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AMG Capitol Review - March 29, 2013
Important Upcoming Dates
2013
Legislative Summary Association
Management Group The
1st Regular Session of the 62nd Idaho
Legislature convened on Monday, January 7 and adjourned on Thursday,
April 4. The legislature heard 777 proposed pieces of legislation
(fewest in over 40 years) with 354 passing both houses and becoming
law over a total of 88 days. It was our pleasure to represent a number
of clients on issues before the Idaho Legislature. During the 2013
Session, AMG lobbyists attended all meetings of the Ag Lobbyist group
(each Tuesday) and represented clients at Food Producers of Idaho
(Wednesday) meetings each week. Each Wednesday during the session,
Food Producers of Idaho hosted 3 to 4 of the 32 newly elected
legislators for lunch. After the past election in which redistricting
contributed to a record turnover in legislative seats (41 of the 105),
these lunches gave us the opportunity to further interact with
freshmen legislators and continue to develop relationships on behalf
of Idaho agriculture. We focused on 32 of the 41 “new legislators”
because 9 had moved from the House to the Senate and relationships had
already been established. Other key areas of involvement included Rick
Waitley chairing the weekly meeting of Ag Lobbyists and representing
AMG clients in the 129,000# Truck Coalition. Roger Batt chaired Food
Producers of Idaho, serving his second year as president and Benjamin
Kelly participated in Legislative and Environmental Committee meetings
of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) representing
Food Producers of Idaho and Idaho Cooperative Council, Inc. The
groups we lobbied for during the 2013 Session included: Rick
Waitley and Benjamin Kelly:
Roger
Batt:
2013
ECONOMIC AG OUTLOOK:
Economists
Garth Taylor and Paul Patterson from the University of Idaho,
presented the annual Idaho Agricultural Outlook before Senate and
House Ag Committees at the beginning of the session. Taylor and
Patterson provided a recap of 2012, analysis of the current condition Within
the state, agriculture continues to be a crucial part of the state's
economy.
Farming is a growing portion of Idaho's Gross State Product (GSP).
Additionally, when taken together with agribusiness, farming provides
a critical stabilizing effect on the economy. Aside from the
profitability of farming operations, the activity of producing crops
and animals year-in and year-out generates economic activity that
sustains communities throughout Idaho. Nationwide, ag trends
demonstrated by the economists include record-high net farm income,
increasing net farm income volatility and declining government
payments. Farms across the country are in good financial condition,
showing lower levels of debt than in decades past. In spite of concern
about rising farm input costs and market volatility, Idaho agriculture
in general has had a great year and is in a healthy position. Looking
forward to 2013, Taylor and Patterson predict Idaho crop cash receipts
down 5-8%, livestock cash receipts up 2-3%, expenses up 2-4% and net
farm income down 10-15%. AG
ALLSTAR AWARDS:
Industry
leaders from around Idaho gathered on the second week of the session
to recognize 64 legislators who had a voting record in favor of Food
Producers policies in the 2012 Legislative Session related to
agriculture, natural resources, water, transportation and taxes. The
voting membership met at the close of the 2013 Session and discussed
the legislators who qualified to be Ag All Stars for 2013. Those to be
honored next year will include 54 legislators who stood out based on
their voting record and overall advocacy for agriculture. The 10
percent drop in those receiving the award can primarily be attributed
to the large number of turnover from redistricting (32 newly elected
to office) and a few contentious issues supported by agriculture that
can be voted on as moral issues rather than agricultural issues. Those
issues included legislation considering new avenues for horse racing
that included gambling concerns as well as the continuation of a few
legislators who are unable to vote in favor of any proposals having to
do with the Idaho’s beer and wine industries because of their views
on alcohol consumption. Here is how the 2013 All Stars compare since
the award first commenced: Year
Senate
House
TOTAL 1999
25
42
67 2000
16
51
67 2001
21
45
53 2002
21
32
66 2003
27
40
67 2004
13
33
46 2005
13
34
47 2006
27
64
91 2007
26
62
88 2008
32
33
65 2009
32
55
87 2010
27
48
75 2011
22
40
62 2012
23
41
64 2013
14
40
54 STATE
HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE: Idaho
Governor Butch Otter had to face a major leadership test concerning
the most important issue this session. His task was to convince many
from his own party (80 percent
of the legislature)
that it was in the state’s best interest to run its own health
insurance exchange, when many wanted no part of “Obamacare.” A huge coalition of
industry and trade groups did support the exchange even though Idaho
has some of the lowest health insurance rates in the country. Their
justification was if the state is forced into a federally-run exchange
in which Idaho is pooled with other states, Idahoans could pay much
more for the same coverage. Otter convened a coalition working group
that studied the issue for months before the session and they
overwhelmingly recommended that Idaho operate its own health insurance
exchange. As
the legislature took up the issue, the first piece of legislation that
would have created the exchange had trouble after passing the Senate
with a two-thirds majority and a six-hour debate on the Senate floor.
It was held in the House for a new bill which was identical to the
first but added legislative oversight not included by the Senate. In
an unprecedented move, 16 House Freshmen said that they would support
the measure only if legislative oversight was included on a 19-member
panel proposed to administer the new program. According
to the Kaiser
Family Foundation, Idaho is one of 18 states
that have committed to building a state-based exchange and must be up
and running by January 2014. It will be managed by Amy Dowd,
operating as the Executive Director, and a 19-member board including
four legislators. The estimated initial cost of creating the exchange
has been projected to be $20-$30 million, paid for by federal grants.
The governor’s office estimates the annual cost to maintain the
market-place will be $10 million and will be paid for by fees on
users. It’s unclear exactly how many Idahoans might use the health
exchange, but the governor’s office says 278,800 Idahoans don’t
have health insurance, which is a little under
20% of the population. Seven states are planning a state-federal
partnership exchange and 26 states will default to a federally-run
exchange. AG
RESEARCH:
The
U of I CALS budget for research and extension made its annual path
through the Joint Finance and Appropriation Committee but was
presented by a new face in Interim Dean Dr. John Foltz. Dr. Foltz took
over the reins at the end of December and will remain at the helm
while a national search is conducted for a permanent dean. The
governor had placed in his proposed budget $1 million to be returned
to the U of I R and E budget to help restore funds removed several
years ago during the fiscal crisis. Many of the budgets that passed through the
committee were set to less or equal to the governor’s
recommendations but, with extra pressure from industry, a significant
step was taken in making research
and extension whole.
The funds will cover a
number of costs including heating and cooling of greenhouses,
irrigation water, and purchasing fuel, fertilizer and seed cost at the
state’s 12 research and extension centers.
This will be a 3.5 percent increase from the current year, but still
will be far below the research and extension 2009 funding level. The
General Fund budget for 2014 was set at $24.4 million and was $28.3
million in 2009. Research and extension currently has 70 fewer
employees than it had in 2009 and will need to continue to work
closely with industry until full funding can be restored. A surprise,
however, came in an additional appropriation in the amount of $162,000
for the U of I Rangeland Center. The center has an outstanding faculty
and will be housed in the College of Natural Resources. The center is
recognized as one of the top rangeland research facilities in the
Northwest. INITIATIVES
& REFERENDUMS:
The Idaho Farm Bureau led
the charge to change the requirements for placing initiatives on
ballots in Idaho. The change was proposed offered a better opportunity
for rural Idaho to participate in the ballot initiative process as
well as protect production agriculture from proposals impairing
industry that those in urban communities may not understand. The Farm
Bureau originally purposed that the requirement be signatures of 6% of
the registered voters in 22 of the 35 legislative districts. In an
attempt to work with detractors of the proposal, a revamped bill
(S1108) surfaced changing the requirement to include signatures of 6%
of the registered voters in 18 of the 35 legislative districts. Food
Producers, agriculture and rural communities were in full support of
the bill which passed both houses with very good support. This act
will go into effect on July 1 and will replace the current practice of
simply requiring signatures of 6% of the entire population with no
regard to districts or location. AGRITOURISM
/ FOOD PRODUCERS INTERN:
Jim
Lowe from Kuna, has a wife and three children, owns and operates The
Farmstead Corn Maze & Pumpkin Festival in Meridian, and farms row
crops in both the Meridian and Kuna area. He also served as the Food
Producers Intern for the 2013 session. Other than the fact that he has
already graduated from college, has a family and a career, Jim also
came into the lobbying arena with another unique quality not generally
associated with an intern; legislation that he initiated and wanted to
learn how to foster through the legislature to become law. With
guidance from Representative Darrell Bolz and Rick Waitley, Jim
brought House Bill 113 before the legislature addressing the growing
industry of agritourism. The Agitourism Promation Act addressed three
functions important to his business: it defined agritourism, limited
liability for agritourism providers, and clarified that agritourism
activities do not change the property tax status of farms and ranches.
Agritourism refers to a variety of experiences that farms and ranches
offer to the public: farm tours, educational programs, dude ranch and
working ranch experiences, U-Pick farms, corn mazes, farm-based bed
and breakfasts, etc. This rapidly growing industry has been seen as an
opportunity for agriculture to tell its story to an increasingly urban
population, diversify operations and operate in niche markets. The
measure, which was signed into law, provides an option for agritourism
providers to post specific warning signs and be protected from
lawsuits over risks inherent in visiting a farm. There is currently no
protection in the case of negligence or disregard for safety, but this
measure should reduce or eliminate frivolous nuisance lawsuits. 129,000#
TRUCK LIMITS:
The
ten-year pilot study came to an end in 2012 and included 35 specific
routes identified to allow heavier trucks to transport commodities and
goods. Many of Idaho’s neighboring states already allow the heavier
129,000# trucks and the study revealed that the heavier trucks have
little impact on roads and bridges because of the increase of axels
altering displacement. The added benefit of safety with the reduction
of the number of trucks on the road also became a selling point for
the proposal. Idaho had maintained a 105,000# truck weight limit
except on these designated pilot routes over the last decade. The
study results were very favorable and legislation was proposed and
written into law by the Heavy Truck Coalition to establish the routes
permanently in the state. The obvious benefit of hauling more product
in less loads was followed by the hope of increasing national exposure
for support of Idaho’s truck weight increase. The routes are only in
the southern part of the state, but would allow the northern portion
of Idaho to also allow heavier trucks if a proposal was presented and
passed by the legislature. That
being said, another bill was introduced concerning 129,000# trucks
that will include the entire state and open the door to additional
routes for the heavy loads. Specifically, it will authorize additional
routes to be designated for 129,000# trucks by the Idaho
Transportation Department (ITD) as long as they meet engineering and
construction standards to handle the trucks. This would affect routes
outside of the pilot project area, including northern Idaho. Because
these measures were so closely related, Chairman Bert Brackett, Senate
Transportation Committee, heard testimony on both bills together. A
standing-room-only crowd delivered hours of testimony. Debate and
testimony was vigorous, often framing the issue in terms FARM
TRUCK WEIGHTS: Another
important transportation issue in 2013 was a bill brought by Senator
Jim Guthrie that will provide some flexibility on truck weight limits
for farmers. Farmers loading commodities out of the field generally
use their best guess estimates based on volume or air scales to comply
with gross and axle load weight limits. The inexact nature of these
systems, variability of commodity pounds per bushel and potential
shifting of bulk loads put farmers at risk of weight limit
infractions, even when operating in good faith. There was very little
opposition to the measure and the new law will allow trucks hauling
agricultural products to operate up to 2,000 lbs. in excess of any
axle, bridge or gross vehicle weight limit. The allowance will not
apply to federally-funded interstate highways, posted bridge weights
or other seasonal or temporary weight limit postings. HONEY
RULES:
The
Idaho Honey Industry worked through the summer to generate rules
resulting from the Honey Industry Act passed by the 2012 Legislature.
The rules defined quality standards for honey in order to prevent the
sale of adulterated, diluted, or corn syrup-based product disguised as
pure honey. The rules were ratified by both houses. ENERGY ISSUES: We continue to see increased significance placed on rising energy costs in the state. The importance of these increased input costs for all water and power users has kept agriculture busy in tracking and participating in rate-payer issues. Last year, H544 was introduced in the legislature seeking public disclosure of known rate impacts from projected utility capital construction and expansion plans. Through negotiations, concessions were made and agreements were reached with a number of utilities to disclose, to the best of their ability, a ten-year projection for both the single rate payer and industry. This year, support letters from industry and large member organizations were submitted to Senate State Affairs Chairman McKenzie and House State Affairs Chairman Loertscher requesting committee hearings on this topic as well as allowing utilities to discuss what has been disclosed, what has not, and why. The largest single rate payers in the state (farmers) will benefit from additional disclosure. Earlier in the session we provided a Gallup poll measuring Americans’ financial concerns based on importance. Below are the responses when asked whether a series of “situation[s]” are hurting their families’ finances. Here’s the rank order, according to how many people said these things were indeed hurting them:
WINE
CONTAINER SIZES:
New
Idaho Code will change the maximum wine container size a distributor
or importer can buy, sell or receive from one gallon to 15 gallons.
Wineries in Idaho are considered distributors and are required to hold
distribution and import licenses. This means the previous statute
precludes any winery from buying, selling or receiving any wine
container that is greater than one gallon. Current Industry practices
in many states allow larger container sizes than one gallon containers
to be sold, received or purchased. The one gallon provision was
out-of-date language drafted in 1971, when the Wine Act was first
passed by the Idaho Legislature. This was a time in Idaho history when
there were no wineries in existence. A number of restaurants,
individuals and other business owners have requested that the industry
allow larger container sizes so that these businesses can have more
quantities of wine to sell to customers or to use at weddings and
other special events. Before
this measure passed, Idaho was the second most restrictive state in
the West on wine container sizes. BENEFICIAL
USE:
A
new mandate will require the
Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to consult with Watershed
Advisory Groups and Basin Advisory Groups (stakeholders) before
designating, revising or assessing Beneficial Uses of an Idaho water
body. Beneficial use is determined by the DEQ (the use of a water body
such as recreation, or habitat for fish). Once the beneficial use has
been set, DEQ then assesses if that water body is “impaired”
(meaning does the current body of water have pollutants that impact
fish, recreation, etc). Once the water body is designated as
“impaired”, a process starts called the Total Maximum Daily Load
Process (TMDL), that sets water quality criteria (temperature or
sediment) for that particular water body. At times, DEQ will misdiagnose
or improperly designate a water body for a certain beneficial use.
That causes the TMDL process to be flawed and the water quality
criteria to be non-attainable for water users. The mandate will more
accurately ensure that DEQ will consult with stakeholders before
designating the water body’s beneficial use. This will provide a
screening process concerning conflicts that may arise throughout the
TMDL process and will allow conflicts to be alleviated before TMDL is
implemented. SCRAP
DEALERS:
As
metals and other natural resources have increased in price, farmers
have seen an increase in thefts of farm equipment and irrigation
systems. Strong metal prices, quick cash sales and fast processing
that destroy the evidence have combined to make metal theft an
increasing problem in Idaho. These concerns have been realized by
construction, utility and other industries as well. Legislation was
created aimed to reduce this scrap metal theft. Under the law, scrap
metal dealers will now be required to photograph individuals and
vehicles with the metal they sell for recycling. This will go
hand-in-hand with the current requirement that they document the name
and identity of individuals selling scrap. It will exempt beverage
containers from the same requirement and will not apply to someone who
establishes a commercial account. In addition to the documentation
requirements, there is a felony provision for someone who steals metal
from an electrical substation and interrupts delivery. It also
protects metal owners from being liable for a dangerous situation
caused by metal theft. PERSONAL
PROPERTY TAX:
One
of the focal points of this legislative session, second only to the
state healthcare exchange, has been a heavy push to repeal the
Personal Property Tax for business. This is arguably the most disliked
and unevenly applied tax, collecting tax each year on everything from
hand tools to manufacturing equipment. This tax was repealed for
agriculture over 10 years ago, though it still applies to many ag-related
businesses. Idaho has discussed the elimination of personal
property tax since the early 1980’s and a number of attempts have
been made toward removal of this tax burden on Idaho businesses, but
there has been little agreement and compromise through the years. This
year, the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) announced
shortly after the November elections that they would be pushing this
issue for the 2013 Legislative Session. During the session, IACI made
a number of proposals with the most accepted being a phase-out of the
tax over seven years to lessen the impact on local taxing districts
(counties, schools, etc). The backfill of funds from the phase-out
would have come from the state general fund over this time period. The
Idaho Association of Counties, Association of Idaho Cities and the
Idaho School Boards Association replied with a bill of
their own which has been signed into law by the Governor.
Under the new law, stand-alone items of less than $3,000 value are
exempt from personal property tax and businesses will be able 2013
SESSION:
The
Idaho Legislative body is often referred to as a citizen’s
legislature. With lawmakers making less than $17,000 each year for
their service, many of them have other occupations that provide their
income throughout the year. The 32 new legislators brought a new
dimension to the occupations of legislators. A whole new category had
to be added – Real Estate with seven of the 32 having an occupation
related to that career. Here is the makeup, to the best of our
knowledge, and information provided related to the 2013 legislature.
Accounting
- 1 Agribusiness
- 3 Attorney
- 9 Business
- 23 Consultant
- 3 Education
- 6 Engineer
- 1 Farmer/Rancher
- 20 Insurance
- 5 Medical
- 4 Public
Relations - 1 Retired
– 14 Real
Estate – 7 Self
Employed – 4 Homemaker
- 2 Unknown
– 2
We
are fortunate in our industry to still have 1/4 of the legislature made
up of farmers/ranchers and agribusiness- related individuals. Several of
the others are indirectly involved or have roots in agriculture. CLOSING:
We hope you have found the communication related to legislative issues
complete and valuable to understanding what was happening in Boise
January through the end of March. Our weekly Capitol
Review is designed to inform you each week about issues that impact
the agriculture industry and special events and people involved with
these issues. If you have specific questions related to legislation
discussed in this report or between legislative sessions, please do not
hesitate to contact our office. We
can be reached at:
Office phone:
208-888-0988
Rick’s email:
rick@amgidaho.com
Roger’s email
roger@amgidaho.com
Benjamin’s email
benjamin@amgidaho.com Feel free to visit our website at www.amgidaho.com to learn more about our services and the clients we serve at Association Management Group.
Weed Free Hay and Straw Questions: The person designated at ISDA
for questions related to weed free hay and straw is Dan Safford. Dan can
be reached by email dsafford@agri.idaho.gov
or by phone at: New
Weed Video - Elwood the Elk: SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION: Click Here
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