Sitting on the floor in my big black seat with my electronic voting board on my computer in front of me. We are beginning debate on a long list of bills. This is the first day since Rep. Lake’s stroke that we will begin again to tackle our backlog of legislation and send substantial numbers of bills to the Senate.
The chair of JFAC, our Budget Committee is arguing we don’t have the money to make misdemeanor probation a priority. This is the kind of argument which has filled prisons. It is also a bit of a turf battle for JFAC as they don’t want to have funding detour around the Budgeting process and come automatically from liquor funds. More successful probation and support for minor offenders will lead to fewer serious offenses, especially for substance abuse and mental health related crimes which make up a large portion of the crimes which fill costly prison cells.
The other key issue for saving long term prison costs at more than $50 a day would be helping the children and families of Idaho get kids off to the best start in education so they find meaning in their lives, success in school and positive experiences and support to stay off drugs.
We should be looking to find what every student
has a talent for, what every student is good at, what will motivate them to become engaged. That is the best of education. That is
how we can finally address the root causes and finally be successful at keeping them motivated to learn, keeping them strong emotionally
and out of the state of despair which leads to drug use, depression, suicide
and juvenile crime.
It amuses me looking at today’s agenda, that Idaho law appears to require a license for caring for plants but I know does not require one for the caring for young children in day care centers. http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/H0392.html
We graze a huge range of issues today. Fertilizer, trucks, colleges, health care, juries. I just voted no on a bill to release the state from a requirement that Idaho based contractors be included in those who are hired to work on the state Capitol restoration. It seems foolish not to hire as many Idaho based contractors as possible since that is the most sound policy for our economy, keeping state tax dollars in state to re-circulate.