Sen. Harris – Week 9 Legislative Update
A bill I have been working on with county coroners passed the Senate unanimously this week. Senate Bill 1365 (S1365) creates a next-of-kin database within the Idaho Transportation Department’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The purpose of the bill is to give the DMV the ability to collect the necessary information for coroners and other law enforcement to notify a relative or friend in the case of injury, death, or other emergencies. The information will not appear on driver’s licenses but would be held in DMV’s database. We live in a time where phonebooks are getting thinner, and people are getting harder to track down and find. S1365 will let people voluntarily submit a name to be placed in the database so law enforcement can notify their family and/or friends in cases of emergencies.
We think we have finally reached some agreement on Emergency Management Services (EMS) legislation. My proposed bill will declare that EMS is an essential service in the State of Idaho and place an emphasis on its necessity. The legislation will also lay out the plan for moving the EMS Bureau from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) to the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) where it would continue to function and work to help our EMS districts across the State. This legislation has been worked on extensively for over a year now with input from several stakeholders. I am grateful for the work the EMS Bureau has done on this issue as well as the directors of DHW and OEM. EMS plays an important role in all our communities, and it is critical that they receive the support and recognition they deserve to be able to keep operating in all parts of our State. The bill will receive a print hearing this week and we will see what kind of support we need to get it through the
legislative process.
House Bill 521 (H521) continues to be a major topic this session as it passed the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee this week and is now waiting to be debated on the Seate floor. Again, H521 provides a large State investment in school facilities by helping to pay down school bonds and levies and plant facility levies. By doing so, property taxpayers should see a large decrease in their property tax rates. There is some angst among some senators, including me, in some of the details in the bill regarding a requirement of a 5-day school week. Visiting with the State Superintendent, Debbie Critchfield, I have received some reinsurance that many of the school districts that are currently on a 4-day school week will be grandfathered in with their existing programs. The State Board of Education will have the flexibility to determine what schools will have to do to make changes, if any, for increasing the number of school hours or contract days for teachers. It is interesting that 49% of public schools, including charters, operate on a 4-day school week. However, most of them are rural schools, so only about 30% of Idaho students. The State Superintendent is committed to working through this issue and helping the school districts either stay with their current program or adjust if they need to. I have received several calls and emails concerning this 4-day school week issue form school board members and administrators. I can assure you the legislature will also be keeping an eye on the progress as well. H521 is not law yet. We are still discussing possible changes.
As always, I like to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me at: [email protected]. I will do my best to get you answers!!
