2011 Legislative Updates from ISCAC
January Updates | February Updates| March Updates
April 7, 2011 -- Sine Die
Posted @ 2:57PM
2011 Bills Signed/Enacted H0155 - Black Bear Process Fee (Signed on 3/11) H0143 - Veterans Non Resident Tags (Signed on 3/16) HJM2 - Wilderness Designation (Enacted) H0085 - Mentored Hunters (Signed on 3/22) S1001 - Specialty Off-Highway Vehicles (To Governor) H0343 - Declarations of emergency, issuance of executive orders and proclamations relating to wolves (To Governor) |
There has been a lot of activity at the capital this morning, with the House and Senate working through additional appropriation bills. The Senate finished there business, and adjourned sine die at about 12:30pm and are officially done for the 2011 legislative session. The House took recess just after the noon hour, and will return back to hear a few more appropriation bills looking to sine die early afternoon.
Important: There has also been an interesting turn of events regarding Domestic Cervidae at the capital. If you remember, the negotiated rules that were before the House were rejected, and then recently the Senate concurred with the rejected portions of the rule from the House. HCR024 was that concurrent resolution that rejected the negotiated rule, and has been sitting in the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee since March 18th. Now that the Senate has adjourned sine die, and this concurrent resolution was not presented to the full Senate, therefore not passed by the Senate, the rules that ISCAC had worked on for so long over the summer months and negotiated go into effect!
Important: Additionally, SB1085 was pushed down to the bottom of the third reading calendar over the past few days and the House adjourned sine die with the bill sitting on the third reading calendar. This means that SB1085 is dead, and cannot move forward nor can it carry over to the next legislative session.
Now that both houses have adjourned sine die, this will be the final post for the 2011 Legislative Session.
April 6, 2011
Posted @ 3:15PM
This morning the House of Representatives met to work through a second and third reading calendar, both of which were growing smaller as both houses approach sine die for the 2011 legislative session. At the top of the third reading calendar in the afternoon meeting of the House was SB1085 dealing with Domestic Cervidae. As of 3:00pm, the bill was still in waiting as the House suspended rules to hear other pieces of legislation from the second reading calendar.
This afternoon the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to hear HB343 which is a Declaration of emergency, issuance of executive orders and proclamations relating to wolves, as stated on the listed agenda for the committee. This bill has already passed the House of Representatives as mentioned yesterday, and continues to move quickly through the process as both houses look to sine die tomorrow. Representative Phil Hart presented this bill to the committee with a number of individuals in attendance. Chairman Pearce mentioned that they were under a time constraint, as the Senate was to reconvene on the floor at 3:00pm. The committee went through the signup sheet for public testimony, and attempted to hear from those both for and against the bill. Chairman Pearce stated that of those individuals that signed up to testify on the bill, only 6 of the 60 were opposed to the proposed legislation. HB343 passed the Senate Resources and Environment Committee following public testimony, and will be sent to the full Senate with a do pass recommendation (7-2) followed by applause from a number of individuals in the audience.
April 5, 2011
Posted @ 12:01PMUpdated @ 4:50PM
This morning, SB1085 was on the 3rd reading calendar in the House. The House worked through a majority of the bills on the 2nd reading calendar by suspending rules, and then returns back to the 2nd reading calendar just before 11:00am to clean off the 2nd reading calendar of the remaining bills. The House then went as ease at 11:00am to allow committees to work through some items, and would then meet back on the floor to hear additional bills on the 2nd reading calendar. After working through a number of bills on the second reading calendar this morning, the House adjourned until 2:00pm this afternoon.
Update: At 4:47PM this afternoon, the remaining bills on the third reading calendar will hold their place for one legislative day which includes SB1085.
In the House afternoon session, HB343 (introduced and printed on 4/4) was before the full House after the rules were suspended, essentially moving the bill onto the third reading calendar for final consideration. This bill declares an emergency concerning wolves. The statement of purpose on this piece of legislation reads, "This legislation provides for declarations of emergency, issuance of executive orders and proclamations relating to wolves." Additionally within the bill, the section listed as Legislative Intent reads as follows: "All wildlife, including all wild animals, wild birds, and fish, within the state of Idaho, is hereby declared to be the property of the state of Idaho. The state of Idaho therefore has the responsibility to manage the big game animals of the state." This bill did not receive a committee public hearing in the House Resources and Conservation Committee, which was asked as a point of order on the House floor during the vote for suspension of rules. Representative Hagedorn stood in support of this bill stating that this bill is important to save the ungulate herd in the Lolo zone. This bill passed the House with a vote of 64-5 and will now be sent to the Senate.
April 4, 2011
Posted @ 3:30PM
This afternoon the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to hear two pieces of legislation of interest, the first was H231a which deals with the taking of game from an aircraft. This bill as previously mentioned has been amended in the House to change the language to solely those that utilize an aircraft to locate game. This bill passed the committee and will be sent to the floor with a do pass recommendation.
The second bill before the committee was HB247a, which is the Governor's Big Game Auction Tags bill. This bill had been sent to the amending order in the House, and John Watts presented the bill and the amendments that had been made to the committee. With a very long debate about the bill, Senator Siddoway made a motion to send the bill to the 14th order for possible amendment, which was followed by a substitute motion by Senator Heider to hold the bill in committee. The committee took a roll call vote on the substitute motion to hold the bill in committee and that motion passed on a 5-4 vote.
Lastly, SB1085 was on the third reading calendar this morning and this afternoon when the House convened, however with all of the appropriation bills that were on the third and second reading calendar this bill was not considered. The reason for this was because the House suspended rules to move to the second reading calendar to work on appropriation bills that were only on the second reading calendar to expedite the process this later in the session.
April 1, 2011
Posted @ 1:10PM
This morning the main focus was on the third education bill which took up the majority of the focus and time in the House of Representatives. SB1085 was on the second reading calendar in the House today, and will move to the third reading calendar on Monday April 4th for final consideration. The amendments have been posted online for SB1085, and can be viewed by clicking here.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee met briefly following the adjournment of the House to hear SB1197, which dealt with taxidermists and fur buyers. This bill would amend Idaho code "to provide that commercial tanneries receiving wildlife from a licensed taxidermist or fur buyer shall satisfy all record keeping requirements by recording the license number of each taxidermist or fur buyer and recording tag numbers of an attached tags required by law," as reads in the statement of purpose. This bill was shortly debated, and passed the committee and will be sent to the House floor with a do pass recommendation.
March 31, 2011
Posted @ 10:20AM
Early this morning the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee met to discuss the rules governing Domestic Cervidae (02.04.19). Chairman Corder reminded the committee that these were the same rules that were before the committee in January, and then the committee proceeded to discuss the rules. Senator Bock stated that he had concerns that if these rules were not accepted that the Department of Agriculture would have to go through the process of creating temporary rules. Chairman Corder then stated that the legislation currently on the House side dealing with domestic cervidae would override rules if it passes, and the Department of Agriculture would then have to write rules regardless. Senator Siddoway then took the microphone and stated that if the committee did not act on these rules today that the Department of Agriculture would have to follow the proposed rules, and that his preference would be to kill the proposed rules that were before the committee this morning.
Senator Nuxoll then made a motion to reject the rules, to which Chairman Corder clarified that the House didn't reject the rules in its entirety but rejected only certain section of the rules. Chairman Corder then stated that if the rules before the committee were rejected completely, that it would put the Department of Agriculture in a very difficult position. That motion was then withdrawn, followed by a motion by Senator Smyser to concur with the rejections that were made by the House Agricultural Affairs Committee some weeks ago. The discussion continued as to what the new motion by Senator Smyser would actually do, and after a number of minutes the committee then clarified the actions of the new motion. There was concern discussed about the section of the rule dealing with quarantine of domestic cervidae herds. Senator Siddoway stated that quarantine provisions within the rule are necessary. The confusion of the committee members was that the motion would reject the entire section dealing with quarantine. A member of the Department of Agriculture then stepped up to the podium and clarified that concurring with the House rejections would only reject the changes within the quarantine section, and the original language would then remain. Following the discussion and confusion surrounding the motion, the committee continued to move forward and vote on the motion to concur with the House Agricultural Affairs rule rejection of specific sections with passed the Senate committee on a voice vote. The two members of the committee that asked to be recorded as voting "no" were Senator Bock, and Senator Schmidt. The understanding with the rejection of sections within the proposed rule changes is that it essentially reverts back to the rules that are currently in place for the Department of Agriculture. As previously stated, SB1085 that is currently on the House side and recently amended would override the rules as statute always does. SB1085 was read across the desk yesterday on the first reading calendar and will continue to move forward in the next few days.
Yesterday evening, H0231 which deals with the taking of game from an aircraft passed the House with a vote of 64-0. As a reminder this bill was amended in the House, and you can read the amended bill by clicking here.
The House and Senate continue to work through their 3rd reading calendars which are mostly appropriations bills for a number of state agencies. Yesterday, Democrats in the House of Representatives objected to the suspension of reading on a number of bills, which required the chief clerk to read each bill in its entirety. This is being done for a few reasons, as the Democrats are looking for a piece of legislation to be introduced that would raise revenue which has currently not been introduced.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has also selected its new director as Virgil Moore, taking the place of Cal Groen who will be retiring. John Watts, a former Fish and Game Commissioner mentioned that this is a good decision for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and that Moore is a very knowledgeable person for the department having served for many years, and will lead with a steady hand.
March 30, 2011
Posted @ 11:07AM
This morning the House of Representatives met at 10:00am, and moved into the committee of the whole for consideration of bills on general orders. Representative Bedke chaired the committee of the whole as usual, and the committee first considered HB274 which deals with wolves, however it was once again held on general orders. The committee then considered SB1085 which deals with Domestic Cervidae.
The amendment of section 1 to the bill was discussed before the committee by Representative Stevenson stating that there would be the deletion "not more than", and insert the words "at least". It is understood that the language would now read "at least 20%", where the full language on page 2 of the bill would read: "The CWD sampling requirement shall be based
on submission of an obex sample of not more than at least twenty percent (20%) of
testable animals from certified herds, hunting and slaughter facilities." This is the interpretation from the discussion on the House floor of the committee of the whole and not the official amendment, and the official amendment is not currently available online. The official amendment will be posted here when the amended/engrossed version of the bill is available.
Neither the House Resources nor the Senate Resources Committees held meeting this afternoon. The House Resources and Conservation Committee may hold a hearing tomorrow, however it is getting towards the end of the legislative session and some of the committees will begin to hold fewer hearings as new legislation lessens, and also as the House and Senate spend more time on the floor for consideration of appropriations bills and other final passage of legislation.
March 29, 2011
Posted @ 11:57AMUpdated @ 2:49PM
This morning in the Senate, S1001aa was up for consideration on the 3rd reading calendar. This bill would make changes to Idaho code that would require unlicensed riders of ATVs, UTVs, Specialty Off-Highway Vehicles and Motorbikes who choose to use national forest roads, complete a state approved safety course. This bill would also define the term "supervised" to more clearly identify what constitutes an acceptable level of supervision. This bill, after receiving amendments in the Senate, passed with a vote of 26-9 and will now be sent to the House.
The House met midmorning, and as mentioned yesterday moved into the amending order for possible amendments to H0231, H0274 and S1085. The first bill up for amendments was H0231, which received an amendment to section 1 which would make it where you could not use an aircraft to locate big game on the same day that you hunt. The amendment would also remove the language that would require a calendar day wait following a hunt/harvest. The committee of the whole adopted the amendments to H0231. The next bill up for amendments was H0274, which as stated by Representative Moyle had further discussions and changes and would be retained on general orders. The last piece of legislation up for amendments was S1085, the Domestic Cervidae bill. The sponsor of this bill, Representative Boyle was not available on the House floor due to the long education hearing that took place on SB1184, the third piece of the education reform plan. S1085 will be held on general orders until tomorrow to consider the amendments proposed by the House Agricultural Affairs Committee.
Alert: An action alert has been posted regarding S1085, click here to take action on this bill (placed on hold) and to support the current amendment as proposed by Representative Stevenson in the House Agricultural Affairs Committee.
The House also had H0247 on this 3rd reading calendar this morning, which is the Governor's Big Game Auction Tags, however with the education hearing continuing to the lunch hour the House adjourned and will reconvene at 1:15pm today.
Update: This afternoon in the House of Representatives, H0247 dealing wit the creation of the Governor's Big Game Auction Tags passed with no debate, with a vote of 52-15 and will be sent to the Senate.
March 28, 2011
Posted @ 10:32AMUpdated @ 2:40PM
This morning, SB1085 was read across the desk in the House and was referred to general orders by Speaker Denney for possible amendments. There is a difference in the way that the House and Senate work through the amending order, in the Senate there are typically no specific committee amendments that are tied to a bill as it is sent to the amending order which can open up the bill for any amendments that are proposed on the Senate floor. On the House side, committees do provide suggestions and specific amendments to the House floor when a bill is placed on general orders for possible amendments.
With that said, SB1085 is now on the general orders calendar in the House and does have a committee amendment as mentioned last week which would strike the language "not more than" in regards to the requirement of tests that are conducted. With this change, it would then require domestic cervidae operation to conduct 20%, rather than previous language of "not more than 20%". More information will be available as this bill is consider on general orders. Also, it is not everyday that the House considers bills that have been placed on general orders.
HB247aa, dealing with the Governor's Big Game Auction Tags was read across the 2nd reading calendar this morning. It will now be referred to the 3rd reading calendar tomorrow.
The Senate Resources and Conservation Committee met this afternoon to hear an update from the mining industry. The presentation and update covered mainly financial, employment and revenue to the state but for the most part did not focus on environmental impact. Tomorrow, the House Resources and Conservation Committee will meet to hear one piece of legislation dealing with ground water districts, and will also hear and update from the Idaho Secretary of State and the Idaho Department of Lands.
Note: The House plans to go into general order tomorrow morning, and the bills that are currently up for amendments are as follows: H0231, H0274 and S1085. There isn't any indication as to which of these bills will be amended tomorrow morning, however with them currently on general orders, all could be amended tomorrow.
March 25, 2011
Posted @ 11:13AM
Today, the House and Senate Resources Committees will not hold hearings this afternoon, but will plan to hold hearings next week.
SB1085, as mentioned yesterday has been passed through the House Agricultural Committee and sent to general orders for amendment. This bill did not show up on the general orders calendar today, however it will most likely be placed on that calendar Monday morning.
March 24, 2011
Posted @ 11:13AMUpdated @ 4:40PM
This morning on the House floor, the committee of the whole had under consideration the bills that had been placed on general orders, however the committee of the whole did not hear H0231 but did make amendments to H0247 on the amount of money that could be collected by the entity conducting the auction. The committee of the whole accepted the motion to make changes to the bill. The committee of the whole also had H0274 on general orders, however did not consider any amendments on the bill.
Amendments: The amendments to H0247 have been posted on the Idaho Legislature website, click here to view those amendments. The engrossed bill has also been posted, click here to view the amended bill.
Update: This afternoon, the House Agricultural Affairs Committee met to hear SB1085 at 1:30pm. The committee heard from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Fish and Game for technical assistance in understanding the situation and the bill. The committee also heard from a number of individuals, with the majority of the testimony in opposition to SB1085. After a 3 hour hearing, Representative Stevenson noticed that the language in the bill stating "not more than 20%" could possibly translate to an operation submitting one brain tissue sample and being in compliance. Representative Stevenson then made a motion to send the bill to the amending order, with the committee amendment to strike to words "not more than" in regards to the requirement of tests that are conducted. With this change, it would then require domestic cervidae operation to conduct 20%, rather than previous language of "not more than 20%". The motion passed the committee unanimously with a voice vote, and will be sent to general orders for amendments before the committee of the whole House.
Additionally, on the Senate floor this morning S1001 dealing with specialty off-highway vehicles was up on the 14th order for amendments. The amendments were made to the bill, however they we not read to the committee. Senator McGee carried this bill before the committee, and stated that the amendment regarding the age requirement within the bill.
March 23, 2011
Posted @ 2:13PM
This afternoon the House and Senate Resources Committees held a joint hearing that covered a presentation and discussion on the Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund. Prior to the hearing, the committee received an update from the Office of the Governor on wolves. Currently, a settlement hearing will take place this week on the issue. During the settlement discussion process, Idaho opted not to engage in that process but elected to engage in other actions. Governor Otter does support the actions in Congress to work towards de-listing wolves, and if de-listing doesn't happen the Governor would still support Congressional action on the matter.
Reminder: SB1085 will have a committee hearing tomorrow, Thursday March 24th at 1:30pm in the House Agricultural Affairs Committee. Depending on the floor schedule of the House, this meeting could be postponed if there is in fact an afternoon floor meeting of the House of Representatives. The agenda on this hearing has been posted and can be viewed here. Also, prior to the hearing on SB1085, the committee will get an update from Dr. Phil Maner, a Fisheries Pathologist Supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish & Game, on Chronic Wasting Disease in Wildlife.
Reminder The action alert on SB1085, the Domestic Cervidae bill is still currently live. If you would like to contact a member of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee please click here.
March 22, 2011
Posted @ 2:02PMUpdated @ 3:50PM
Today, neither of the Resources Committees met, but they will hold a joint hearing in the Senate Auditorium in the west wing of the capital on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00pm. This joint hearing will cover a presentation and discussion on the Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund.
An updated action alert has been posted on SB1085, the Domestic Cervidae bill. If you would like to contact a member of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee please click here. Currently, the bill has not been listed to have a hearing, however you will be notified prior to the committee agenda posting when the hearing on this bill will take place.
In conversation with the secretary of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee, SB1085 will be on the committee agenda on Thursday March 24th at 1:30pm. The House has been meeting in the afternoon, so this meeting could very well be pushed back later in the afternoon if the House does in fact meet on the floor Thursday afternoon.
A statement of note was made in the Senate this week from Senator Bart Davis stating that there may be a chance that the Senate will sine die on April 1st, however for this to happen all bills and other agenda items would have to continue to move flawlessly, and the "stars must align" for that to happen. Part of that puzzle is the 3rd education reform bill which has a hearing in the Senate Education Committee this afternoon; as this bill moves such does the 2011 session. The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) is waiting on this piece of legislation to set the public schools budget, which is one of the most financially significant pieces of the state budget. As JFAC waits, the House and Senate are working to get appropriation bills approved in each house and passed across the rotunda for final approval.
March 21, 2011
Posted @ 4:45PM
This morning on the Senate floor, SB1085 dealing with domestic cervidae was at the top of the third reading calendar. The bill was presented on the floor by Senate Pearce, who went through the changes to code within the legislation. Senator Bock stood to debate against the piece of legislation, and stated the issue of mixture of wild and domestic herds. As you will remember, Senator Bock debated in opposition to this legislation in committee. Senator Bock also discussed in detail the issue of chronic wasting disease (CWD) and how it is diagnosed in domestic herds, one with testing and also with the notice of possible symptoms. He also warned about past history of upsetting natural systems, references the invasive species issue in Idaho waters and the fact that they "run wild". His point in opposing this legislation is that it does not go far enough in testing, and could have long term affects that are not known right now.
Senator Siddoway then stood to declare a conflict of interest on the issue, and also stood and debated in favor of this legislation. Senator Siddoway discussed how we got to this point through the rule making process, and how SB1085 was brought about following the issues with the proposed rule changes. Senator Schmidt stood in opposition to the bill stating that the issue is lack of good samples that are available for testing. Senator Bock then stood to debate the bill for a second time, stating that none of us are going to be here to see the consequences of our actions and that this is an important decision, stating "if we ring the bell, we can't un-ring it."
Senator Pearce then closed debate on this bill, and made a few closing statements. The Senator stated that there has never been a case of CWD in Idaho domestic herds and that this legislation will still protect the herds. Debate was closed, and the bill passed the floor with a vote of 25-9 and the bill will move to the House side.
With the update to SB1085, and the passage in the Senate, the action alert on this item has been updated. If you would like to contact a member of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee please click here.
This afternoon in the House Resources and Conservation Committee, HB274 was discussed which deals with wolves, and the actions, or inactions that can be taken by an employee of the state of Idaho in the prosecution of a person who removes a gray wolf. There was a question in the committee if this piece of legislation would create a conflict for conservation officers with federal law and their oath. There was also additional questions amongst members of the committee as to what the word "assisting" a federal agency or authority really meant, and how that would be translated within the law if this bill passed. Ultimately, after much discussion the bill passed the committee and will be sent to the amending order on a roll call vote of 17-0.
March 18, 2011
Posted @ 11:43AMUpdated @ 4:55PM
Today, neither the House Resources and Conservation nor the Senate Resources and Environment Committees met, but plan to hold meetings next week. The Senate committee will not meet on Monday, and the House committee will meet on Monday afternoon to hear HB274 which deals with wolves. This bill is being brought forward by Representative Hart, and the statement of purpose reads, "would prohibit any employee of the state of Idaho, or any of its political subdivisions, from investigating, arresting or prosecuting, or assisting any federal agency or authority in any way that could lead to an arrest and prosecution of a person who removes a gray wolf from Idaho or causes the death or injury of a gray wolf in Idaho."
The Senate also had SB1085 on Domestic Cervidae at the top of the 3rd reading calendar as mentioned on the action alert yesterday. The bill was carried on the floor by Senator Pearce and it was immediately requested that the bill be held on the 3rd reading calendar until Monday March 21st. With that, the action alert that was posted yesterday will continue to be available until the vote is taken on SB1085 next week. A number of talking points have been posted on the take action page, and if you would like to contact members of the Senate, click here.
March 17, 2011
Posted @ 10:15AMUpdated @ 3:09PM
This afternoon the House Resources and Conservation Committee will hear HB247, which would establish Governor's big game auction tags and provide authority to the Fish and Game Commission to designate limited big game tags for auction similar to existing statutorily authorized bighorn sheep and wolf auction tags. You can send an email to Chairman Stevenson to at jstevenson@house.idaho.gov.
Update: After a long hearing, public testimony and a number of questions from the committee and after the suggestion of John Watts, HB247 was approved by the House Resources and Conservation Committee to sent to General Orders with a 14-0 vote. The bill will be sent to General Orders to amend some areas for more clarification.
Additionally, an action alert has been posted regarding SB1085 on Domestic Cervidae. This bill is currently on the 2nd reading calendar this morning, and will move to the 3rd reading calendar tomorrow for a possible vote. A number of talking points have been posted on the take action page, and if you would like to contact members of the Senate, click here.
March 16, 2011
Posted @ 2:10PM
This morning on the House floor, the members went into general orders as a committee of the whole to make amendments to HB231 which deals with the taking of game from an aircraft. The bill was brought forward by Representative Moyle with no additional discussion from the committee. Currently, there are no amendments available or ready on this bill, and at the request of the committee of the whole, the bill will remain on general orders.
This afternoon, the House Resources and Conservation Committee did not hold a hearing and the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to hear and discuss a number of bills dealing with water and irrigation.
The House Agricultural Affairs Committee met this afternoon to discuss SCR101 which deals with Aquatic Nuisance Species. This concurrent resolution acknowledges the world class waters of the state of Idaho, and calls for all users to acknowledge the actions the state of Idaho has taken to protect those waters from the introduction of aquatic invasive species. This is also the resolution that was mentioned in a previous report that deals with felt sole footwear typically worn by sportsmen and other government agencies as traction devices while in rivers and streams. This resolution was discussed by the committee and passed on a voice vote and will move to the first reading calendar in the House.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee will meet tomorrow afternoon to discuss HB247, which would establish Governor's big game auction tags and provide authority to the Fish and Game Commission to designate limited big game tags for auction similar to existing statutorily authorized bighorn sheep and wolf auction tags. This bill is being carried by Representative Mike Moyle.
March 15, 2011
Posted @ 11:20AM
This morning the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee met to discuss and vote on SB1085 on Domestic Cervidae. The debate on this bill lasted for quite some time, with 7 individuals testifying before the committee. Of those 7 individuals, 6 testified in opposition to the proposed legislation stating that there is ongoing concern with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in surrounding states, and the issue that CWD has not currently been found in Idaho in domestic cervidae is irrelevant and should continue to be an issue deemed as important and held to a high standard of testing.
Mark Bell, President of ISCAC stated that CWD is currently in Wyoming and Colorado, making its way towards Yellowstone National Park. Mark also stated that it isn't an issue of if Idaho sees CWD, but when. Senator Siddoway who owns and operates an elk farm, stated that because there had been no case of CWD identified after thousands of tests that the rules and restrictions should be relaxed on the industry. Senator Les Bock of District 16 in Garden City was not supportive of the proposed legislation, and stated his concern over relaxing rules and regulations on the industry given that the issue of CWD is so serious. Senator Siddoway did in fact invoke rule 39(H) of the Senate, rules stating that he did own and operation an elk farm and had a conflict of interest and would not be voting, however at approval of the committee he did continue to debate the proposed legislation and offer his opinion into the committee's conversation.
Substitute Motion to Hold |
|
Voting "Yes" |
Voting "No" |
|
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Toward the end of the debate, the committee discussed amendments to the legislation which Chairman Corder supported and felt made the piece of legislation better. A motion was made by Senator Nuxoll to send the bill to the floor with a do pass recommendation, not including the proposed amendments. A substitute motion was made by Senator Bock to hold the bill in committee, stating again that relaxing the rules and regulations was not a proper direction to take. The committee voted on the substitute motion, with the following being the vote tally:
The committee then moved to the original motion which was to send the bill to the floor with a do pass recommendation. Senator Bock then asked for a point of order of Chairman Corder that the motion did in fact not include the proposed amendments. Chairman Corder clarified that the original motion did not include the proposed amendments. Chairman Corder stated that because the original motion would not include the proposed amendments, and would not be sent to the 14th Order, he would not be able to support the original motion. Following that statement, the committee proceeded to vote on the original motion with the following tally:
Original Motion to Send to Pass |
|
Voting "Yes" |
Voting "No" |
|
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SB1085 will now be sent to the Senate Floor with a do pass recommendation. More tracking information will be provided at a later date when this bill is placed on the third reading calendar in the Senate.
This afternoon, the House Resources and Conservation Committee will meet to discuss two pieces of legislation dealing with water issues but did not discuss any other bills dealing with Sportsman issues or the Department of Fish and Game. The House Resources Committee will not hold a hearing tomorrow afternoon, however the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a hearing to discuss a number of bills all dealing with water or irrigation.
March 14, 2011
Updated @ 4:20PM
Update: The Senate Resources and Environment Committee met as reported this afternoon to discussS1015, S1016 and the newly printed S1159 (which was RS20583 as listed below). The debate and public hearing lasted roughly an hour past the committees scheduled time with testimony being stated before the committee in support and opposed to these pieces of legislation. Following a long hearing, all three pieces of legislation were held in committee with the understanding that the Natural Resources Interim Committee would be asked to review these pieces of legislation prior to the next legislative session. The following are the vote counts on the three bills:
A new action alert has been posted regarding SB1085 on Domestic Cervidae. If you would like to contact members of the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee, please click here (action item placed on hold).
Lastly, a new piece of legislation has been brought forward. HB274 deals with wolves, and the statement of purpose reads, "This legislation would prohibit any employee of the state of Idaho, or any of its political subdivisions, from investigating, arresting or prosecuting, or assisting any federal agency or authority in any way that could lead to an arrest and prosecution of a person who removes a gray wolf from Idaho or causes the death or injury of a gray wolf in Idaho." This piece of legislation is being brought forward by Representative Phil Hart, and this bill is not currently on the House Resources and Conservation agenda for tomorrow afternoon. More information will be provided as this bill moves forward in the legislative process.
REMINDER: The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee still plan to meet tomorrow morning at 8:00am to hear and discuss SB1085 dealing with Domestic Cervidae. Please remember to read through SB1085 to learn the legislation if you would like to testify before the committee tomorrow, March 15th.
Posted @ 7:40AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMINDER: The Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a hearing on S1015 and S1016 which are the two pieces of legislation dealing with Fish and Game regulation on motorized vehicle/transport today, Monday March 14th, with the addition of another piece of legislation currently on the agenda which states it will deal with "Limitations on powers relating to the enforcement of certain federal laws and regulations". This third bill is currently available as RS20583, Click here to read RS20583.
REMINDER: HB231 pertaining to the use of an aircraft when hunting was before the House Resources and Conservation Committee last week. Representative Mike Moyle who is the sponsor of the legislation has asked for input for ISCAC and would like to hear from you ASAP. To contact Representative Moyle, please send an email to mmoyle@house.idaho.gov to state your opinion on this legislation.
March 11, 2011
Posted @ 10:11AM
Today neither the House Resources and Conservation nor the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met this afternoon.
Early this morning in the House State Affairs Committee, RS20379 dealing with the rules governing domestic cervidae was before the committee for a print hearing. This RS was printed due to the State Affairs Committee being a privileged committee, and as mentioned in a previous report this RS will be sent directly to the second reading calendar on the House floor.
Please remember to read through SB1085 to learn the legislation if you would like to testify before the committee on March 15th, you have a few more days to prepare for testimony.
As mentioned yesterday, HB231 pertaining to the use of an aircraft when hunting was before the House Resources and Conservation Committee yesterday. Representative Mike Moyle who is the sponsor of the legislation has asked for input for ISCAC and would like to hear from you ASAP. To contact Representative Moyle, please send an email to mmoyle@house.idaho.gov to state your opinion on this legislation.
The Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a hearing on S1015 and S1016 which are the two pieces of legislation dealing with Fish and Game regulation on motorized vehicle/transport on Monday March 14th, with the addition of another piece of legislation currently on the agenda which states it will deal with "Limitations on powers relating to the enforcement of certain federal laws and regulations". This third bill is currently available as RS20583, Click here to read RS20583.
March 10, 2011
Posted @ 10:36AMUpdated @ 3:52PM
HB231 pertaining to the use of an aircraft when hunting was before the House Resources and Conservation Committee yesterday. Representative Mike Moyle who is the sponsor of the legislation has asked for input for ISCAC and would like to hear from you ASAP. To contact Representative Moyle, please send an email to mmoyle@house.idaho.gov to state your opinion on this legislation.
The House Resources and Senate Resources committees will not hold hearing this afternoon. Please check back tomorrow for additional updates on important legislation.
March 9, 2011
Posted @ 3:25PM
This morning the House Revenue and Taxation committee met to hear RS20386C3 dealing with the creation of big game auction tags. The reason that this RS was before the Revenue and Taxation Committee is because it is a privileged committee, and has the authority to print new pieces of legislation past a certain date, whereas the House Resources and Conservation Committee does not. This RS would allow for the Fish and Game Commission to set up a Governor's auction tag program where the tags available would come from the non-resident quota. These tags would be auctioned off through Idaho non-profits, and those non-profits would then receive 5% of the sale from each of the tags. The other income from these tags would go to fund access programs and wildlife habitat programs throughout the state. This RS passed the committee and will most likely be referred to the House Resources and Conservation Committee for a full hearing.
This afternoon in the House Resources and Conservation Committee two pieces of legislation were discussed, the first being SCR105 which deals with wild lands, "urging the Secretary of Interior to abandon the "Wild Lands" wilderness re-inventory and requesting the United States Congress to honor the longstanding commitment to multiple use management of public lands in Idaho and the western United States." The full text of this bill can be read here. This resolution passed the committee on a voice vote and will be sent to the House floor.
The second piece of legislation that the committee discussed was HB231, pertaining to the use of an aircraft when hunting. You may remember that this bill was brought forward earlier in the session as HB186. The statement of purpose on this bill states that this bill would, "prohibit the use of certain aircraft in the taking of big game on the same calendar day of use of such aircraft for loading, transporting or unloading hunters, game or hunting gear." This bill was sent to the amending order with a substitute motion, following the original motion to hold the bill in committee. The suggested change from the sponsor would be the removal of language that would require a hunter to stay a calendar day following the harvest of an animal.
March 8, 2011
Posted @ 12:37PM Updated @ 1:55PM
As you well know, SB1085 dealing with domestic cervidae has been in a holding pattern for a few weeks, but will now have a hearing in the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee on Tuesday March 15th. Yesterday, Mark Bell and Dennis Radocha met with Senator Corder, chairman of the Senate Agricultural Affairs committee to discuss the legislation and to inform him that ISCAC would not be supporting the legislation. Mark and Dennis would encourage you to read through SB1085 to learn the legislation if you would like to testify before the committee on March 15th, you have one week to prepare to stand before the committee. Additionally, a position paper is currently being written and an action alert will be posted when the position paper is made available.
Early this morning the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee met to hear SCR101 dealing with felt sole footwear typically worn by sportsmen and other government agencies as traction devices while in rivers and streams. This resolution was presented by Chairman Corder, and attempts to draw more awareness to the issue of those felt soles transmitting invasive species. The resolution states, "The invasive species can be transported into 39 Idaho waters by boats, waders, felt sole boots and a vast assortment of other 40 recreational and commercial equipment. Felt soles absorb water and carry 41 aquatic nuisance species and other fish killing species, such as, didymo, 42 New Zealand mud snails and whirling disease." Additionally as stated by Senator Corder, this resolution encourages awareness and also encourages those manufactures of felt sole products to attempt production of different products of alternative materials. This resolution passed the committee and will be sent to the Senate floor with a do pass recommendation.
The Senate went on the floor at 9:30am with HB143 on the third reading calendar. This bill deals with the Department of Fish and Game and hunting licenses for disabled American Veterans from out of state. The bill was carried on the floor by Senator Stennett, and was passed with a 35-0 vote. This bill has now pass both the House and Senate and will move forward for the signature of the Governor.
This afternoon in the House Agricultural Affairs Committee, RSRS20379, a resolution for domestic cervidae will be brought forward by Representative Ken Andrus. This RS was briefly presented by Representative Andrus with Representative Bert Stevenson as the standing chairman as Representative Tom Trail was out sick for the day. The RS was asked to be printed, with Representative Stevenson reminder the sponsor that the House Agricultural Affairs committee is not a privileged committee, and cannot print bills past a specific date during the session. This RS was not printed not and didn't receive a motion, and will most likely be moved to a privileged committee such as House Ways and Means or House Revenue and Taxation at a later date.
Neither of the Resources Committees will meet this afternoon, but both committees plan to meet tomorrow afternoon. The Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hear HB84 which is the Outfitters and Guides fee increase bill that has been mentioned in past reports.
March 7, 2011
Posted @ 3:17PM
This morning the Senate met at 10:00am and briefly discussed SB1001, which was on the third reading calendar. This bill was sent to the amending order at the request of the sponsor to fix a minor problem with the bill. This bill will be amended, and will again be placed on the third reading calendar.
This afternoon, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to discuss HB85 which deals with the Department of Fish and Game, and a mentored hunters program as mentioned in previous reports. This bill was very briefly discussed as the committee was running out of time for the day, and the bill was passed with a voice vote to the Senate floor with a do pass recommendation.
Tomorrow morning in the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee, they will be hearing SCR101 which is a "Resolution Call for an Awareness of the Danger Posed by the Use of Felt Soles by Sportsmen and Government Agencies as Traction Devices". More information will be posted tomorrow following the action of the committee.
March 4, 2011
Posted @ 2:45PM
Today the House Resources and the Senate Resources Committees did not hold hearings. The Senate had SB1001 on the 3rd reading calendar this morning, which would require unlicensed riders of ATV's, UTV's, Specialty Off-Highway Vehicles, and Motorbikes, who use national forest roads, complete a State approved safety course. This bill was held for one legislative day in the Senate to be debated on Monday.
Next week the House Resources and Conservation Committee will not hold a meeting on Monday, and in a conversation with the committee secretary, the committee will meet on Wednesday the 9th but currently do no have any agenda items set.
Also, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will meet on Monday to hear HB153 which deals with water quality policy changes, HB85 which deals which the implementation for the opportunity of a mentored hunters program and HB94 which deals with injection wells.
The Senate Resources committee will also meet on Wednesday the 9th to hear HB84 which deals with Outfitters and Guides fee increases, HB136 a watermasters bill, and also HB138 which is an irrigation bill.
Additionally, the Senate Agriculture Affairs Committee will be meeting on Tuesday to hear SCR101 which is a "Resolution Call for an Awareness of the Danger Posed by the Use of Felt Soles by Sportsmen and Government Agencies as Traction Devices". This resolution is being carried by the committee chairman Senator Corder.
March 3, 2011
Posted @ 11:07AM
Today, the House Resources and Senate Resources Committees did not hold hearings and will also not hold hearings tomorrow, Friday the 4th.
On the Senate 3rd reading calendar this morning was H0155 which deals with changes in Idaho statute with the black bear processing fee. This bill was quickly debated on the Senate floor, and passed with a vote of 34-0. This bill has not passed both the House and the Senate and will move forward for the signature of the Governor.
March 2, 2011
Posted @ 4:07PM
This afternoon, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to hear to bills of interest. The first was HCR11 which deals with the take of upland game birds rule rejection from the House. Senator Siddoway made a motion to hold the resolution in committee, and it passed unanimously. Expect to see an additional resolution from the Senate in the upcoming days.
The committee also discussed HB143 which deals with the Department of Fish and Game and hunting licenses for disabled American Veterans from out of state. After some discussion, and testimony the committee passed this bill unanimously and it will be sent to the Senate floor. You will remember that this bill passed the Senate Resources Committee unanimously, and also passed the House floor with a 70-0 vote.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee will not hold a hearing tomorrow afternoon, and the Senate Committee will most likely not hold a hearing on Friday the 4th.
March 1, 2011
Posted @ 5:00PM
This afternoon the House Resources and Conservation Committee met to discuss two pieces of legislation, SJM101 which deals with secure rural schools, and also SB1077 which deals with the consolidation of drainage districts. Both of these pieces of legislation passed the committee and will now move forward to the House floor.
The Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow afternoon to hear HCR11 which is the House Concurrent Resolution to reject Department of Fish and Game rules and also HB143 which is the disabled Veteran non-resident hunting tag bill.
Additionally, SB1001 which Legislation to require unlicensed riders of ATV's, UTV's, Specialty Off-Highway Vehicles, and Motorbikes, who use national forest roads, complete a State approved safety course passed the Senate Transportation Committee this afternoon and will move to the Senate floor with a do pass recommendation from the committee.
February 28, 2011
Posted @ 2:48PM
This afternoon in the Senate Resources and Environment Committee they heard two different bills dealing with Wilderness Designation, and also with Fish and Game black bear processing fees. The first bill was HJM2 which deals with wilderness designation and would require a public hearing process prior to additional designation of wilderness lands. This joint memorial passed the committee with a vote of 7-2 after a long discussion and multiple questions to Representative Shepherd who is carrying the bill.
The committee also heard HB155 which the black bear processing fee bill which has already passed the House. This bill was presented, and without discussion or questions of the presenter the bill passe the committee with a voice vote and will be sent to the Senate floor with a do pass recommendation.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow afternoon to hear HB186 which deals with the taking of game from an aircraft, SJM101 which deals with secure rural schools, and also SB1077 which deals with the consolidation of drainage districts.
February 25, 2011
Posted @ 10:52AM
Neither of the Resources committees met this afternoon, but as mentioned yesterday the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a hearing on Monday February 28th to hear HJM2 the wilderness designation bill, and also H0155 the black bear processing fee bill.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday March 1st to hear HB186 which deals with the taking of game from an aircraft, SJM101 which deals with secure rural schools, and also SB1077 which deals with the consolidation of drainage districts. In conversation with the House Resources secretary, there are currently no items on the agenda for the committees Thursday meeting.
February 24, 2011
Posted @ 10:18AM
Today the House and Senate Resources committees did not hold hearings, and the Senate committee will not hold a hearing tomorrow afternoon. The House Resources committee has not posted an agenda for Friday.
For next week the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a hearing on Monday February 28th to hear HJM2 the wilderness designation bill, and also H0155 the black bear processing fee bill.
February 23, 2011
Posted @ 4:05PM
On the House floor this morning, H0084 dealing with outfitters and guides fee increases was carried by Representative Marv Hagedorn and would encompass a 5 year staged fee increase for outfitters and guides. This bill is supported by the industry as stated in committee, and also on the House floor by the sponsor. This bill passed the House with a vote of 47-22 and will be sent to the Senate.
The House also heard and discussed H0143 which deals with non-resident hunting license for out of state American disabled veterans as stated in a previous report. In the past, all in-state American disabled veterans had the ability to acquire a hunting license and this bill would include all other American disabled veterans. This bill was briefly discussed on the House floor and passed the House with a vote of 70-0.
The House also voted on HCR011 which would reject proposed rules from the Department of Fish and Game governing the taking of game birds in the state of Idaho. This bill was not discussed on the floor, and passed with a vote of 65-5.
Also, in the Senate Transportation Committee tomorrow afternoon the committee will hear from the Idaho Recreation Council regarding SB1001 which Legislation to require unlicensed riders of ATV's, UTV's, Specialty Off-Highway Vehicles, and Motorbikes, who use national forest roads, complete a State approved safety course.
The House Resources and Conservation committee met this afternoon to hear an update from the Office of Species Conservation as was previously reported when they presented to the Senate committee.
February 22, 2011
Posted @ 2:21PM
The House Resources and Senate Resources committees did not hold meetings this afternoon.
As mentioned yesterday, Representative Mike Moyle presented RS20438 which would prohibit the use of an aircraft in the taking of game. This RS has been assigned as HB186, and within the statement of purpose very specifically states that this would prohibit the use of an aircraft in the taking of game. The previous language in statute used the word helicopter, and this bill would change that language from helicopter to aircraft, while also adding in the following language: or the taking of any game from the ground on the same calendar day of 21 such use of aircraft. This bill has currently been printed, and was referred to the House Judiciary Rules and Administration committee for a full hearing at a later date. This bill is currently not on the Wednesday agenda for this committee.
February 21, 2011
Posted @ 2:51PM
This morning the House convened at 10:00am to hold a memorial for deceased lawmakers, followed by hearing of bills on the third reading calendar. HJM2 was introduced, and briefly discussed and passed the House floor with a vote of 56-13 and will now move to the Senate.
This afternoon the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met with the Idaho Council on Industry & Environment to discuss Bull Trout as the House Resources and Conservation Committee did on February 9th.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee met to hear a federal wolf legislation update from Ryan Benson of Wildlife Forever. Mr. Benson displayed a map showing overwhelming support for this legislation, with over 50 co-sponsors from many different states. If wolves are de-listed, they would then be managed by the state of Idaho as are other species. The committee then heard from former Senator Larry Craig speaking in favor of Wildlife Forever and the efforts and legislation currently back in Congress. Mr. Craig stated that he is currently increasingly optimistic that this effort will be successful in the next few years.
Following this update, the committee heard HB85 on Mentored Hunters which would allow the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to establish a mentored hunters program. Representative Moyle stated that he had concern not for the mentored hunter program, but because the piece of legislation doesn't establish the program in statute but rather gives the Department of Fish and Game rule making authority and essentially steps around the Legislature to allow the Executive branch to make the law. The committee then voted on this piece of legislation by voice vote, and Chairman Stevenson questioned the voice vote and asked for a show of hands. With the show of hands, the bill will be sent to the floor with a do pass recommendation on an 8-7 vote.
Lastly, in the House Ways and Means Committee this morning Representative Mike Moyle presented RS20438 which would prohibit the use of an aircraft in the taking of game. The Ways and Means committee secretary was unavailable this afternoon for a copy of the legislation, however it will be posted here when made available.
With the Senate Resources and Environment and the House Resources and Conservation committees on a MWF schedule this week, neither of the committees will be meeting tomorrow afternoon.
February 18, 2011
Posted @ 1:45PM
The Idaho Capital was relatively calm today, at the House Resources and Conservation and the Senate Resources and Environment Committees did not hold hearings. Also, neither of the agriculture committees met today.
HB155 was again on the third reading calendar in the House and passed with a vote of 62-0. Additionally, HJM2 which is the Wilderness Designation bill is currently on the third reading calendar and was held until Monday the 21st.
The House and Senate Resources Committee will be on the MWF schedule next week. The House Resources and Conservation committee will hear a Federal Wolf Legislation update on Monday, followed by four pieces of legislation which are HB85 on Mentored Hunters, HB94 on Injection Wells, HB136 on Watermasters and also HB137 on the Alteration of Channels and Streams.
The Senate Resources and Environment Committee will meet on Monday to hear an update on Bull Trout from the Idaho Council on Industry & Environment as was presented to the House Resources and Conservation Committee February 9th. The committee is also tentatively scheduled to hear HB41 on Wednesday which is dealing with underground storage tanks.
February 17, 2011
Posted @ 4:36PM
Today the House had HB155 on the third reading calendar, however debate on another bill at the beginning of the third reading calendar was debated for today's entire floor session. HB155 will be held on the third reading calendar for one legislative day, and the House will again meet tomorrow at 10am.
This afternoon, the House Resources and Conservation Committee met at 2pm due to a lengthy debate on the House floor to hear a number of RS and pieces of legislation dealing with the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Lands and also outfitters and guides. Of importance was RS20426 which was the House Concurrent Resolution on the rejection of Idapa 13.01.09 dealing with Fish and Game rules on the take of game birds. This RS was presented by Representative Fred Wood, and was moved to pass to the 2nd reading calendar on the House floor by Representative Marv Hagedorn. The committee also discussed HB143 which, as mentioned in a previous report this bill would change Idaho code to allow for any non-resident disabled American veteran to obtain an in-state hunting license when sponsored by a non-profit organization. As further reviewed by Representative Jim Patrick, this is similar to a law that is currently on the books that would allow any resident disabled American veteran that opportunity, but this change would pertain specifically to those non-resident disabled American veterans.
The committee heard some very moving testimony from two veterans regarding this piece of legislation, and following a motion by Representative Lenore Barrett the bill passed the committee and will be sent to the House floor.
There are currently no meetings scheduled for the House Resources and Conservation Committee nor the Senate Resources and Environment Committee for Friday the 18th.
February 16, 2011
Posted @ 6:05PM
This afternoon the Senate Resources and Environment Committee did hold a hearing to discussing underground storage tanks and also the consolidation of drainage districts. The committee also heard a report from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC). None of the pieces of legislation listed to the right were heard in either the House Resources nor the Senate Resources Committees.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow to discuss Department of Fish and Game rules rejection, Department of Lands rule rejection which are both new RS. The committee will also hear H143 dealing with Fish and Game licenses and veterans.
February 15, 2011
Posted @ 3:05PM
This afternoon the House Resources and Conservation Committee met to hear 6 pieces of legislation, four of which deal with geothermal resources, and the last piece of legislation of interest was dealing with wilderness designation (HJM2). As mentioned on February 9th, this House Joint Memorial would make changes to the wilderness designation statute, and would require all wilderness designations to go through a public hearing process. This joint memorial was being presented by Representative Shepherd, and after a small amount of debate by the committee the joint memorial was passed and will be sent to the House floor. For more information about that this House Joint Memorial, click here.
Additionally, take note of the legislation that has been listed to the right. These bills, for the most part have been sitting in committee since their introduction for print in committee. These will be updated on a daily based, so check back daily to see the status of these bills.
The Idaho Statesman ran an article this morning discussing the retirement for Cal Groen from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. To read this article, click here.
February 14, 2011
Posted @ 3:05PM
This afternoon the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to hear from Representative Bert Stevenson with HCR003, which would authorize the Legislative Council to continue an interim committee focusing on the study of natural resources, and more particularly on water resources within the state.
Also, the committee voted on four gubernatorial appointments to the Outfitters and Guides Licensing (Wayne Hunsucker and Tom Long), and also to the Park and Recreation Board (Thomas Crimmins and Randy Doman). All four of these individuals were confirmed by the committee.
Lastly, the House Transportation Committee discussed RS20394 which Revises the procedure for the tax treatment of the off-road use of motor fuels. This RS was approved for print and will be back before the House Transportation Committee at a later date.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee did not meet this afternoon, but plan to meet on the odd days (Tuesday and Thursday) this week.
February 11, 2011
Posted @ 11:22AM
This morning following activities on the House floor, the House Resources and Conservation Committee met to hear two RS dealing with the black bear processing fee, and another dealing with wolves. The first RS dealing with black bears was a technical corrections, and removal of a reference to black bears within the wasting statute. As a reminder, Representative Fred Wood brought forth legislation last year (H416 from 2010) that made changes to the wasting statute. This RS was not discussed, and was sent straight to the second reading calendar on the House floor.
The second RS dealing with wolves was presented by Representative Phil Hart, and would in essence make changes to Idaho code stating support for Governor Otter and his efforts in the wolf management process. Concern was raised by Representative Fred Wood that this would be heading in the wrong direction, and that this is more about the state taking on this issue and monitoring wolves and bringing management back to the state. Representative Fred Wood made a motion to hold the bill at the call of the chair, which was followed by a substitute motion by Representative Barrett to introduce the RS. The committee took a role call vote on the substitute motion to introduce the RS, and the motion failed 5-10 with the following Representatives voting "no": Moyle, Eskridge, Raybould, Bedke, Wood (27), Vander Woude, Pence, Higgins, Lacey and Chairman Stevenson. Committee then took a voice vote on the original motion to hold the RS at the call of the chair, this motion passed with some members of the committee requesting to be recorded as a "no" vote.
February 10, 2011
Posted @ 10:50AM
Today, the House Resources and Conservation nor the Senate Resources and Environment Committees held hearings. The House Resources Committee does plan to hold a meeting Friday afternoon, however the Senate Resources Committee has posted an agenda showing that there will be no meeting on Friday afternoon.
As mentioned in the update yesterday, the Senate Agricultural Committee met this morning to hear RS 20357 dealing with domestic cervidae. There wasn't a specific time as to when this RS would be discussed this morning, it was to be heard following the committees dairy bus tour. The Committee did hear the RS mid-morning, and approved it to be printed. In conversation with the committee secretary, Chairman Corder didn't indicate when this bill would be brought back for a full hearing. Please continue to check the website for more information about this RS, its assigned bill number and when it will be back for a hearing.
February 9, 2011
Posted @ 4:04PMUpdated @ 5:40PM
Update: An agenda has been posted for the Senate Agricultural Committee stating that the committee will hear RS20357 dealing with domestic cervidae; this will be the industry bill, and note that no testimony will be taken as this is a print hearing. Click here to view the agenda, as the committee will be leaving on a bus tour at 7:15am, and plan to hear the RS upon their return.
This afternoon the House Resources and Conservation Committee met in the Senate Auditorium to hear from the Idaho Council on Industry & Environment, with representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Idaho Office of Species Conservation and the Idaho Water Users Association. The main focus of these presentations was regarding the Bull Trout which was initially listed in 1998. A draft recovery plan was completed in 2004, with the efforts of protecting and preserving critical habitat, focus on recovery efforts and to educate the public. Currently, there are roughly 8,900 miles of Bull Trout habitat in Idaho, and as stated by Brian Kelly of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho is in a good place as far as areas of the state that have a shorter recovery time for Bull Trout habitat. The committee also heard from Nate Fisher of the Office of Species Conservation; Mr. Fisher mainly discussed the current legal situations with the Bull Trout, its habitat and the longevity of the issue being that the Office of Species Conservation has been working on this issue since 1995 when Governor Phil Batt was in office.
Following the hearing in the auditorium, the committee took a brief recess to move across the rotunda into their normal hearing room to discuss a number of RS. The 2 RS that were important to mentioned were dealing with Fish and Game hunting licenses and wilderness designation. The first, RS20261 was presented by Representative Patrick, and would change Idaho code to allow for any non-resident disabled American veteran to obtain an in-state hunting license when sponsored by a non-profit organization. As discussed by the committee, this is similar to a law that is currently on the books that would allow any resident disabled American veteran that opportunity, but this change would pertain specifically to those non-resident disabled American veterans. The second RS, which was RS20293C1 would make changes to wilderness designation statute, requiring all changes in wilderness designation to go through a full public hearing process. Both of these RS were sent to print, and will be back before the committee at a later date.
Additionally, Chairman Stevenson mentioned that the committee will most likely meet on Friday following the adjournment of the House to here a number of RS. Please check the website for additional information as to the topics that those upcoming RS will cover.
February 8, 2011
Posted @ 11:00AM
This morning the Senate Agriculture Committee met at 8am to hear a presentation from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, led by Jeff Gould the Wildlife Bureau Chief, and Sal Palazzolo the Private Lands Coordinator. The presentation started with Mr. Gould discussing Depredation Programs and Landowner Appreciation Permits. Depreciation programs began in 1984 to help with many depredation issues that had come up. In 1990, new law was created to direct funds towards depredation programs and how those programs were conducted, as they would field roughly 700 complaints per year. The funding comes from a surcharge on big game tags. Mr. Gould then briefly discussed landowner appreciation permits, stating that it began in 1990. In 2010, Landowner Appreciation Permits had rule changes which dealt with selling tags, allocation of tags and the requirement of minimum acreage.
The committee then heard from Sal Palazzolo, starting with the topic of the Mule Deer Initiative. This started in 2004, and focused on increasing mule deer populations, increasing hunter satisfaction and to protect and improve habitat. Other habitat improvement programs are funded with sportsman licensing dollars and are targeted towards upland game and waterfowl preservation.
Mr. Palazzolo then discussed the Watershed Initiative, stating that it focused on juniper removal and restoration following range fires. This led into discussion about the 2008 Farm Bill, which is administered by the USDA. Idaho receives roughly $40 million a year for conservation programs through the Farm Bill. These conservation reserve programs cover roughly 32 million acres nationwide and strive to benefit wildlife, agriculture and Idaho citizens. Lastly, Mr. Palazzolo discussed the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Program, or SAFE. This program focuses on protection and preservation of the habitat for Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse. This also lead into his final comments on the Sage Grouse Initiative which is targeted at 11 western states to protect and preserve the habitat for Sage Grouse.
The House Resources and Conservation, nor the Senate Resources and Environment Committees will hold meeting this afternoon. The House Resources and Conservation Committee will meet on Wednesday to hear from the Idaho Council on Industry & Environment. The Senate Resources and Environment Committee has posted an agenda for Wednesday the 9th showing that they will hear one RS dealing with drainage districts, following by confirmation hearings for the Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board and the Parks and Recreation Board. For more information about the four individuals involved in this hearing, view the Senate Resources agenda.
February 7, 2011
Posted @ 4:30PM
This afternoon the House and Senate Resources Committees met in a joint hearing in the Senate Auditorium to discuss and hear from the public regarding S1015 and S1016 which deal with changes to rules pertaining to motorized vehicles, hunting and how the Department of Fish and Game and the Fish and Game Commissioners may regulate that issue. The committee first heard from the sponsor of the both pieces of legislation, Senator Tim Corder. Senator Corder discussed his reasons for bringing the legislation, being that the rule only pertains to one segment or one group of individuals that utilize the areas of regulation, and that others that utilize these areas such as campers and bird watchers are not affects by this rule.
The joint committee then heard from Fish and Game Commissioner Randy Budge, being in opposition to the legislation not because they are opposed to ATV's but because it is the issue of the use of ATV's as an aid to hunting. Commissioner Budge mentioned the support that has been received in public forums for the regulation of ATV's in reference to an aid to hunting.
The joint committee heard a number of people testifying for and against these pieces of legislation, however the committee did not vote today. Please continue to check the website for more information on these bills and when they will be before the Senate Resources and Environment Committee for vote. Also, as mentioned in the previous report, there will be a hearing in the Senate Auditorium on Wednesday February 9th with the Idaho Council on Industry & Environment.
February 4, 2011
Posted @ 8:18AM
Today there are no meeting scheduled for the House Resources and Conservation Committee or the Senate Resources and Environment Committee. As previous mentioned, both committees will hold a joint hearing on Monday February 7th at 1:30pm in the Senate Auditorium. On Wednesday February 9th, there will be another joint hearing with both committees with the Idaho Council on Industry & Environment, also in the Senate Auditorium at 1:30pm.
Reminder: An Action Alert has been posted to take action on SB1016. Contact members of the House Resources and Senate Resources Committees and express your views on the proposed changes in SB1016.
February 3, 2011
Posted @ 4:10PM
The Resources Committees will hold a joint hearing on Monday February 7th to discuss S1015 and S1016 which deal with motorized vehicles and transport an the issue of management as an aid to hunting.
This public hearing will be held at 1:30pm, and note that an action alert has been posted to take action on this issue to oppose SB1016.
This afternoon the House Resources and Conservation Committee met to hear RS20263 dealing with aquifer protection districts. Neither the House Resources and Conservation Committee or the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold meetings tomorrow, Friday the 4th.
February 2, 2011
Posted @ 3:56PM
First thing this morning in the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) the committee held a hearing with the Office of Species Conservation. The office was first created under Governor Dirk Kempthorne. Nate Fisher presents to the committee and discussed 3 main focus areas being wolves, sage grouse and bull trout. First, Mr. Fisher mentioned that the effort of delisting wolves continues with actions in state and in Congress. They are currently looking for depredation funding, and currently compensate roughly 42 cents on the dollar for depredation instances.
On the sage grouse issue, the focus in mainly in Southern Idaho in working with the Sage Grouse Advisory Committee. In March of 2010, the sage grouse was deemed "warranted for listing" but is not currently listed pending annual review.
Lastly, Mr. Fisher briefly discussed the issue of bull trout and mentioned that in October of 2010 the critical habitat was expanded under the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Office of Species Conservation budget is roughly 2% general funds, and is mainly funded with federal funds. Of the FY2012 budget request, 97.7% of the budget request is federal funding. The overall budget request from the office is $22,989,700 with the recommendation from Governor Otter being $22,930,800, a 0.1% decrease from FY2011.
Additionally, the House Resources and Conservation Committee will hold a meeting tomorrow afternoon to discuss RS20263 which deals with Aquifer Protection Districts.
February 1, 2011
Posted @ 2:22PM
This morning the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee heard from the Department of Fish and Game regarding their budget for the upcoming fiscal year. There were questions from the committee of director Cal Groen regarding resident and non-resident hunters, fees, and licensing to hunt on elk farms. There was also a discussion about the role of the department in assistance to other enforcement officers, and the level of training that those members of the department go through to handle situations outside of their regular role within the department.
As mentioned yesterday, the Idaho Congressional delegation is currently moving toward taking action on the wolf issue, and the department reported this morning that they are looking for an opportunity to have additional harvest of wolves in the Lolo zone in north Idaho.
Additionally, the House Resources and Conservation Committee met this afternoon to hear and discussed two RS dealing with Outfitters and Guides, and Fish and Game mentored hunters. The RS dealing with Outfitters and Guides was a fee increase for licensees, which would be a 5 year staged fee increase. The bill was brought forward last year, but was pulled back to allow for additional discussion through the summer months. The mentored hunters bill would allow for an individual go with an authorized hunter for the experience without going through the hunters training classes. This would allow the individual to determine whether or not they would like to go through the rigorous hunter safety program. This RS would not create the program, however it would grant the authority to the commissioners to create a rule to implement such a program. The department also stated that they have seen a decline in the number of hunters in the state, and this would help to recruit new hunters. Representative Moyle stated concern about the proposed legislation, given that it would create this program through rule rather than a change or creation of statute. Representative Moyle was concerned that this was a way around the Legislature, allowing the executive branch to create new rules, which is essentially law.
Both of these RS were approved for print, will be assigned bill numbers and be back before the House Resources and Conservation committee at a later date. The Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a meeting tomorrow afternoon to hear an update of activities from Cal Groen of the Department of Fish and Game. The House Resources and Conservation Committee will most likely meet again on Thursday the 3rd.
January 31, 2011
Posted @ 3:22PM
This afternoon, both the House Resources and Conservation and the Senate Resources and Environment Committees held meeting. First, the House committee heard from the subcommittee on the Department of Fish and Game administrative rules, with rules being approved on all dockets as discussed on the January 28th report aside from the docket dealing with the rules governing the take of upland game birds.
Next, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee was meeting with the Office of Species Conservation (OSC) to discuss the current status of wolves in Idaho. OSC mention that following the Montana Judges ruling, Governor Otter then appealed the ruling in the 9th circuit court of appealing. One of the committee members asked when this appeal, or decision would be final and the presenter from OSC stated that they were not sure of when the results would be available. They also reported that wolf populations continue to expand putting livestock and ungulate populations at more risk. Currently, the 112th Congress may have the ability for legislative approaches of wolf delisting as opposed the the 111th Congress which was controlled by Democrats. OSC mentioned that with Republican control of the House of Representatives, there may be a possibility of action being taken. two new bills were introduced last week, with Congressman Mike Simpson and Congressman Raul Labrador being the co-sponsors, showing that Idaho's delegation remains committed to finding a legislative fix.
The year end population of wolves in Idaho for 2009 was 835, 94 packs and 49 breeding pairs and OSC is projecting a 13% increase in the coming year. On a positive note, depredation of livestock decreased in 2010 from the previous number in 2009, which could be attributed to the prior wolf hunting season.
Tomorrow morning there will be a presentation in the Senate Agricultural committee discussing sheep and range issues, while neither of the House and Senate Resources committees will hold meeting until Wednesday the 2nd.
January 28, 2011
Posted @ 3:00PM
This afternoon the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to vote on a number of pending negotiated rules that had been presented and discussed before the committee on previous dates. The following rules were voted on, all being accepted by the committee:
The committee also took under consideration the approval of Governor Otter's appointments of Commissioner Barowsky and Commissioner Budge on the Fish and Game Commission. Both of these appointments were confirmation and approved, with the exception of Senator Siddoway voting "no" on the confirmation of Commissioner Barowsky. Senator Siddoway mentioned that his reasoning for this vote was because of the answers that Commissioner Barowsky gave when questioned about his decisions on the management of wolves, hunting of wolves and how that affects the ungulate populations.
Both resources committees plan to meet next week, with the Senate committee meeting on Monday the 31st, and the House committee also meeting on Monday.
January 27, 2011
Posted @ 3:45PM
This morning, the Senate Agriculture Committee met with the domestic cervidae issue on their agenda for further discussion. Senator Jeff Siddoway was given the opportunity to discuss in depth the negotiated rule making process, and the current situation with the negotiated rule with domestic cervidae and the previously mentioned piece of legislation that is being crafted with interested parties. Following the information provided by Senator Siddoway, Chairman Corder mentioned that there had been a mistake in the previous motion to delay the hearing of this rule until the date of February 10th, and the committee had actually voted on a substitute motion to end discussion on the rule regarding domestic cervidae. This means that the committee adjourned that previous meeting with not future date scheduled to vote on this rule. Senator Monty Pearce then pulled back on his previous motion to hold the rule until February 10th which was seconded and no longer considered by the committee. Senator Pearce then attempted to make another motion to hold the rule until February 15th, however Chairman Corder did not accept the motion and adjourned the committee with no specific date set to continue or vote on the domestic cervidae rule.
This means that the previous date set to vote on the rule of February 10th at 6:30am is no longer scheduled, and again, no date is currently set to hear this rule. Please check the website for additional updates as this negotiated rule making process continues.
Also, the House Resources and Conservation Committee met this afternoon to hear from the Department of Fish and Game Commissioners. This is different than the Senate Resources and Environment Committee, and the House committee doesn't hold a confirmation hearing. The meeting today with the House Resources Committee was an informative hearing for the committee, and a chance for the commissioners to have an open forum discussion with the committee. Commissioner Wright stood before the committee to discuss a variety of topics, starting with the overall management of wildlife in the state of Idaho. The commissioners discussed how proper wildlife management would happen with the reintroduction of wolves into Idaho, and the use of the 10j rule for the benefit of wild ungulates. The commissioners are in hopes the Fish and Wildlife service will authorize them to proceed with the 10j rule in the lolo zone in north Idaho, however there is currently a pending court challenge in place. In the even that this happens, the commission is ready to move instantly to go to work in the lolo zone.
As you can see from the discussion over the past few days, the discussion of wolves tends to dominate the Resource Committee hearings with the Fish and Game Commissioners on both sides of the rotunda. Commissioner Budge then spoke about the issue of motorized vehicles, and stated that it is often a rule that is put into the place to serve three fundamental purposes, to deal with conflicts with those hunters that use motorized vehicles and those that do not, secondly to deal with increased vulnerability of access to those big game animals, and lastly as a means to provide quality hunting opportunities to sportsmen.
As mentioned in a previous report, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will meet tomorrow the 28th to vote on rules, and the confirmation hearings for Commissioner Barowsky and Commissioner Budge. The House Resources and Conservation Committee will not meet again until next week.
January 26, 2011
Posted @ 3:30PM
The Idaho Fish and Game Commissioners travels to the Idaho Legislature this afternoon to hold a confirmation hearing to confirm Robert Barowsky and Randall Budge to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission for an additional term to expire on June 30, 2014. The committee first heard from Commissioner Barowsky, and discussed some of the successes and concerned that he has seen as a commissioner. Commissioner Barowsky stated that he does support the management of wolves, but mentioned that sterilization of wolves would potentially be very labor intensive. Commissioner Barowsky also mentioned that they have seen growth and success with the fisheries in the state, and that upland game bird populations are doing well, however, he did have concern with the population of big game in the McCall area and areas in north Idaho. Commissioner Barowsky also mentioned that if the 10j rule were in play, they would make the effort to protect the ungulate populations according to the 10j rule.
The committee also heard from Commissioner Budge, a current commissioner from Southwest Idaho. Commissioner Budge mentioned that he feels the commission has been generally effective in there efforts as Fish and Game Commissioners, and that they have made the effort to impose more regulations and work on the controlled hunt issue to manage the mule deer population issue. Commissioner Budge also discussed the current proposed rule change dealing with harvesting chukars from a watercraft or other vessel. He felt that the commission had made the effort to move this rule forward because he felt that this action was not ethical, nor a proper action of a sportsman and created an issue of fair chase for other sportsmen that had made an effort to harvest the animal in a proper manner.
The committee then heard public testimony, followed by bringing the entire group of commissioners to the front podium for additional questions. Not many questions were asked of the panel, however they did hear from former legislator Cameron Wheeler about his 8 years serving on the commission. The committee was adjourned at 3pm this afternoon, and Chairman Pearce asked that the panel of Commissioners make themselves available for additional questions on Wednesday February 2nd. This date is not confirmed, however please check the website for additional updates regarding this follow up hearing with the Fish and Game Commissioners.
Note that the House Resources and Conservation Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow, Thursday the 27th to have a discussion with the Department of Fish and Game Commissioners and the director of the Department of Fish and Game, Cal Groen. Also, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will hold a meeting this Friday to discuss and vote on pending rule changes that have been discussed in committee for the past two weeks, including the two rules heard this afternoon regarding well driller licensing rules and water supply bank rules.
January 25, 2011
Posted @ 2:16PM
This morning the Senate Agriculture Committee met briefly to discuss the rule governing domestic cervidae. Chairman Corder led with this discussion on the agenda, only mentioning that there was a conflict on February 10th as the scheduled date to discuss and vote on the rule. In order to follow the previous motion to hold the rule until February 10th, the committee will meet at 6:30am on February 10th to discuss and vote on the rule.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee also met this afternoon to discuss 5 RS dealing with geothermal issues, with one of the RS being a study on natural resource issues brought forth by Chairman Stevenson. All of the RS before the committee were approved for print, with RS20129 dealing with the study of natural resource issues was approved for print and sent to the second reading calendar. Upon adjournment of the full committee, the Raybould subcommittee met to discuss and vote on two rules, Docket No. 26-0134-101 and Docket No. 26-0120-1001 both presented by the Department of Parks and Recreation. These rules were dealing with the rules governing the Idaho protection against invasive species sticker rule, and also parks and recreation areas and facilities. The invasive species rule simply made a change to the rule allowing for commercial operations with 5+ vessels to hold an affidavit accessible to the enforcement officer either on site, or by follow up which would also be in compliance with the rule. This rule was approved by the subcommittee, and will now move to the full committee for approval.
January 24, 2011
Posted @ 4:23PM
This afternoon the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met to hear a number of rules from the Division Administrator for Forestry and Fire, and the Project Manager for Naviable Waters. The rule of potential interest would be Docket No. 20-0304-1001 dealing with rules governing the regulation of beds, waters, and airspace over navigable lakes in the State of Idaho. There were a few different changes within this docket which are listed below:
The House Resources and Conservation Committee will hold a meeting this week on Tuesday and Thursday, hearing a number of RS from the Department of Lands which can be viewed here. The House committee will also hear two rules in a subcommittee dealing with Idaho Protection Against Invasive Species Sticker Rules, and also Rules Governing the Administration of Park and Recreation Areas and Facilities.
January 21, 2011
Posted @ 2:35PM
The House Resources and Conservation Committee and the Senate Resources and Environment Committee did not hold meetings today. Both committees plan to meet next week. The Senate Resources Committee plans to meet on Monday the 24th to hear from the Department of Parks and Recreation, The Department of Lands and the Department of Water Resources to discuss proposed rule changes. The House Resources and Conservation Committee will meet on Tuesday the 25th to hear 5 new RS, 4 of which deal with geothermal issues. Additionally, the committee will meet on Thursday the 27th to hear from the Department of Fish & Game Commissioners.
This afternoon, Mark Bell, Dennis Radocha, Vance Henry and John Watts met with Senator Tim Corder to discuss what opportunites may be possible with the ruling governing domestic cervidae. Given that the domestic cervidae rule has been held in both agriculture committees shows positive momentum, however, more information may be available Monday the 24th as to the next steps that will be taken to find resolution on this issue. Please continue to check the website for more information next week.
January 20, 2011
Posted @ 2:07PM
This morning the Senate Agriculture Committee met at 8:00AM to discuss a number of rules, but most importantly the rule governing domestic cervidae as mentioned in yesterday's report. When the committee began to hear this rule, Dr. Bill Barton was the initial presenter of the rule change discussing the past process of how this rule came about, who was involved and also who chose to not engage in the rule discussion. Dr. Barton stated that one of the most important components of this rule change was to make sure that those involved were being fiscally responsible in the process, and that this rule changes also provided more flexibility to the Department of Agriculture when dealing with domestic cervidae and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Dr. Barton also stated that even though there hasn't been a positive test for CWD, the department is still required to test, but this rule changes would decrease that current rule requirement by adapting risk assessments within the testing process.
There were members of ISCAC present at the meeting this morning, and the committee heard from Mark Bell. Unfortunately, through a number of motions from members of the committee, the rule governing domestic cervidae was voted to be held until February 10th allowing for collaboration from interested parties, and to allow for a draft piece of legislation to be brought forward. Senator Monty Pearce made the original motion to hold the rule until that date, while the substitute motion was made by Senator Les Bock to accept the rule. The substitute motion failed on a role call vote, and the rule will in fact be held until February 10th for additional consideration.
Thank you to all of the individuals who took action on the Action Alert posted yesterday regarding this proposed rule change. Please continue to check back for upcoming legislative updates on the status of this rule, and other important rules and pieces of legislation.
Lastly, the House Agriculture Committee met this afternoon to consider the recommendations from the Representative Andrus subcommittee specifically the rule regarding domestic cervidae. As a reminder, this rule was voted on in the Andrus subcommittee with a 3-1 vote recommending that the full committee reject the rule change. The committee briefly discussed the rule dealing with domestic cervidae; at the request of Chairman Tom Trail, Vice Chairman Ken Andrus made a motion that the rule be held in committee until February 6th, allowing all parties involved to find resolve on the issue.
January 19, 2011
Posted @ 3:36PM
Earlier this week the Senate Resources and Environment Committee met and discussed a number of rules brought forth by the Department of Fish and Game which can be seen here. At the beginning of the meeting discussing these rules, Chairman Bair mentions that they would like to hear all of the rules and then vote following the discussion. Following the presentation of these rules, the committee passed Docket No. 13-0106-101, and voted to hold Docket No. 13-0108-1001. The rest of the rules that were listed on the agenda were only read and discussed, no action was taken.
Be informed that the Senate Agriculture Committee will be hearing rules tomorrow morning at 8:00am, specifically Rule 02.04.19 dealing with Governing Domestic Cervidae. Please click here to take action on this action alert (This alert is no longer available). This particular rule was before the House Resources and Conservation Andrus subcommittee. This rule was posted yesterday prior to the subcommittee hearing, and received a 3-1 vote to be rejected.
January 18, 2011
Posted @ 12:55PM
Today, neither the House nor the Senate Resources Committees will hold meeting, however both committees plan to meet on Wednesday afternoon. The Senate Resources & Environment Committee has posted a schedule which will cover rules regarding water quality, environmental quality, the invasive species sticker and rules regarding the Department of Parks and Recreation. The Senate schedule is available here. If additional schedule information is made available, the information will be posted later this afternoon.
Also, there have been two pieces of legislation that have begun to move forward in the Senate, S1015 and S1016. Both of these pieces of legislation deal with motorized vehicles; as these begin to move forward, look for more information following the Senate Committee Hearing.
January 17, 2011
Posted @ 4:15PM
Today the House Resources & Conservation Committee met to hear a presentation from the Idaho Council on Industry & Environment regarding rules and regulations for environmental quality. The committee heard from Jack Lyman of the Idaho Mining Association discussing some of the rule changes that have been out into place in Idaho code. The committee then heard from Joan Cloonan of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to continue discussing some of the rule changes specific to air quality. Ms. Cloonan then discussed guidance and rule making at the department, and some of the methods to changing or adopting new rules.
Representative Moyle and other legislators displayed concern about the department functioning on guidance rather than rules, concerned that the guidance didn't come before the legislature for approval. Given that this was solely a presentation, no action was taken this afternoon regarding rules and guidance with the department of environmental quality. The committee continued to discuss the leniency of guidance from the department.
Chairman Stevenson mentioned that there would be a meeting held on Wednesday the 19th, and would hear from the Department of Parks and Recreation and also see the first RS brought before the committee.
January 13, 2011
Posted @ 3:15PM
This afternoon the House Resources and Conservation Committee did not meet, allowing the Rep. Fred Wood subcommittee meet to discuss rules and rule changes with representatives from the Department of Fish & Game. In all, there were 11 different rule dockets that were discussed which can be seen by clicking on the image of the agenda to the right.
All of these listed docket numbers but one were moved through the subcommittee with recommendation that the full committee accept the proposed rule changes. The one rule that was not recommended for adoption was docket number 13-0108-1001 which deals with rules governing the taking of upland game birds from watercraft. This was the only rule of the 11 that received public comment prior to today's hearing. Representative Moyle moved that the subcommittee recommend that the full committee reject this rule. Administrative rules for docket 13-0108-1001 can be found here. Throughout the hearing today with the Department of Fish & Game, no one in the audience stood to testify for or against any of the items listed on the displayed agenda.
Additionally, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee will not hold a meeting tomorrow, Friday the 14th.
January 12, 2011
Posted @ 2:18PM
The Senate Resources and Environment Committee met this afternoon to discuss their assignments, and to introduce new senators on the committee. The new chairman of the committee is Senator Monty Pearce, with the 2 new members being Senator Bob Geddes and Senator Lee Heider. The committee will meet again next week with the Department of Fish & Game on Monday the 17th, and then with the Department of Environmental Quality on Wednesday the 19th to discuss rules.
January 11, 2011
Posted @ 3:34PM
Today the House Resources and Conservation Committee met for an organizational meeting, mainly to welcome new members to the committee. There are 4 new members on the committee this year: Representative Marc Gibbs, Representative John Vander Woude, Representative Elfreda Higgins and Representative Roy Lacey. Lastly, the committee chairman mentioned a tentatively scheduled meeting with the Idaho Fish and Game on January 19th, with discussion on rules to be tentatively held on January 17th.
December 7, 2010
Posted @ 9:44AM
Currently, there are no updates available for the 2011 Legislative Session. Session will begin on January 10, 2011. Please check back at the Idaho Sportsmen's Connection website for additional updates at that time.