business because of lack of reinsurance payments. H 92 will not stabilize insurance rates and will not cause rates to go down. |
PRO: | Frank Vander Sloot, president and CEO of Melaleuca was recognized. Mr. Vander Sloot said he also serves on the board of the Chamber of Commerce. Tort reform is the United States Chamber of Commerce’s highest priority. The United States Chamber did a survey of businesses. Close to 80% of large businesses look at the environment of potential litigation before they locate. Please make Idaho a better place to do business. The current system invites attorneys to sue. Idaho needs tort reform. |
CON: | John Keenan, attorney, was recognized to testify. Mr. Keenan said the nature of freedom is the ability to choose. Idaho needs a responsible independent jury system to make these types of decisions. The question is, do we trust our people to do well. The right of the jury is most important. In a free society, the jury is an essential check. This bill does not address all the concerns. |
PRO: | Dan Chadwick, executive director of the Idaho Association of Counties, was recognized. Mr. Chadwick asked the members to support the bill. County government has the same concerns and problems. Counties get sued just because of the job they do. Mr. Chadwick expressed concern about the stability of the court system. This will not solve the insurance crisis, but it lets us keep dollars in the tort area in check. |
CON: | Breck Barton of Rexburg was recognized. Mr. Barton said he has close ties with the medical profession. There is concern about liability rates. A whole myriad drive the rates up. There are already two forms of caps on damages. There is a double check and balance system. If the data can be accessed on what is really driving insurance rates up, perhaps a handle can be obtained on the problem. Ask yourselves what lives are worth. Our system of justice through the jury is a good system. The limit of $250,000 is too small in certain serious cases. |
PRO: | Pete Skamser, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, was recognized. Mr. Skamser said NFIB/Idaho represents 7,000 small and medium sized businesses. Members have been reporting the cost of liability insurance has been increasing significantly. The structure of our laws relating to tort or liability law is something that needs to be addressed and modified by the Legislature. The refining of the law on joint and several liability, caps on non-economic damages and punitive damages is important. Please pass H 92. |
CON: | Bryan Smith, attorney from Idaho Falls, was recognized. Mr. Smith said no one has mentioned that losing a leg, for example, might be worth more than $250,000. This will cost the state money. Health policies provided to employers are provided by government law. This bill isn’t going to affect any employer’s health insurance rates. When the risk is reduced, it makes it harder to settle cases. |
PRO: | Ken Harwood, executive director of the Association of Idaho Cities was recognized. Mr. Harwood spoke in support of H 92, saying the Cities have had a long-standing interest in liability reform. H 92 could have a positive influence on the Idaho business community. It provides for fairness, balance and predictability. |
CON: | Lee James, attorney and farmer, was recognized. Mr. James said he has represented individuals in this state who have been involved in litigation. No facts have been presented that support a rational relationship through the perceived need for this type of cap. With a damage cap in place, insurance premiums have been increased. Insurance reform works. Damage caps don’t work. Please hold this bill in Committee and see if concerned parties can come up with a bill that will address the whole problem. |
PRO: | Steve Ahrens, president of the Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry was recognized. IACI represents about 300 member companies of all kinds and all sizes. The members are aware of the problems that are run into routinely in the business world that have caused support of H 92. When people are hurt, they should be compensated for their tangible, verifiable losses. H 92 does not change that in any way, Victims will still be fully compensated for their economic losses. There must be some reasonable limitations on those non-economic claims. H 92 will still allow substantial awards for even these kinds of losses. The bill offers our best chance to improve fairness, lower costs and prevent abuses in the legal system that Idaho businesses face. |
CON: | Michael Jorgensen was recognized to testify. Mr. Jorgensen said he appreciated the opportunity to appear before the Committee. As an attorney, Mr. Jorgensen said there has to be accountability on both sides. If the checks and balances are removed, the system cannot work Punitive damages are absolutely necessary. |
PRO: | Alex LaBeau, government affairs director for the Idaho Association of Realtors, was recognized. The Idaho Association of Realtors is a member of the Idaho Liability Reform Coalition and has been for over a decade. The Association supports the changes proposed in H 92. It is believed that the proposed amendments will help control the insurance rates over the long term. H 92 is designed to reduce the incentive to file claims that have little merit. The real estate industry is being ravaged by mold claims. Mold is the current issue for trial lawyers seeking settlements from the real estate industry. This change to Idaho’s law will be a significant disincentive to lawyers and plaintiffs. Tort reform is designed to provide a realistic, reasonable and responsible change to tort that will begin to stem the causes of increasing insurance rates. |
CON: | Andrew Chason, president of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association, was recognized. Mr. Chason asked the members to hold this bill in Committee. The real problem is not runaway jury awards. The doctors of this state have been gouged by insurance companies. The trial lawyers want to be part of drafting legislation to resolve the problem. Tort reform does not change the system. There can be real solutions such as insurance regulation and arbitration. Give both sides a chance to get together to provide a mutually agreeable solution. |
PRO: | Julie Taylor, director of governmental affairs for Blue Cross, was recognized. Ms. Taylor said Blue Cross is a member of the Idaho Liability Reform Coalition which has focused its efforts on tort reform since the late 1980s. Blue Cross is interested in the issue due to the impact it will have on the healthcare industry. The cost of malpractice insurance is also causing physicians to practice defensive medicine and some patients are experiencing reduced access to care as physicians retire early or refuse to perform certain high-risk procedures. This bill will help the insurance industry immensely. |
CON: | Jeff Roper, businessman and school teacher, was recognized. From 1996 until 2001, Mr. Roper and his wife were plaintiffs in a medical malpractice lawsuit which was very expensive. This bill would cap all non-economic damages in civil cases at $250,000. No pain and suffering award can exceed that amount. Mr. Roper said his wife’s life is worth much more than $250,000. Capping awards is not a solution to the problems. |
PRO: | Bob Seehusen, CEO of the Idaho Medical Association was recognized. Mr. Seehusen said the in Idaho insurance rates are based on specific Idaho data. Rates will not go down because of this legislation, but they will stabilize. This bill will always pay 100% of economic damages and those costs will always keep going up. |
CON: | Jay Friedly, attorney from Mountain Home, was recognized. Mr. Friedly said he has always tried to help people. Under this legislation, people will not be fairly compensated. |
PRO: | Jeff Martin, CEO of the Medical Center in Moscow, was recognized. Mr. Martin said H 92 provides a solution to a problem. Frivolous law suits would be prevented by this bill. |
CON: | Karleen Savage was recognized. Ms. Savage stated that juries should be allowed to make decisions on damages. The judicial system should be trusted. This is not a good bill. |
PRO: | John Eaton, representing the Idaho Building Contractors Association, was recognized. Mr. Eaton asked that the members support the legislation. There is a crisis in insurance premiums. This bill will help solve the problem. |
CON: | Ken Kavanaugh was recognized. Mr. Kavanaugh said he respects our current system. There is extreme difficulty in obtaining an award where there isn’t a good case. |
PRO: | Ray Stark, representing the Boise Chamber of Commerce and its 1700 members, was recognized. Mr. Stark said this is an economic development issue. Passage of this bill will improve the economic outlook in the state of Idaho. |
CON: | Sonja Clyne was recognized. Ms. Clyne said H 92 is a bad law. Please vote against it. Non-economic damages are real and victims should be compensated accordingly. |
PRO: | Skip Smyser, representing the Idaho Liability Reform Coalition, spoke in support of H 92. |
CON: | Ed Wuelfing was recognized. Mr. Wuelfing said he owns a small heating and air conditioning company. The $250,000 cap is too arbitrary. |
PRO: | Jerry Davis, representing the Idaho State Dental Association, was recognized. Mr. Davis said the State Dental Association supports H 92. |
CON: | Pam Dowd, breast cancer survivor, was recognized. Ms. Dowd said she has been victimized by the system. The $250,000 settlement will be used up in approximately 6.8 years. When the settlement is gone, who takes care of the injured person. The taxpayer ends up paying the tab for medical and living expenses. |
PRO: | Pam Eaton, Idaho Retailers Association, was recognized. Ms. Eaton said this is an important issue to the retailers. It is extremely important to the small business owners. Ms. Eaton asked that the bill be passed. |
CON: | David Ripley, Idaho Chooses Life, was recognized. Mr. Ripley asked that H 92 be rejected. He said the legislation was especially unfair to women. |
PRO: | Jack Lyman, Idaho Manufactured Housing and Idaho Mining, spoke in support of the legislation. |
CON: | Ken Howard, attorney, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, said the law providing for several liability and punitive damages was able to stop the violence by the Aryan Nations in north Idaho. Accountability and deterrence are major issues. The punitive damage is to punish the wrongdoer directly. With this limit on damages, the violence in north Idaho would not have been deterred. |
PRO: | Jane Gorsuch, Associated Logging Contractors, was recognized. Ms. Gorsuch stood in support of H 92. ALC represents over 400 independent logging contractors from every part of Idaho. The members constantly face increasing costs of liability insurance. This bill could be the difference between bankruptcy and solvency in many small business situations. Please pass the bill. |
PRO: | Lyn Darrington, Idaho Association of Health Plans and Regence Blue Shield of Idaho, stood in support of H 92. |
CLOSING: | Ken McClure was recognized to give closing remarks. Mr. McClure said drawing the line on the amount of punitive damages was not an easy issue. A copy of Tort Reform was given to the trial lawyers before it was finally drafted. No one has asked to talk about a compromise with this legislation. Mr. McClure said he couldn’t promise that insurance rates will do down, but the cost of covering a risk should go down. This legislation does not affect medical bills and prescriptions. It affects only non-economic damages. This is not going to fix the big problem, but it is a positive step forward. The goal was to provide a ceiling on the extent of liability. This is an important piece of legislation. Please support it. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to send H 92 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Sali moved to send H 92 to General Orders with committee amendments attached. Representative Sali gave each member a copy of the proposed amendments (attached). |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Smith moved to hold H 92 in Committee with the request that a task force be formed to study the matter and bring it back next year. In support of the motion, Representative Smith said physicians seem to think insurance rates will go down, but this bill doesn’t cause that to happen. The language needs to be worked on by all concerned parties. Representative Ellsworth spoke against the amended substitute motion. This issue has been studied and worked on. It presents a reasonable solution. This is a start to solve the problems. These costs need to be under control. Representative Ring spoke in favor of sending the bill to the floor. Representative Clark spoke in favor of the amended substitute motion saying the same voters who elected the representatives sit on juries. If this type of cap goes into place, it says we don’t trust the jurors. This is not good policy. Representative Bieter spoke in favor of the amended substitute motion. Representative Kulczyk spoke in favor of the amended substitute motion. Chairman Field turned the gavel over to Vice Chairman Clark in order to Representative Clark called for the question. This is a non-debatable |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Clark, Sali, Smith, Kulczyk, Bieter and Andersen. Voting NAY-Representatives Field, Ellsworth, Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe. 6-10. Motion failed. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Chairman Field said roll call vote was requested. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Clark, Sali, Smith, Kulczyk, Boe, Bieter, Andersen. Voting NAY-Representatives Field, Ellsworth, Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills. 7-9. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
Chairman Field said the Original Motion was to send H 92 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Roll call vote was requested. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Field, Ellsworth, Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Neilsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe. Voting NAY-Representatives Clark. Sali, Smith, Kulczyk, Bieter, Andersen. 10-6. Motion carried. Representative Field will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. |
DATE: | February 17, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representative Edmunson |
GUESTS: | See attached sign-in sheet. |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Wills moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 13, 2003, as written. Motion carried. Chairman Field said three bills were referred to our Committee that rightly belonged in the Health and Welfare Committee. Those bills were H 160 pertaining to the termination of parental rights, H 167 pertaining to child protection/parents with disability and H 213 pertaining to sterilization. If there were no objections, those bills would be transferred. There were no objections, so the bills were so transferred. |
H 123: | Representative Andersen was recognized to explain the bill. Representative Andersen said the purpose of the bill is to change the maximum possible prison sentence for the crime of incest from 10 years to 25 years. The legislation does not establish a minimum sentence. Under current Idaho law, the crime of rape is treated more seriously than incest. There is as much or more trauma caused with incest and the law needs to indicate that. This increase is important. Please send the bill to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Representative Andersen asked to yield to the co-sponsor of the bill, Representative Elaine Smith. Representative Smith said when this issue was brought forward, Representatives Andersen and Smith met with a victim of incest. This is a very straightforward bill. It increases the possible prison sentence to a maximum of 25 years. Judges feel that this bill will allow them more flexibility. |
PRO: | Gloria Myler was recognized to give her testimony. Ms. Myler said no one knows the impact a child goes through when their father rapes them. This kills a person inside. If you are raped by your father, you must spend every day seeing that person. The damage that is done by a family member most often tortures the victims throughout their life. I have finally reached a place where I am a survivor. Even as an adult, I was raped again and again. She asked what sort of heritage her children would have. She has three children by her father. One of the children is slightly mentally retarded. There are many women who suffer from incest. The current 10 year maximum sentence is hardly a deterrent. Rape is rape and sentencing should be consistent, whether it is called rape or incest. Perhaps incest should be punished more severely. |
MOTION: | Representative Bieter moved to send H 123 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Representative Bieter said the higher maximum sentence is good policy. Representative Wills said the real issue is what the courts are doing in these cases. The judges are not giving the maximum sentence. Perhaps the bill should have mandatory time. Representative Ring said the punishment is way too light. |
PRO: | Sue Follmer was recognized. Ms. Follmer said she supports the bill. Ms. Follmer is the mother of two daughters that were victims of incest. The suffering of the victim is in no way lessened when rape is done by a family member. Due to threats, shame and fear, the victim often remains silent. Rape is rape regardless of whether the victim is a family member or not. Please send H 123 to the House floor. |
PRO: | Lisa Mecham was recognized. Ms. Mecham said she comes before the Committee to ask the members to vote yes on H 123. Ms. Mecham said she is a survivor of incest. She was molested by her brother when she was she was 15, a person she should have been able to trust. She was told that she deserved it. Her brother threatened to kill her if she told anyone. She didn’t tell her parents or anyone else. After a particularly brutal rape, she finally told her parents. The brother left home, but has never received any kind of punishment for what he did. The scars from this will always be there and will always run deep. Many of these abusers are never punished. Please increase the penalty so it will become some type of deterrent. |
PRO: | Tom Myler, husband of Gloria Myler, was recognized to testify. Mr. Myler said he is very proud of his wife. He is very disgusted with prosecutors’ failure to prosecute these cases. There have been hundreds of cases of rape, but only three were tried. These people must be deterred. This is a bad crime and the victims need some sort of closure. The punishment needs to be increased even more, but in the meantime, please pass this legislation. |
PRO: | Melissa Bean was recognized. Ms. Bean said she works with victims of child abuse and victims of rape. These people are terrorized and they are damaged. People who terrorize family members need to be punished. This bill is a good place to start. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Ring moved to send H 123 to General Orders with the following committee amendments: add a comma after the “years” on line 11 and add “not to exceed life in prison when the defendant was an adult at the time of the offense.” Heather Reilly was recognized to answer a question regarding the |
QUESTION: | Representative Shirley called for the question, a non-debatable motion requiring a 2/3 majority. Motion passed. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Chairman Field said the substitute motion was to send H 123 to General Orders with committee amendments attached. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
Chairman Field said the original motion was to send H 123 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representatives Andersen and Smith will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 169 | Representative Tom Trail and Representative Gary Young were recognized to explain the bill. This bill amends Idaho Code 18-1601 regarding rape by clarifying the act of rape, particularly in instances where the act is perpetrated on females who are limited in their ability to make reasonable consent. It is believed that these proposed changes will improve the ability to prosecute, as well as increase the level of deterrence to individuals to commit rape on women whose will to resist may be impaired. Representative Young said he started working on this legislation last October. Representative Young is a volunteer chaplain and works with victims and people who advocate for victims. Many of these perpetrators will never be prosecuted. |
PRO: | Angie Fisch was recognized. Ms. Fisch said she is a senior at the University of Idaho. She is in favor of the bill because she is a victim of rape and has gone through all of the court proceedings in an attempt to convict the offender. She was let down by the system, specifically the way the rape laws are worded and defined. During her freshman year, she was date raped after being handed a drink which had a substance added to it which caused the rest of the evening to be a blur. She has recollections of coming in and out of consciousness while being raped. She decided to report the incident at the urging of her friends. That was the beginning of a long, drawn out and emotionally draining experience. The perpetrator admitted his guilt. The evidence seemed overwhelming but she was warned that anything is possible in rape cases. The jury could not convict the perpetrator without a reasonable doubt. Ms. Fisch said she could not stress enough that Idaho’s rape laws need to be amended. Something must be done to help deter the crime of rape and protect the victims. |
PRO: | Heather Reilly with the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association was recognized. Ms. Reilly said the prosecutors support the amendment to the rape statute. There have been difficulties prosecuting these cases in the past due to the existing statute. This amendment would assist prosecutors to prosecute these cases successfully. |
PRO: | Sgt. Dan Bruce with the Moscow Police Department was recognized. In Moscow, there are a considerable number of date or acquaintance type rape cases. The current statute works well for attacks by strangers, but is ineffective in the majority of date rape cases. Sgt. Bruce was involved in the prosecution of the Angie Fisch case. He searched the suspect’s home and found a substance which induces a deep sleep. Later research showed the substance metabolizes inside the human body to GBL, a common date rape drug. The case went to trial and the judge ruled that the substance seized from the suspect, which metabolizes into GBL, was inadmissible. The judge ruled that allowing the jury to hear about the substance was too prejudicial to the defendant. The jury found the suspect not guilty. The jury felt Ms. Fisch was raped, but could not find the suspect guilty under Idaho law. Approximately 7 to 10 girls come to the police each year with similar incidents. Prosecutors are very reluctant to take these cases to trial, knowing most people will question whether the victim was unconscious of the nature of the act and whether the perpetrator know it at the time. Sgt. Bruce said he strongly supports the proposed changes to the statute. These changes are needed to protect women and hold men accountable. |
PRO: | Don Lazzarini, retired criminal investigator, was recognized. Mr. Lazzarini said he has been assisting at the University of Idaho as a resource specialist. Date rape has many of the same dynamics as incest. The Idaho law is resistance based. In 1985 a national research was done which showed that approximately 1/4 of all college-age women have experienced sexual assault on campus. 95% of these cases are not reported. Mr. Lazzarini asked for a yes vote on the bill. There have been loopholes in the law in the past and this legislation corrects those problems. |
PRO: | Valerie Russo was recognized. Ms. Russo said she works with survivors of sexual abuse. She is here to support H 169. It will help the few women who come forward to report the crime. |
MOTION: | Representative Ring moved to send H 169 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Sali moved to send H 169 to General Orders with committee amendments attached as follows: adding to the list on page 2, lines 13 and 20, subsections 8 and 9. Representative Sali said there should not be a statute of limitations on those acts set out in subsections 8 and 9. Representative Clark felt there was too much duplication in the bill. Representative Nielsen and Representative Ridinger spoke in support of the motion. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Field, Sali, Ridinger, Harwood, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Andersen. Voting NAY-Representatives Clark, Smith, Bieter. 11-3-2. Motion carried. Representative Trail will carry the bill and Representative Sali will carry the amendments on the floor. |
H 216: | Representative Shirley was recognized to explain. Representative Shirley said it is necessary to increase the previously established cap on the amount that the Board of Certified Shorthand Reporters can charge for renewal fees. Increasing the fee will provide the board with the flexibility to adopt, by rule, renewal fees that exceed the currently established amounts. |
MOTION: | Representative Sali moved to send H 216 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. |
H 217: | Dar Olberding was recognized to explain. Mr. Olberding said a farmer who has fields he wants to burn has to go through all kinds of training before he can do this. Also, bailing of hay takes place late at night, which is a normal practice. This bill only addresses people who have done everything in accordance with the law. |
PRO: | Dr. Greg Nelson was recognized. Dr. Nelson represents the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation. He said this bill simply clarifies the language of the statute. Section 52-108 says nothing which is done or maintained under the express authority of a statute can be deemed a nuisance. This amendment only adds the term “public or private.” |
CON: | Della Johnson was recognized. Ms. Johnson said we are still bound by the laws of the United States of America, including the Clean Air Act. The Farm Bureau’s attempt to amend this bill to remove the constitutional right of Idaho citizens to seek redress in the courts when they have been physically damaged is beneath contempt. It is immoral to protect, under guise of state law, behavior that can bring permanent physical damage to one’s neighbor. Ms. Johnson asked that the bill be killed. |
PRO: | Glenda Talbot, attorney, was recognized. Ms. Talbot said the whole point of the amendment is simply to make clearer what was already in the statute. It more clearly defines what a nuisance is. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to hold H 217 in committee. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Ridinger moved to send H 217 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION; |
Representative Sali moved to hold H 217 in committee for a time certain being Tuesday, February 25, 2003, to allow the proponents a chance to correct the language and bring the bill back with an amendment to solve the problem. Motion carried. |
H 247: | Larry Benton was recognized to explain the bill. Mr. Benton said it is a pleasure to come before this Committee for the first time in 15 years. He gave the members a handout regarding Amber Alert of Idaho. Mr. Benton said the purpose of this legislation is to give immunity to broadcasters when voluntarily using the “Amber Alert” system for the purpose of finding kidnaped and abducted children. The bill will also create an Amber Alert communications system; establish voluntary minimum standards for coordination between various Amber Plans, provide $20 million for a matching grant program in the Department of Transportation and provide |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send H 247 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Wills will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjournment, Chairman Field said the Committee will hear one bill on Wednesday on the issue of capital punishment of the mentally retarded. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m. |
DATE: | February 19, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Vice Chairman Clark |
GUESTS: | Caralee Lambert; LaMont Anderson; Rolf Kehne, Idaho Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Heather Reilly, IPAA; Roger Bourne, IPAA; Molly Huskeyi, Appellate Public Defender; Mike Keithly, Idaho State Independent Living Council, Marty Durand, ACLU |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ridinger moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 17, as written. Motion carried. |
H 171: | Chairman Field recognized Caralee Lambert to go through the bill and explain. Ms. Lambert said under the new section of the bill, imposition of the death penalty upon mentally retarded persons is prohibited. Sections (1)(a) and (b) define mental retardation. Section (2) provides that the defendant who claims mental retardation shall give notice to the court at least 90 days in advance of trial. Section (3) requires that the jury not be informed of the mental retardation hearing or the court’s findings. Section (4) sets out provisions for a special sentencing proceeding. An emergency clause is included in the bill. |
PRO: | LaMont Anderson, deputy attorney general, was recognized. Mr. Anderson said a year ago he was before the Committee testifying against a similar bill. That was before the United States Supreme Court decision in the Atkins case. The attorney general’s office is now in favor of this legislation. Pursuant to this legislation, the issue of mental retardation would be raised and determined by the court, pretrial. Mental retardation means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning accompanied by significant limitations in day-to-day living skills. The onset of significant subaverage general intelligence must occur before the age of 18 years. Significant subaverage intelligence means an intelligence quotient of 70 or below. The legislation would also set forth a fixed life term if the jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt any statutory aggravating circumstances. |
CON: | Rolf Kehne, criminal defense lawyer, was recognized. Mr. Kehne said he has been in practice for 25 years. He is in favor of this movement generally, but has concerns. This finding should be established through a jury. The definition of mental retardation seems to emphasize the IQ results. Mild retardation is in the range of 55 to 70, which is not necessarily right. A person with an IQ of 73 might not be able to live alone. If the judge cannot decide that the defendant is mentally retarded, then the jury should be allowed to make that decision. |
PRO: | Heather Reilly, representing the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association, stood in support of the bill. The prosecuting attorneys were one of the members at the table during the discussion held by the attorney general. |
PRO: | Roger Bourne, Ada County prosecuting attorney, was recognized. Even though the United States Supreme Court ruled that mentally retarded people could not be executed, the Court did not give guidelines on defining mental retardation, so the committee studying the issue drafted this legislation to establish guidelines and definitions. Those involved worked diligently on the language. An IQ of 70 was chosen in order to have a hard number to enable the court to make its decision. |
PRO: | Mike Keithly was recognized. Mr. Keithly said the Idaho State Independent Living Council supports the bill. |
CON: | Marty Durand with the ACLU was recognized. Ms. Durand said the ACLU opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. The Atkins and the Ring decisions complicate the issue. This legislation could possibly be declared unconstitutional. A bifurcated approach would make sense. Ms. Durand questioned whether the bill would be applied retroactively for the people currently on death row. |
PRO: | Molly Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender, was recognized. Ms. Huskey said she sat on the committee that drafted this legislation. A survey was done of all 50 states. The committee then compiled all the information. Ms. Huskey said she is in favor of this bill for several reasons. The reason there is a pretrial determination is that is how the competency of a person to stand trial is judged. The issue of mental retardation is not an issue for a jury to decide. It is a legal determination to be made by a judge. This legislation could apply in post convictions. This will have to be determined by the Supreme Court. Several definitions of mental retardation were looked at and Senator Darrington and Representative Field made the final decision. A mentally retarded person will still stand trial to receive a sentence. |
MOTION: | Representative Ring moved to send H 171 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Representative Bieter expressed his appreciation for the work that had been done in drafting the legislation. However, he expressed concern over the jury component and the mandatory minimum sentence. Representative Wills spoke in favor of the bill. Representative Sali said he would support the bill, but he was disappointed that after working to level the playing field for people with disabilities, they are now advocating to be treated differently. Motion carried. Representative Bieter asked to be recorded as voting “no.” Representative Field will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m. |
DATE: | February 25, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:04 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representative Nielsen |
GUESTS: | Heather Reilly, Prosecuting Attorneys Assoc.; Shelley Armstrong, Deputy Ada County Prosecutor; Detective Ken Smith; Sandy Evans, Board of Nursing; Brenda Field; John Southworth; Nancy Kerr, Idaho Board of Medicine; Steve Millard, Idaho Hospital Assoc.; Jim Jones |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ring moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 19, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
H 217: | The Chairman reminded the members that this bill was held for a time certain until February 25. Because there are other similar bills in another Committee, there will be a meeting held on all of the bills in the Gold Room on March 6, 2003, at 1:30 p.m. Chairman Field asked that H 217 be held at the discretion of the Chairman to be heard in the Gold Room on March 6, 2003. There being no objection, H 217 was so held. |
H 221: | The Chairman said the sponsor asked that H 221 be held in Committee. H 266 has been drafted and takes the place of H 221. There being no objection, H 221 was held in Committee. |
H 215: | Jim Jones was recognized to explain the bill. Mr. Jones said last year the Legislature approved legislation to make drug tampering a felony offense. The legislation was proposed by the Attorney General’s office, following the death of Kaleb Marr. A licensed registered nurse employed by St. Alphonsus tampered with drugs that were administered to Kaleb, contributing to his death. The nurse had substance abuse problems for about five years and had lost a previous job. This should have been reported to the Board of Nursing. The hospital claimed it conducted a background check and received no information on her abuse. This bill was drafted to remedy this problem. It adds a new section to the |
PRO: | Mr. Jones asked to yield to Brenda Field. Ms. Field said her son Kaleb died because of drug tampering. Please pass this bill so that this won’t happen to others. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send H 215 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
CON: | Sandy Evans, executive director of the Board of Nursing, was recognized. Ms. Evans said the bill does not define what constitutes information about substance abuse. It requires that any prospective employer can make inquiry of the board for information about substance abuse. Ms. Evans asked about the determination of who is a prospective employer and the liability for disclosure of information. Premature disclosure could result in a disadvantage to the board in completing the investigative process and bringing the matter to its appropriate resolution. The board’s concern is not necessarily with those nurses enrolled in a recovery program. It is with those nurses who have a problem that the board is unaware of. This bill may force nurses suffering from chemical addiction to resort to denial and secrecy. The bill will not prevent drug tampering and drug theft. It will most likely result in confusion about prospective employees, increased risk of liability for licensing boards and decreased effectiveness of the Board’s Program for Recovering Nurses. |
CON: | John Southworth was recognized. Mr. Southworth owns Southworth Association which monitors drug abuse cases for the Idaho Medical Association, the Board of Nursing, dentists and attorneys. Mr. Southworth just celebrated 20 years of sobriety. He opposes the bill because Idaho’s current statutes work. A federal regulation of confidentiality was passed in 1993. The cases are monitored on a regular basis for a minimum of 5 years. Forty percent of abusers come into the program voluntarily. |
CON: | Nancy Kerr, executive director of the Idaho Board of Medicine, was recognized. Ms. Kerr said the Board of Medicine is concerned about the bill and its effect on the physician recovery programs available. One of the benefits of licensure in this state is the ability to seek voluntary treatment for abuse/addiction problems and to continue to practice in a monitored system that insures public safety. This bill might send those with drug abuse problems back into the shadows. The programs required by the legislation of 1993 have worked well and will continue to work well. |
CON: | Steve Millard, president of the Idaho Hospital Association, was recognized. Mr. Millard said the hospitals are concerned that this bill does not really reach the people who should be reached. The Board of Nursing has monitoring in place. The worry should be about a new nurse and there is nothing that can be done about this except good employee screening. When a nurse enters a voluntary program, she has no license. The program must be completed in order to get the license back. This bill will not prevent tragic accidents. The bill doesn’t appear to solve any problem. There are already protections in place. |
PRO: | Mr. Jones was recognized to give concluding remarks. Mr. Jones said the bill gives the public a little more protection while keeping as much confidentiality as is possible. This bill is a good solution to an existing problem. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Bieter moved to hold H 215 for a time certain until Thursday, February 27, 2003 to allow concerns to be addressed. Division was called. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to send H 215 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representatives Bieter, Ellsworth, Smith, Boe and Andersen asked to be recorded as voting ‘No” on the motion. Representative Wills will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 220: | Heather Reilly was recognized to testify. Ms. Reilly said this is a housekeeping bill making Idaho Code Section 19-1601 consistent with Idaho Code Section 19-1114 and 19-1115. In 2000, the Legislature amended Sections 19-1114 and 19-1115, removing “transactional immunity” language. However, at that time Section 19-1601(5) was overlooked. This bill deletes the language in this section to make the law consistent with the other two sections. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send H 220 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Clark will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 266: | Heather Reilly was recognized. Ms. Reilly said the purpose of this legislation is to create a new statute criminalizing the use of the Internet to entice, solicit, seduce, lure or persuade a child to engage in a sexual act. Currently, Idaho law does not have a statute to address this common and dangerous type of communication that targets children for sexual purposes. This is a prevention measure. It is modeled after current statutes, as well as Utah’s laws. The maximum penalty is 15 years. This crime is a felony. Ms. Reilly asked to yield to Shelley Armstrong, deputy prosecuting attorney. Ms. Armstrong walked the members through the various ways that a |
MOTION: | Representative Ring moved to send H 266 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
PRO: | Detective Ken Smith was recognized to speak in support of the bill. Detective Smith said he goes on line to try to spot these sexual solicitors. Law enforcement has gone to great lengths to educate the public. This type of education is not working. The bill needs to be passed. |
MOTION: | Motion carried. Representative Bieter will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:55 p.m. |
DATE: | February 27, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:00 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Representative Barrett; Representative Ringo; Dale Kleinert, Moscow School District; Casey Green, Moscow Police; Phil Homer, IASA; Bob Aldridge |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Ridinger moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 25, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
HJM 4: | Chairman Field recognized Representative Barrett to explain the legislation. Representative Barrett said this House Joint Memorial urges the Idaho delegation in the United States Congress to sponsor and support legislation to create a new circuit of the United States Court of Appeals for better regional representation, and to place Idaho in this new circuit. |
MOTION: | Representative Harwood moved to send HJM 20 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Boe moved to send HJM 20 to General Orders with committee amendments attached as follows: deleting lines 15 through 29 and lines 39 through 41. In support of her motion, Representative Boe said the resolution would be stronger without those lines. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Smith moved to hold HJM 20 in Committee. Representative Edmunson spoke in favor of the original motion saying putting the state in a new circuit would benefit Idaho. Representative Harwood spoke in favor of the original motion saying Idaho needs to send a message that it does not want to be in the 9th Circuit Court. Representative Kulczyk and Representative Ring spoke in favor of the original motion. Amended Substitute Motion failed. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
The substitute motion was to send HJM 20 to General Orders with committee amendments attached. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to send HJM 20 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representatives Andersen, Boe, Bieter and Smith asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. Representative Barrett will carry the resolution on the floor. |
H 269: | Chairman Field recognized Representative Ringo to explain the bill. Representative Ringo said there was a time when it didn’t even occur to us that our children would not be safe in our schools. That is no longer the case. Representative Ringo said the purpose of this legislation is to create a new chapter of Idaho Code to provide defamation immunity for individuals who report threats of school violence to appropriate authorities. The legislation defines terms, procedures, and requirements to afford defamation immunity. |
PRO: | Dale Kleinert with the Moscow School District was recognized. Mr. Kleinert said he is an assistant principal and works hard to provide a positive learning environment. This bill will help provide a safer place for children. His school of 600 students is a community made up of students and their families. That community must be able to feel protected enough to furnish information on threats of school violence in good faith. A vote for this bill is a vote for safer schools in Idaho. |
PRO: | Casey Green with the Moscow Police Department was recognized. Officer Green said he works closely with school administrators. Safety of the children is paramount, both inside and outside the schools. The police use a reporting system where students can report incidents and remain anonymous. This legislation would allow the police to obtain information and the source of that information. It would allow people to come forth and report without fear of reprisal. It would supply the police with an excellent tool to help prevent school violence. |
PRO: | Phil Homer, representing the Idaho Association of School Administrators, was recognized. Mr. Homer said the number one priority of our schools is to provide the very best learning environment for all children. A very close second to that responsibility is the safety of those children. Many incidents in our schools have been played out across America in recent years which are a constant reminder of that responsibility. This bill could help establish an atmosphere in our schools where students who have knowledge of potential school violence would be able to report it without fear of reprisal. Please send the bill to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to send H 269 to General Orders with the following committee amendments attached: change “principal” to “school official or designee” and adding an emergency clause. Motion carried. Representatives Ringo and Boe will carry the bill on the floor. Representative Clark asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. |
H 214: | Chairman Field recognized Bob Aldridge to explain the bill. Mr. Aldridge said this bill revises the definitions of “separate property” and “community property”, makes a technical correction and clarifies that income includes the rents, issues and profits from various property. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send H 214 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Clark will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1029 | Mr. Aldridge was recognized to explain. Section 6-1605, Idaho Code, provides for limitations on civil liability of officers, directors, and volunteers who serve without compensation for a nonprofit corporation. Part 1(f) of the section cross references two Idaho Code Sections in the old Idaho Nonprofit Corporations Act. However, that Act was repealed in 1993 and a new Idaho Nonprofit Corporation Act was adopted. The cross reference sections are now incorrect and this bill corrects those to the proper new cross reference. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to send S 1029 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Ellsworth will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1030 | Mr. Aldridge was recognized to explain. This bill provides that when a surviving spouse is the sole beneficiary, the petitioner or the surviving spouse or both, need not appear in person at a hearing, but may appear telephonically, or submit an affidavit in advance of the hearing certifying that notice of hearing was given as required by law and no objection to the entering of the decree was received. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to send S 1030 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Clark voted “No” on the motion. Representative Smith will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1031 | Bob Aldridge was recognized. Mr. Aldridge said this legislation adds a new section to the Idaho Code, 15-6-107, to provide the liability of nonprobate transferees for creditor claims and statutory allowances, to define “nonprobate transfer,” and to provide the limits of liability of the nonprobate transferee. It provides the order of liability of such transferees, allows apportionment of liability in various instruments, and provides time limits within which an action must be brought and conditions precedent for such an action. It also provides for release of liability for certain third party holders of interests and provides for proportionate liability of transferees in certain situations. This bill is part of an ongoing review and revision of this complex area to reflect modern estate planning methods while preserving basic protections for the family of the deceased. |
MOTION: | Representative Nielsen moved to send S 1031 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Nielsen will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1032 | Bob Aldridge was recognized to explain. Mr. Aldridge said this bill, relating to the death or disqualification of a sole shareholder, provides a proper statutory citation to sections of the Idaho Nonprofit Corporation Act, so that the Parallel References Table does not have to be consulted to find the appropriate current sections. |
MOTION: | Representative Ridinger moved to send S 1032 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Ridinger will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1033 | Bob Aldridge was recognized. Mr. Aldridge said this bill provides that in a decedent’s estate when there is no surviving spouse, the decedent’s children are entitled jointly to the same value of exempt property unless the decedent’s will provides otherwise. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to send S 1033 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Boe will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1034 | Bob Aldridge was recognized. Mr. Aldridge said this bill provides that when a parent or guardian of a minor or ward delegates to another person powers regarding the care, custody or property of the minor or ward, the delegation may include powers for medical care and educational care. It also provides that if the delegation is to a grandparent or sibling of the minor, that the delegation stays in effect until the time period or date or condition for automatic expiration of the power, and provides that if the power does not contain any time period, it is in effect for three years. If the power is revoked in writing, it does not need to be notarized or recorded to be valid, but if the power is recorded, the revocation must also be recorded to be effective. |
PRO: | Diana Zacharias was recognized to testify. Ms. Zacharias spoke in favor of the bill and asked that it be passed. |
MOTION: | Representative Edmunson moved to send S 1034 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Edmunson and Representative Harwood will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjourning, Chairman Field said bills on judicial elections will be heard on Monday. The sponsors of the bills will have 5 minutes to explain and there will then be discussion and testimony on all of the bills. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m. |
DATE: | March 3, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:15 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | See attached sign-in sheets. |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Wills moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on February 27, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
HJR 3: | Chairman Field recognized Representative Jaquet and Speaker Newcomb to explain HJR 3 and HCR 27 to the Committee. Representative Jaquet said HJR 3 relates to the election process for Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, and district judges. It establishes a constitutional judicial council which will nominate qualified candidates for the Governor’s appointment followed by a retention election where the electorate decides whether to retain the justice or judge for another term of office. The Speaker was recognized to speak to the legislation. The Speaker |
HCR 27: | Chairman Field recognized the Speaker to explain. The Speaker said this resolution authorizes the legislative council to appoint a committee to undertake and complete a study of judicial elections, including methods of financing and methods of selection. Other issues cannot be looked at without this issue being studied and recommendations made. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send HCR 27 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Kulczyk moved to put HCR 27 at the bottom of the agenda while the other bills before the Committee were heard. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representative Sali, Ellsworth, Harwood, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Wills, Bieter, Andersen. Voting NAY-Representatives Field, Clark, Smith, Ridinger, Edmunson, Ring, Shirley, Boe. 8-8-0. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to send HCR 27 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Speaker Newcomb and Representative Jaquet will carry the bill on the floor. |
HJR 3 CON: | The Chair recognized Connie Vietz with the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Ms. Vietz said currently our district, appellate and supreme court judges are accountable for their decisions and for their conduct in our state. These powerful judicial positions should be accountable for their decisions and not insulated from the people they serve. Idaho judiciary has had good results. The Missouri plan is hopelessly broke. The state has a good system and this legislation is trying to fix something that isn’t broken. In conclusion, Ms. Vietz asked that HJR 3 be held. |
CON: | Bill vonTagen with the Attorney General’s office, was recognized. Mr. vonTagen said this resolution is a major and radical change in the way judges are elected. There are dangers with a more insulated system. There are almost no checks and balances in this proposed process. |
CON: | Molly Cox with MADD was recognized. Ms. Cox said judicial independence and accountability are imperative to the success of our judicial system. Changing the current system to a merit selection system will obscure the judicial selection process from public scrutiny and debate. In contested elections, voters learn about the candidates and make informed choices. In retention elections, there is no choice. Judges serve the citizens of Idaho and should be held to the same standards as elected officials in the legislative and executive branches of government. |
PRO: | Elinor Chehey with the League of Women Voters of Idaho was recognized. Ms. Chehey said the League of Women Voters supports the resolution. Merit selection of judges is a subject which has been discussed at some length. This constitutional amendment would provide a vehicle for thorough public discussion before the 2004 elections. Judges are able to protect the basic rights of individuals and decide cases fairly only when they are free to make decisions according to the law without regard to political or public pressure. The judiciary can preserve separation of powers only when it is able to resist overreaching by political branches. |
CON: | Scott Kidd was recognized. Mr. Kidd said he is preparing for his Masters Degree and has studied the judicial system for many years. There is a trend nationwide concerning the funding issue. The judiciary is a very powerful body. A final check should rest with the voters. There are serious issues that need to be addressed before this type of resolution is adopted. |
Judge Randy Smith was recognized. Judge Smith said there is no one in the judiciary who is going to tell people what the judiciary thinks. The judiciary can only serve to explain the issues. The resolution before the Committee is a matter of what is the perception of the people and what should be done given that perception. The issue of judicial elections has to do with freedom of speech. Elections of judges cannot be regulated by ads that say ” vote for, elect, support or defeat.” However, candidates may say what their views are on an issue. There are no restrictions on third party involvement. The judge concluded his remarks by thanking the Committee for taking up this complicated issue. |
|
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to hold HJR 3 in Committee and asked that the minutes reflect that this concept be part of the consideration of the task force. Motion carried. Representative Boe asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. |
HCR 20 | Representative Trail was recognized. Representative Trail asked that HCR 20 be held in Committee. There being no objection, HCR 20 was so held. |
H 251: | Chairman Field recognized Representative Bieter to explain the bill. Representative Bieter said this is an important piece of legislation which deserves serious consideration. The bill concerns the election of officials. The bill would call for public financing. It would allow the people to make a decision and would allow for a much fairer process. |
CON: | Senator Bart Davis was recognized to give his testimony. Senator Davis said Representative Trail and he co-chaired a task force, along with Representative Ellsworth and Representative Boe. That task force heard several days of testimony both for and against this issue. This legislation discourages qualified lawyers from pursuing a position on the bench. This bill economically incentifies a person to run for election again and again until name recognition is gained and that person is elected. This is a very dangerous way for judiciary to be elected. The task force encouraged further discussion on this issue before legislation is passed. |
PRO: | Jim Hansen with United Vision for Idaho was recognized. Mr. Hansen said he attended the meetings of the task force. This issue is a long journey started by the forming of our constitution. This is a fundamental struggle of values. This bill would allow an evaluation of the system as impartially as possible. |
PRO: | A. J. Balukoff, Idahoans for Fair Elections, was recognized. Mr. Balukoff said he has served on a jury twice. In both cases, the attorneys and judge asked questions of the jurors as to whether they were unbiased and could give a fair decision in the cases. Independence in fact and appearance is important to maintain public trust and confidence in the system. The judges must be independent. This bill provides an opportunity to improve our current system. |
PRO: | Reverend Betty Luginbill was recognized. The Reverend said she supports the bill. It seems to be a better way to go. She served on a jury and was totally impressed by the judge. Money can corrupt the electoral system. The more money that is spent on campaigns, the more alert the public must be. |
PRO: | Fred Hoopes with the Idaho State Bar was recognized. Mr. Hoopes said Courts must be independent and neutral. This issue may be the most important in the judicial branch. Judges should have no constituency but the issue of truth. |
PRO: | Harry Tumanjan was recognized to testify. Mr. Tumanjan said he supports the bill. It is an effort to strengthen honesty and trust in the judiciary. This bill will provide a system to enhance the independence and eliminate private funding. |
PRO: | Tom Miller stood in support of the bill. |
PRO: | Allyn Dingel was recognized. Mr. Dingel said the American Bar Association has endorsed in principal the public funding issue. This bill would allow the independence of the judiciary. It would help attract our most qualified people to positions on the bench. This might not be a perfect bill, but it is a step in the right direction. |
PRO: | Elinor Chehey was recognized. Ms. Chehey said the League of Women Voters supports the bill. Methods of financing any electoral campaign should ensure the public’s right to know, combat corruption and undue influence, and enable citizens to compete more equitably for public office. Judges should not be subject to the influence of politically motivated campaign contributions. |
MOTION: | Representative Kulczyk moved to hold H 251 in Committee. In support of his motion, he said this is a poorly conceived bill. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Boe moved to send H 251 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Sali moved to adjourn. Motion failed. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
The substitute motion was to send the bill to the floor. Representative Clark spoke in opposition saying this legislation needs a lot of work. Representative Harwood spoke against the motion saying the legislature should not try to fix something that isn’t broken. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to hold the bill in Committee. Motion passed. Representative Bieter asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m. |
DATE: | March 5, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:50 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Representative Campbell; Representative Jaquet; Director Dan Charboneau; Rich Schnebly, Boise Police Dept.; Heather Reilly, Prosecuting Attorneys; Jim Dickinson, Ada County Prosecutors; Julia Crossland, Idaho State Bar, Mia Crosthwaite; Steve Rutherford, City of Boise; Director Tom Beauclair, Dept. of Correction |
MINUTES: | Representative Wills moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on March 3, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
S 1019: | Julia Crossland was recognized to speak to the bill. Ms. Crossland said the bill makes two changes concerning what is known as the Idaho State Bar’s “Client Security Fund. The Fund is a trust fund, collected from Idaho State Bar members on an annual basis for the purpose of reimbursing claimants for losses caused by the dishonest conduct of lawyers. This bill would increase the amount that can be assessed to $20 per year. The bill also changes the name of the Fund to the “Clients’ Assistance Fund.” The bill also deletes obsolete language about license fee amounts. It does not change the level of license fees, but contains housekeeping language changes stemming from an increase passed in the 2002 session. There is no fiscal impact. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to send S 1019 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Smith will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 170: | Representative Campbell was recognized. The purpose of the bill is to provide funding for drug court purposes from asset forfeitures in drug cases. The legislation would provide fifty percent of the proceeds from the sale of personal or real property used in illegal drug activities to the district court fund in the judicial district where the real or personal property was seized. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to hold H 170 in Committee. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Kulczyk moved to send H 170 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
CON: | Director Charboneau was recognized. The Director said he is not against drug courts, but he is against H 170. This bill would have an immediate negative impact on drug enforcement. Most task forces rely on these funds. This money is used to replenish supplies and equipment and to destroy evidence samples. Large scale investigations would suffer from lack of funds. A methamphetamine initiative for the state is currently underway and needs funding. Also, these forfeitures can take up to two years before they come through the system. The funds are a significant tool to assist the Idaho State Police in providing drug enforcement. The Idaho State Police received $122,485.85 last year from drug forfeitures. Idaho is a transfer state which sends methamphetamine to other states. |
CON: | Lieutenant Schnebly, Boise Police Department, was recognized. Lt. Schnebly said he represents a task force made up of various police departments. That task force sees a direct benefit from drug forfeiture funds. The task force relies upon the funding from city governments and the funds awarded from the state. He supports drug courts, but there are other funding sources for the drug courts. On average, the amount of money received from drug forfeitures is only $2700 from any one case and that money must be split four ways. The money is very sporadic and is not something that can be depended on at any given time. |
CON: | Jim Dickinson, Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, was recognized. The Ada County Prosecutors are involved with seizure and forfeiture and are opposed to this legislation. In drug trafficking, proceeds are used to facilitate a transaction. Drug courts are neededl institutions, but forfeiture funds should not be used to support them. The Ada County Prosecutors keep 15% of the forfeiture funds. |
PRO: | Representative Campbell was recognized to give closing remarks. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
The Substitute Motion was to send H 170 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Representatives Clark, Smith and Edmunson spoke in opposition to the motion. Representatives Sali, Kulczyk and Harwood spoke in favor of the motion. Chairman Field turned the gavel over to the Vice Chairman in order to speak to the bill. Representative Field said she has worked with these issues for a long time and she applauded Representative Campbell for his commitment to drug courts. The Committee is solidly supportive of finding a permanent funding source. Two bills have been drafted which would consistently fund these courts. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Sali, Harwood, Kulczyk. Voting NAY-Representatives Field, Clark, Smith, Ridinger, Edmunson, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen. 3-12-1. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to hold H 170 in Committee. Motion carried. |
H 218: | Representative Jaquet was recognized. This bill removes statutory restrictions placed on the Department of Correction regarding the imposition of solitary confinement and other conditions of confinement on death row. Removing these restrictions will give the Department the ability to better manage the behavior of death-sentenced inmates by giving it the discretion to grant and withdraw ordinary privileges afforded to other high-security inmates, while still requiring that those inmates be housed in the highest security level. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to send H 218 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
PRO: | Director Beauclair was recognized. The Director said the Department tries to incarcerate in the least restrictive environment while still providing the highest security and safety. Some of these inmates can be taken off of death row. This bill allows the Department to operate the correctional system in a better manner. |
PRO: | Mia Crosthwaite was recognized. Ms. Crosthwaite, representing the Catholic Church, spoke in support of H 218. The bill creates a climate where it is easier for inmates to be good. |
CON: | Heather Reilly, Idaho Prosecuting Attorney’s Association, was recognized. Ms. Reilly said the Association is concerned about this bill. Death row inmates are the worst of the worst. These individuals need maximum segregation on death row. Crimes do occur during incarceration. Although the current Director would probably make good decisions, this legislation would change the law forever. Death row inmates need to be treated differently than other inmates. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to send H 218 to the floor with a Do Pass. The Director said out of the 18 individuals on death row, approximately 4 to 5 might qualify to be moved. Motion carried. Representative Jaquet will carry the bill on the floor. Representatives Kulczyk and Harwood asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. |
S 1004, S 1005, S 1006, S 1007, S 1008 |
Chairman Field recognized Tom Frost with the Courts to explain. Mr. Frost said these are a series of bills that the Supreme Court has recommended in its annual report to the Governor concerning defects or omissions in the laws. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send S l004, S 1005, S 1006, S 1007 and S 1008 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. S 1004 and S 1005 will be carried on the floor by Representative Clark. Representative Sali will carry S 1006, Representative Bieter will carry S 1007 and Representative Boe will carry S 1008. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m. |
DATE: | March 11, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | Dr. Greg Nelson; Director Brent Reinke; Heather Reilly, Prosecuting Attorney’s Assn; Roy Eiguren, Idaho Daily Newspapers |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Wills moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on March 5, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
H 215: | Chairman Field said this bill was brought back from the House floor. It concerns a nurse abusing a controlled substance. Jim Jones, the sponsor of the bill, is here to explain the bill in more detail and answer questions. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to hold H 215 in Committee for a time certain until Wednesday, March 19, 2003. Motion carried. |
H 217: | Chairman Field said this bill was one of the bills considered in the Gold Room on the burning of fields by farmers. |
MOTION: | Representative Shirley moved to hold H 217 in Committee. Representative Smith spoke in favor of the motion. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Harwood moved to hear the bill. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Kulczyk moved to transfer H 217 to the Agricultural Committee. In opposition to the motion, Representative Smith said this is a statewide issue and not an agriculture issue. After extensive debate, Representative Clark called for the question. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Field, Clark, Smith, Ridinger, Edmunson, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter. Voting NAY-Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Harwood, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring. 9-6-1. Motion carried. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
The amended substitute motion was to transfer H 217 to the Agricultural Committee. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Ring. Voting NAY-Representatives Field, Clark, Ellsworth, Smith, Nielsen, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter. 5-9-2. Motion failed. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
The substitute motion was to hear the bill in Committee. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Ellsworth, Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Nielsen, Ring. Voting NAY-Representatives Field, Clark, Smith, Kulczyk, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter. 6-8-2. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to hold H 217 in Committee. |
ROLL CALL VOTE: |
Voting AYE-Representatives Field, Clark, Sali, Ellsworth, Smith, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter. Voting NAY-Representatives Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Ring. 11-4-2. Motion carried. |
S 1094: | Director Reinke was recognized to explain the bill. The bill clarifies the department’s ability and methods to collect funds from parents of juveniles in Juvenile Corrections custody. A subsection was also added that gives counties the same remedies and abilities to collect funds due from parents for charges incurred at the county level. The legislative intent is that parents pay, in whole or in part, the state’s cost for the care and treatment of juvenile offenders. An amendment to the bill clarifies what the department can do in collections. It would insure that amounts assessed families are fairly calculated for each family. Representative Smith spoke against the bill saying that many of these |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to hold S 1094 in Committee. Motion carried. |
S 1095: | Director Reinke was recognized. The Director asked that S 1095 be held in Committee. There being no objection, the bill was so held. |
S 1096: | Director Reinke was recognized. The Director said this bill will allow the custody review board of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections to conduct an executive session, when authorized by law. It would exempt from disclosure certain records of the custody review board and it adds a new section stating the duties of the custody review board to comply with open meeting laws, to hold executive sessions and to retain confidential reports of proceedings to be available to certain parties. The Director said since the review board is new, these changes are necessary. |
PRO: | Roy Eiguren, representing the Idaho Allied Daily Newspapers, was recognized. Mr. Eiguren said he has represented the newspapers for almost six years on the issues of open public meetings. The language in the bill is patterned after the law of the Commission of Pardons and Parole. The newspapers are very comfortable with the language of the bill. |
MOTION: | Representative Ellsworth moved to send S 1096 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Ellsworth will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1122: | Heather Reilly with the Idaho Prosecuting Attorney’s Association, was recognized. Ms. Reilly said this legislation clarifies that a person may be charged as an accessory to a felony when the person, having knowledge that a felony has been committed, willfully withholds or conceals the felony. Currently, the person who committed the felony must be charged with or convicted of the felony before a charge of accessory may be filed. Ms. Reilly said an amendment to the bill was drafted which re-inserts into the bill current language regarding a person who has been charged with or convicted of the felony. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to send S 1122 to General Orders with Committee amendments attached. Motion carried. Representative Smith will carry the bill and amendments on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjourning, the Chairman said the Committee will be hearing H 122 on Thursday, March 13. This will be an engrossed bill with moratorium language on the death sentence removed. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m. |
DATE: | March 13, 2003 |
TIME: | 3:25 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
None |
GUESTS: | See attached sign-in sheets |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Wills moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on March 11, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
H 337 and H 338 | Chairman Field said, if there was no objection, H 337 and H 338 would be moved to the agenda for Monday, March 17, 2003, in order that all the Courts’ bills could be heard together. There being no objection the bills were moved. |
S 1016: | Dale Higer was recognized to explain the legislation. The purpose of this legislation is to provide the adoption of the uniform child witness testimony by the alternative methods act, promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The legislation provides alternative methods in both criminal and non-criminal proceedings to take the testimony of a child witness. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send S 1016 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Edmunson will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1093 | The Chair recognized Dale Higer to explain the bill. Mr. Higer said this legislation amends Section 39-6303A, Idaho Code, relating to the Uniform Interstate Enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act. The act removes language prohibiting tribunals of this state from enforcing support provisions of foreign protection orders and provides that the validity of an ex parte foreign protection order depends upon a respondent having had or having in the future an opportunity to be heard in a manner consistent with due process rights. |
MOTION: | Representative Shirley moved to send S 1093 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Kulczyk will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1119 | Chairman Field said the sponsor of the bill was not able to present the legislation at this time, so S 1119 was moved to the Wednesday, March 19, 2003, agenda. |
H 122: | Representative Bieter was recognized to explain. Representative Bieter said the fairness of the death penalty has recently come under serious scrutiny. Nationwide, over 100 people have been exonerated of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death. There are many problems with the current system. This seems the most opportune time to take a thorough look at this issue. There is an engrossed bill before the Committee whereby the moratorium language has been removed. This bill would appoint a commission to review whether the application of the death penalty is consistent with constitutional requirements of fairness, justice, equality and due process. Representative Wills questioned the wording on page 2, line 44 of the bill |
PRO: | Attorney Tom McCabe spoke in favor of the bill saying he had represented a client who was incarcerated because a judge had made a mistake. This took place in 1990. In 1999, after appearing in front of several courts, the state of Idaho agreed that a mistake had been made. The client was finally released after almost 20 years in prison. This legislation is an attempt to determine what is wrong with the current system and how to fix it. |
PRO: | Attorney Tony Park was recognized. Mr. Park said this is a cost benefit analysis. If the bill is passed, it supports fairness and justice. There currently is a problem. Small courts can’t afford to prosecute death penalty cases. A commission could certainly reduce problems. The risk to the state is $50,000 which would appear to be a pretty small price to pay. The commission should be allowed to analyze problems and make the system work better. |
PRO: | Attorney Rolf Kehne was recognized. Mr. Kehne said he has defended people on death row for almost 22 years. The Association of Trial Lawyers supports this bill. Study of judicial issues is always worthwhile. There are currently some serious problems with the system. Helping the victim’s families is very important. Everyone wonders why carrying out a death penalty takes so long. |
PRO: | Attorney Bill Mauk said early in his career he represented people in homicide cases. He represented Don Paradis who spend 20 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. Human life is not a partisan issue. The current system makes mistakes. Idaho should be able to spend $50,000 to build a higher level of confidence in the system. |
PRO: | Marty Durand, representing the ACLU, was recognized. Ms. Durand said the ACLU supports H 122. The time is right to examine the death penalty system. The current death penalty is unreliable and arbitrary. More people have been exonerated than have been executed. The commission will examine the fairness of the system. Mistakes can’t be made when it comes to the death penalty. Any system which takes a life must first give justice. |
PRO: | Sara Jaszkowski, a student at Sacred Heart School, was recognized. Sara said no one loses in this bill. The commission would investigate the truth in death cases. It is troubling to think of even one innocent person being put to death in error. This bill would help prevent this from happening. Life is sacred in all of its forms. Only in mathematics do two negatives make a positive. |
CON: | Roger Bourne, Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, was recognized. Mr. Bourne said the death penalty saves lives in the long run because of the deterrent effect. The Legislature has been pro active in the area of monitoring death penalties. Defending a death penalty case is a major undertaking. Mr. Bourne said he has spent 700 hours in preparing a case for trial and thousands of dollars in gathering information and evidence. The current system is not broken. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has prevented Idaho from carrying out the death penalty in many cases. |
CON: | Shirley Blomberg was recognized. Mrs. Blomberg said her little girl has been dead for almost three years and her killer, Darrell Payne, should have been put to death sometime ago. People like Mr. Payne don’t deserve rights. He took a life for kicks. When a cold-blooded murder is committed and it is proven that the defendant committed the murder, that person shouldn’t be granted all these rights of appeal. These murderers are a waste of time and a waste of space. Let the punishment fit the crime. |
CON: | Paul Blomberg was recognized. Mr. Blomberg said Mr. Payne has had 40 separate hearings. He will have additional rights and hearings even though his guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Mr. Blomberg asked that the members not pass the bill. The current system works. |
PRO: | Mia Crosthwaite was recognized. Ms. Crosthwaite said the Catholic Church supports H 122. This bill does not address whether the state should have a death penalty. People are called to do what is good and this is a good piece of legislation. |
PRO: | Roger Sherman was recognized. The United Vision for Idaho, a coalition which works on civil rights issues, supports the bill. The coalition takes very few stands on public policy. However, it believes a study should be done. Since the state has exonerated more people than have been executed, the system obviously makes mistakes. The coalition is concerned about how much money death penalty cases cost the state. The commission could decide if the law has been applied fairly. |
PRO: | Pastor Stan Hooving spoke in favor of the bill. |
PRO: | Dr. Michael Blankenship was recognized. Mr. Blankenship said he stood before the Committee as a social scientist with an extensive background on the issue of capital punishment. His purpose is to focus on the efficacy of capital punishment as a crime control policy. A survey of Idaho citizens found that 80% agreed that capital punishment was appropriate for first degree murder, 44% agreed that Idaho should impose a moratorium and 42% disagreed. Passage of the bill would allow a review of the administration of capital punishment with regard to race, quality of legal representation, innocence and improved comprehension of jurors. Also, research shows capital cases may cost as much as 3.5 times more than non-capital cases. Current research suggests the death penalty is no more of an effective deterrent than life in prison without parole. |
CON: | LaMont Anderson said the Attorney General’s office and the Attorney General do not support the bill. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has established a rigorous standard which is above and beyond what the constitution requires. If a legislative body imposes a moratorium on death penalty cases, it will cause state delay and capital cases changed to life sentences. Both the Fain and Paradis cases have not been exonerated. When a person pleads guilty, that person cannot be exonerated. Mr. Fain will receive a new trial because of DNA testing. Mr. Paradis would have been retried except for several problems which were incurred after 22 years incarceration, including the death of a key witness and the loss of actual physical evidence. |
CLOSING REMARKS: |
Representative Bieter said he would look favorably on a motion to hold the bill for a time in order to work with all interested parties to resolve concerns with the legislation. This is an area that deserves to be looked at. |
MOTION: | Representative Ring moved to hold H 122 in Committee. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Smith moved to hold H 122 for a time certain until Wednesday, March 19, 2003, to see if concerns could be resolved. Motion failed. |
ORIGINAL MOTION: |
The original motion was to hold H 122 in Committee. Motion carried. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjourning, Chairman Field said there would be another long meeting scheduled for the following week. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:35 p.m. |
DATE: | March 17, 2003 |
TIME: | 3:15 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representative Ellsworth |
GUESTS: | Honorable Joel Horton; Kathy Baird; Mike Becar, Patti Tobias and Tom Frost with the Courts; Cathy Holland-Smith |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review their minutes. Representative Ridinger moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on March 13, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
S 1002aa: | The Chairman recognized Kathy Baird to explain the bill. Ms. Baird said statutory authority has been given to the Sexual Offender Classification Board to establish the qualifications for approved evaluators who perform psychosexual evaluations for the courts. However, it is in the best interest of society and the criminal justice system that only professionals who have an ongoing understanding of the complex nature of sexual offenders and their behaviors conduct these evaluations. This bill will liberate the judiciary from its responsibility for determining providers’ qualifications. An application system will be established to approve, provide quality assurance and certify that evaluators who seek to perform evaluations for the courts meet the established standards. Rulemaking authority will be provided to the Board in order to carry out these procedures. The fees for implementation will be set by administrative rule. It is the intent to charge $75 for an initial application and $50 a year after that. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send S 1002aa to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Clark will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1028: | Cathy Holland-Smith was recognized to explain the legislation. This legislation will make a technical correction to section 18-918(8)(c), Idaho Code, for a cross reference as to where certain funds are deposited to allow for 10% of civil court fees to be redirected from the state’s General Fund to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Fund. This was unintentionally left out of legislation that passed during the 2001 Legislative Session dealing with revenues to support the Peace Officer Standards Training Academy. The remaining 90% of the amount collected by county clerks on behalf of the state will continue to be deposited directly to the General Fund. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send S 1028 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Anderson will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 335: | Representative Ring was recognized to explain. This bill was brought forth by the Supreme Court. It provides that a substance abuse evaluation may be waived by a judge at the judge’s discretion. Presently, an evaluation must be obtained in every case for the purpose of deciding whether treatment of the defendant is indicated. Judges who handle these cases believe that in an appropriate case these evaluations are unnecessary and may be waived if the sentencing judge has sufficient information to make an informed decision as to whether a treatment program should be ordered. Representative Ring said an amendment needed to be made to the printed bill deleting the word “tool” on page 1, line 29. |
MOTION: | Representative Ridinger moved to send H 335 to General Orders with Committee Amendments attached, deleting the word “tool” on page 1, line 29. Motion carried. Representative Ring will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 336: | Representative Wills was recognized to explain. This amendment provides that a sentencing judge has discretionary authority to determine that an alcohol abuse evaluation is unnecessary with respect to certain DUI offenses when the offender has no prior DUI violations. This determination may be made if the judge has the defendant’s criminal history, driving record and evidentiary test of the degree of alcohol concentration and has no reason to believe the offender regularly abuses alcohol. The judge also has the discretion to waive an evaluation in any case where the court has a similar assessment relating to the defendant’s degree of alcohol abuse and/or need for treatment which has been conducted within 12 months of sentencing. Representative Wills said on page 3, line 49, the word “tool” needs to be deleted from the bill. |
MOTION: | Representative Ridinger moved to send H 336 to General Orders with Committee Amendments attached, deleting the word “tool” on page 3, line 49. Motion carried. Representative Wills will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1139 | President Pro Tem Geddes was recognized to explain. The purpose of this legislation is to provide that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint a member to fill a senate vacancy which occurs on the committee during the interim when the legislature is not in session. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send S 1139 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Bieter will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 337: | Representative Harwood was recognized to explain the bill. This bill authorizes the clerk of the court to accept credit cards or debit cards in the payment of court charges such as filing fees, fines, and court costs. At least 25 other states have authorized this practice. Because credit card issuers ordinarily charge the recipient of the funds a small percentage of the transaction amount for each transaction they process, issues have arisen as to the authority of the courts to accept credit cards. As part of the requirements of this legislation, the card user pays the costs of the transaction, so that the governmental entities that receive this revenue receive the full amount that is due. The acceptance of credit cards and debit cards will result in the prompt payment of court charges, thereby reducing the risk that they will become delinquent and require court time and expense to collect them. |
MOTION: | Representative Wills moved to send H 337 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Harwood will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 338: | Representative Shirley was recognized to explain the bill. Court records show that millions of dollars in fines, fees, surcharges and restitution are owed by those who have been convicted of or admitted to a state or local offense. In Idaho alone, there are $56.5 million dollars in delinquent funds. This bill will help offenders meet their obligations and make restitution. The legislation allows the courts to ask the Tax Commission to hold back money to meet the obligation of these delinquent debts owed to the courts. The provisions of the bill are patterned after laws already on the books in Idaho. The Tax Commission has voiced no opposition and will have no trouble administering this law. The bill defines debts owed to the courts. It would apply only to debts that exceed $50.00. The bills provides that claims for past-due child support and claims owed to the state department of labor shall take priority over any claim for delinquent debt owed to the courts. Conditions to be met prior to the set-off or withholding of a refund due a taxpayer are set forth in the bill. |
MOTION: | Representative Edmunson moved to send H 338 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Shirley will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Prior to adjourning, Chairman Field said there is a proposed piece of legislation which will be heard Wednesday, March 19, 2003, by the Revenue and Taxation Committee, providing for the funding of the drug and family courts. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m. |
DATE: | March 19, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:50 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representative Ellsworth |
GUESTS: | Senator Sorensen; Attorney Jim Jones; Attorney Chris Bray; Brian Dockstader; Robert Gourley; Judge David Day; Terri Meyer, Dept. Health & Welfare; Rondee Blessing, Boise City Attorney’s Office |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Shirley moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on March 17, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
S 1119: | Senator Sorensen was recognized to explain. The Senator said the bill has to do with drug-free workplace programs. It clarifies that employers, both public and private, may choose to have a drug-free workplace program as laid out in the Drug Free Work Place Act to be able to qualify for a reduction in the employer premium for workers compensation insurance. It further establishes components, protections, and advantages afforded to all employers. The bill is important because the public employers cannot comply fully with the current statute and, therefore, they are unable to access the worker’s comp discount. The bill remedies that situation. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send S 1119 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Ridinger will carry the bill on the floor. |
H 215: | Jim Jones was recognized. Prior to hearing his testimony, Chairman Field said testimony from all interested parties had been taken at a previous meeting on the bill. Therefore, the sponsor would be heard, but other testimony would not be taken. Mr. Jones said the bill deals with the disclosure of controlled substance abuse. He talked with the Attorney General’s office and asked that office to contact him with their concerns. They did not get back in touch with him. No proposed language has been sent to him to be included in the bill. The attorney for St. Al’s Hospital said the hospital could not obtain information on a nurse who was later accused of tampering with prescription drugs, because of the impaired nurses program. The Attorney General’s opinion was written by the attorney who represents the Nursing Board. Mr. Jones said this is a matter of public policy. There are many states that require much more information be disclosed than this bill does. Mr. vonTagen, from the Attorney General’s office, was recognized. Mr. |
MOTION: | Representative Clark moved to send H 215 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Shirley moved to hold H 215 in Committee. In support of his motion, Representative Shirley said there were many concerns expressed over the language of the bill which needed to be resolved. Representative Ring questioned the constitutionality of the bill. |
AMENDED SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Wills moved to hold H 215 in Committee for a time certain until Tuesday, March 25, 2003. This would give the parties time to redraft the language in the bill to satisfy all concerns. Motion failed. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
The substitute motion was to hold H 215 in Committee. Motion carried. H 215 will be held in Committee. |
S 1115: | Chris Bray was recognized to explain. Mr. Bray said a similar bill was passed by the Senate, but there wasn’t enough time to hear it in the House last year. Since that time, some concerns were voiced regarding the language. After further research, this bill was drafted which resolves those concerns. It allows a credit to be given against an accrued child support obligation in one limited circumstance. A credit would be allowed for a period of time when the parent who is obligated to pay child support has physical custody of the child with the knowledge and consent of the custodial parent. The bill clarifies that granting a credit in this one limited circumstance does not modify, alter, or set aside the terms of the decree. The language is patterned after a law by the state of Oregon. This is a policy decision which needs to be made by the Legislature. |
PRO: | Mr. Dockstader was recognized. Mr. Dockstader said he was the divorced father of two sons. His sons moved in with him in 1998. Since that time, one son moved back with his mother and the other son remained with him. He was then sued by his ex-wife for unpaid child support. |
PRO: | Mr. Gourley was recognized. Mr. Gourley said he was a divorced father. After a long period of time, his daughter ran away from her mother. He was asked if he would be willing to take his daughter in. She stayed with him for over two years and he provided her sole support. He was later sued for back child support while the child was living with him. |
Representative Smith said this is a good bill and it is needed. However, there is a subsection (a) in the legislation without a subsection (b). Also, there should be a clear time frame requirement and the Department of Health and Welfare needs to know about the change. That language should be added to make this a better bill. Representative Clark said he was not certain this bill is the right way to go to solve the problem. |
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CON: | Judge Day was recognized to speak in opposition to the bill. The Judge said the court is generally reluctant to become embroiled with the legislative process. However, this is a bill where the court must make its position known. The court didn’t have time to give its input to the Senate before the bill was passed out of that body. The court has no problem with the concept of the bill, but it does have a problem with the language. This bill has some serious flaws. Under current law, when a child goes to the other household, the child support is reduced at that time. The primary household still has expenses for the child which need to be covered, so a lower child support is collected. If there is a real change in the circumstances, the parent should come to the court and get a new child support order. The courts in Idaho do have the discretion to apply equitable principals |
CON: | Terri Meyer with the Department of Health & Welfare was recognized to speak in opposition to the bill. The current language in the bill is too vague. It isn’t going to help the Department serve these parents. The Department would not be able to give them good guidance with this bill as to whether or not they should take their case to court. A time frame should be included in the language. Modifying arrears is heavily scrutinized. |
CLOSING REMARKS: |
Mr. Bray was recognized. He said some of the comments today are very close to being uninformed comments. This bill is a significant change from the bill that was brought forth last year. Parents do not approach these child support problems in a friendly fashion. This is a legislative policy decision. It is not a judicial decision. There is currently no authority from the Legislature to authorize child support guidelines. |
MOTION: | Representative Smith moved to hold S 1115 in Committee. Representative Smith said there is a real need for this type of legislation. However, the language needs to be worked on. |
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: |
Representative Bieter moved to send S 1115 to General Orders with Committee amendments attached as follows: after (2) on line 18, delete the remainder of the bill and insert: “The court may allow a credit against child support arrearage for periods of time exceeding 120 days during which the minor children have lived primarily with the obligated parent with the knowledge and consent of the custodial parent.” Motion carried. Representatives Bieter and Sali will carry the bill on the floor. |
S 1121: | Rondee Blessing was recognized to explain. Ms. Blessing said this is a clean up bill. In 2002, S 1451 was originally proposed with felony punishments for second and subsequent offenses relating to intentional destruction of a telecommunication line or telecommunication instrument. The bill was thereafter amended to remove felony punishments, making all violations a misdemeanor. However, the language “for a first offense” was left in the amended version of the bill. This legislation clarifies that the offense of Intentional Destruction of a Telecommunications Line or Telecommunication Instrument is a misdemeanor that is not enhanced for a second or subsequent offense of this statute. |
MOTION: | Representative Boe moved to send S 1121 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Boe will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Chairman Field told the members that there are only two bills left in the Committee. There might be a short meeting on Friday after adjournment of the House to hear these. Then the Committee will have a brief final meeting on Tuesday, March 25. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m. |
DATE: | March 21, 2003 |
TIME: | 1:30 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representatives Clark, Sali, Smith, Ring, Bieter |
GUESTS: | None |
MINUTES: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Andersen moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on March 19, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
H 290: | Representative Ellsworth was recognized. The Representative asked the members to hold H 290 in Committee. The Chair asked for unanimous consent. There being no objection, H 290 was so held. |
HR 2: | Representative Ellsworth was recognized. The Representative said this resolution was drafted to eliminate the pre-filing of bills since there have been so many problems with them in the past. |
MOTION: | Representative Harwood moved to send HR 2 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representative Ellsworth will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | Chairman Field said there would be an informal meeting held on Tuesday, March 25, 2003. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 1:37 p.m. |
DATE: | March 27, 2003 |
TIME: | 2:45 p.m. |
PLACE: | Room 404 |
MEMBERS: | Chairman Field(18), Vice Chairman Clark, Representatives Sali, Ellsworth, Smith(24), Ridinger, Harwood, Edmunson, Kulczyk, Nielsen, Ring, Shirley, Wills, Boe, Bieter, Andersen |
ABSENT/
EXCUSED: |
Representatives Clark, Bieter |
GUESTS: | Senator Sweet |
MOTION: | Chairman Field called the meeting to order and asked the members to review the minutes. Representative Wills moved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on March 21, 2003, as written. Motion carried. |
S 1160: | The Chair recognized Senator Sweet to explain. Senator Sweet said this is a public safety amendment. It prevents persons convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a firearm after final discharge from custody from the Idaho State Board of Correction. It would close a loophole in the law which allows felons who were convicted of such crimes before July 1, 1991, to exercise this right. Based on their past conduct, such felons have demonstrated their unfitness to be entrusted with firearms. The bill is limited to those offenders who have committed murder or manslaughter. It is retroactive. |
MOTION: | Representative Edmunson moved to send S 1160 to the floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Motion carried. Representatives Kulczyk and Harwood asked to be recorded as voting “No” on the motion. Representative Edmunson will carry the bill on the floor. |
ADJOURN: | There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m. |