2005 Legislation
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HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 2 – Nuclear weapon tests, ID residents

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 2

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Bill Status



HJM002.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
NUCLEAR WEAPON TESTS - Stating findings of the Legislature and asking that,
upon verification of the effects of nuclear weapons testing on Idaho
residents, "downwinders" be compensated in the same manner and to the same
extent as those individuals previously compensated for similar exposures.
                                                                        
02/01    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/02    Rpt prt - to St Aff
02/10    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/11    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/16    3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote
    Floor Sponsor - Skippen
    Title apvd - to Senate
02/17    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
02/21    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
02/22    10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
    Floor Sponsor - Little
    Title apvd - to House
02/23    To enrol
02/24    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
02/25    Pres signed
02/28    To Secretary of State

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-eighth Legislature                   First Regular Session - 2005
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                 HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 2
                                                                        
                                 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                   A JOINT MEMORIAL
  2    TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED  STATES  IN  CONGRESS
  3        ASSEMBLED,  AND  TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
  4        IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
                                                                        
  5        We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of  the
  6    State  of  Idaho  assembled  in  the First Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth
  7    Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
                                                                        
  8        WHEREAS, on October 15, 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure  Com-
  9    pensation  Act (RECA), which provides for compassionate payments to persons or
 10    to their beneficiaries who developed diseases as a result of exposure to radi-
 11    ation from U.S. atmospheric nuclear weapons testing; and
 12        WHEREAS, currently, a study is underway by the National  Academy  of  Sci-
 13    ences  and a report will be filed with Congress to address the adequacy of the
 14    initial geographic coverage provided in RECA; and
 15        WHEREAS, compelling anecdotal evidence  has  been  accumulated  at  public
 16    meetings and in written reports, to indicate the impact of atmospheric testing
 17    on the downwinder populations in Idaho; and
 18        WHEREAS, preliminary evidence suggests that scientific documentation being
 19    gathered  and assessed for inclusion in the report will find that risk factors
 20    present in Idaho equal or exceed  the  factors  present  in  areas  previously
 21    included in RECA coverage; and
 22        WHEREAS,  members of Idaho's congressional delegation have worked and will
 23    continue to press for responsible legislative action to address the claims  of
 24    Idahoans based upon radiation exposure; and
 25        WHEREAS, it is appropriate that members of the Idaho Legislature, speaking
 26    on  behalf  of  the  citizens of the state, express support for the efforts of
 27    Idaho's congressional delegation in their  representation  of  downwinders  in
 28    Idaho.
 29        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session
 30    of  the  Fifty-eighth  Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the
 31    Senate concurring therein, that we anticipate the  findings  of  the  National
 32    Academy  of  Sciences will verify the impact of testing on residents of Idaho,
 33    and we conclude that it is appropriate to compensate these downwinders in  the
 34    same manner and to the same extent as those individuals previously compensated
 35    for similar exposures. We urge the members of Idaho's congressional delegation
 36    to continue in their endeavors on behalf of Idaho's citizens.
 37        BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
 38    tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of  this
 39    Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre-
 40    sentatives  of  Congress,  and  the  congressional delegation representing the
 41    State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                           RS 14602C1

From 1950 to 1962 residents of the United States who were downwind
from U.S. atmospheric nuclear weapons testing in Nevada were
subjected to radiation fallout. The United States government has
chosen to provide compassionate payments to some who have suffered
from identified illnesses through the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act (RECA).  The twenty-one counties currently covered
were exposed to a lesser extent than most Idahoans.  Four of the
five highest exposure counties in the United States are in Idaho. 
We seek equitable coverage through RECA for Idahoans.


                          FISCAL IMPACT

There is no general fund impact from this effort.
     


Contact
Names: Rep. Kathy Skippen 
       Rep. JoAn Wood
       Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett
       Rep. Wendy Jaquet
       Rep. Donna Pence
       Rep. Carlos Bilbao
Phone: 208-332-1000


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                    HJM 2