Latest news with #IdahoHouseofRepresentatives
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho LWV sought state's help (and didn't get it) to raise awareness of Parental Choice Tax Credit
Members of the Idaho House of Representatives hold a floor session on March 10, 2025, at the Idaho Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The co-president of the League of Women of Voters of Idaho said state agencies including Gov. Brad Little's office and the Idaho State Tax Commission have not accepted the league's invitation to work together on a public awareness campaign highlighting a new state education tax credit Little signed into law this year. Founded in 1920, the League of Women Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to increase voter participation and access, and inform the public about major policy issues. Co-President Jean Henscheid said members of the league tried working for weeks with the Idaho State Tax Commission and Little's office to create a public awareness campaign around the new Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit. The law has been effective for nearly six months. Henscheid said members of the league felt it was important to try to facilitate a discussion or public forum on how families can participate in the tax credit and how accountability will work. 'Over the course of the 80 years we have been active in Idaho we have provided dozens, if not hundreds, of opportunities for public education events including candidate forums, roundtable discussions, community events asking people what they think of particular polices and providing them with the kind of information they need to be informed voters,' Henscheid said. 'Even in its embryonic state, there is enough interest in this $50 million initiative that we felt it would be a service to the public to offer and to facilitate it, which is what the league has done for 80 years,' Henscheid said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Idaho State Tax Commission said the state does not yet have answers to many of the questions the League of Women Voters of Idaho gathered for a public awareness campaign. 'We're still working out the details of the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit program,' Idaho State Tax Commission public information officer Renee Eymann said Wednesday. 'This is a complex piece of legislation, and we want to have the correct information available.' The law creating the tax credit has already taken effect. House Bill 93 was written so that it took effect retroactively on Jan. 1, 2025. The new credit in House Bill 93 provides up to a $5,000 refundable tax credit for qualifying education expenses, including tuition at a private, religious school. Under the law, parents, guardians or foster parents can receive the credit for qualified expenses such as private school tuition and fees. Eymann said officials with the Idaho State Tax Commission are still: Reviewing the definitions as they relate to taxes Looking at the reporting requirements so the commission can roll them into the application process Determining the commission's administrative duties and how they'll align with the law's requirements Henscheid said the league was open to all sorts of ideas for a public forum or public awareness campaign – including a town hall event, a webinar, a literature campaign or a Q&A of some format. 'If they thought meeting on aisle 12 at Walmart and talking to people about it would help, we would have done it, Henscheid said. During his Jan. 6 State of the State address Little said: 'I recognize the growing desire to expand school choice, especially for students with unique physical or developmental conditions.' Little then recommended spending $50 million 'to further expand education options for Idaho families,' and he signed House Bill 93 into law on Feb. 27. CONTACT US For this article, Little's office referred questions about the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit and the League of Women Voters of Idaho's outreach efforts to the Idaho State Tax Commission. Parents will be able to apply for the new Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit on Jan. 15, 2026, Eymann said. Once the Idaho State Tax Commission has the details and requirements of the new law sorted out, officials will seek to share those details with the public, the commission said. 'As we finalize more information, we'll be sharing it with all groups that are willing to help us spread the word,' Eymann said. 'This will include issuing news releases, compiling frequently asked questions, providing steps on how to fill out the application for the credit, and explaining what 300% below poverty level means.' Financial Information How do tax credits work in general? Are there examples similar to the Parental Choice Tax Credit Program? Will the same system used for determining qualified expenses through the Empowering Parents grants be used for the Parental Choice Tax Credit Program? Who will be responsible for determining the eligibility of individual family expenses (e.g. qualified instructional materials or travel)? Will the Empowering Parents grants program process be combined with this process? Will levels of compliance and noncompliance be reported publicly (see also accountability Question #23 below) Can families who do not file taxes apply? Could you clarify the following: Parents seeking an advanced payment may also receive a tax credit in the same year. Is that correct? Does that mean one student could receive as much as $10,000 or $15,000 during the first year of eligibility? Is there a limit to the number of children per household who may be eligible for the tax credit? Will a student who registers for an enrichment program, after school activity, or music lesson through a public school, public charter school, public virtual charter school, public magnet school, or part-time public kindergarten while they are using the tax credit forfeit the entire credit for that term? How will this impact future applications? Who will be tasked with tracking ineligible enrollment and recovering the tax credit? Will a nonpublic school that disenrolls a student during an academic term in which a tax credit is being used retain the tax credit funds? If not, will the remaining funds be returned to the state or to parents? Who will be tasked with tracking this? Will a closing nonpublic school receiving tax credit funds retain those funds or return the remainder to the parents? Do closing nonpublic schools have any obligations to enrolled students using the tax credit funds? Application Process What information will be required on the application form? How was the 60-day application window determined? Is this like other programs? Will parents whose modified adjusted gross income does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level have an early window during the 60 days to apply? If not, how will the preference process work? The law says parents who are reapplying will be given preference over parents who qualify under the federal poverty level criteria. This seems to shift the program's priorities from the first year. Is this correct? Will parents have someone to help them through the application process? Student Learning The law states that tax credits may be used to cover academic instruction in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social science. Who will be tasked with verifying (and reverifying) that these subjects are taught? Will it be a self-report by the school? Who will be tasked with defining a portfolio of evidence or learning record that indicates the student's growth? Will this be up to each school? Will portfolios and learning records be housed at the Tax Commission? If so, will they be secured? Does the student retain ownership of the intellectual property in these documents? Who will conduct the audit of these records to establish that the instruction meets the requirements listed in Question 14 above? What does 'sufficient' evidence for an audit mean? Accountability Could you tell us more about what is meant by an 'accredited' school? How will parents reapplying for the program certify that they have completed the mandatory satisfaction and engagement survey? What evidence will be required? Will someone be tasked with ensuring that students with disabilities are receiving services under 20 U.S.C. 1412 of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? Will parents of students with disabilities have an advocate who will help students get the help they need? What remedy will be applied if the Tax Commission determines that services mandated by federal law are not provided by the nonpublic school to students with disabilities? The law states that its provisions shall not be construed to permit any government agency to exercise control or supervision over any nonpublic school student and nonpublic schools shall not be required to alter their creeds, practices, admissions policies, or curriculum in order to accept students using parental choice tax credits. Are remedies through the state available to parents if schools fail to comply with the disabilities education act or are identified through the satisfaction and engagement survey as failing in their duty to students? Do the Legislature, Governor's Office, or Tax Commission constitute government entities not permitted to control or supervise nonpublic school students or impact creeds, practices, admissions policies, or curriculum of nonpublic schools? If not, why is this the case? Which state employee or employees will be responsible for developing the mandatory satisfaction and engagement survey? Will results be available to participating parents, nonpublic schools, or other stakeholder groups outside the Tax Commission, the governor, and relevant legislative leadership and committees? Will results be made available to the public as state-generated documents? Will results be analyzed? If yes, by whom and for what purpose? Will results be used to improve the program, the nonpublic schools, or student learning? Will results of the annual program report to the governor and relevant legislative leadership and committees be made public and/or used to inform program improvement? SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho House passes state's Medicaid budget, sending bill to governor
Members of the Idaho House of Representatives hold a floor session on March 10, 2025, at the Idaho Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Legislature this week approved an additional portion of Idaho Medicaid's budget, sending the bill to Gov. Brad Little for final consideration. Senate Bill 1201 would allocate nearly $674.2 million for Idaho Medicaid. Most of the funds — about $515.1 million — will come from the federal government, with the state's general fund contributing $70.1 million. The budget bill would fund a mix of largely administrative programs, including some that are required by the federal government or court order, along with a complex hospital tax structure. The Idaho House passed the bill on a 40-30 vote Wednesday, two days after the Senate passed the bill on a 22-13 vote. Idaho Medicaid is the state's largest government program that offers health insurance assistance to roughly 262,000 Idahoans. All told, Idaho's total Medicaid budget for next fiscal year could be almost $5.25 billion, an 11.5% growth from this fiscal year. Most of next year's budget — $3.4 billion — is set to come from the federal government, which funds most regular Medicaid costs for Idaho and 90% of Medicaid expansion's costs. The state's general fund would contribute a little less than $1 billion to Idaho Medicaid's total budget next year. The 2026 fiscal year starts in July. The bill also cuts $15.9 million in Medicaid expenses, anticipating that amount in savings from House Bill 345, a sweeping Medicaid policy reform bill Little signed that calls for work requirements, privatized Medicaid benefit management and more. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX For the past two years, Idaho's powerful budget-setting committee has used a new practice of splitting state agencies budget bills in two categories. So-called maintenance budgets just include enough funds for essential services. New spending is included in so-called enhancement budgets, like Senate Bill 1201. Idaho's budget committee, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, crafted the budget bill March 21. But 'these are not new programs' they are 'ongoing enhancements,' bill cosponsor Rep. Rod Furniss, R-Rigby, told House lawmakers in debate Wednesday. 'Many items on this budget … are expenses we've incurred. And we have an invoice for, that we need to pay,' Furniss told House lawmakers. 'These are hospital stays. These are people in homes. These are infants with brain tumors. The list goes on and on — of people that we're helping in the state of Idaho that can't help themselves.' The House's debate, which lasted over half an hour, rehashed Republican Idaho lawmakers yearslong concerns over Idaho Medicaid's growing budget. It also was another example of a newer trend this year — of state lawmakers trying to (with some success) reject state agency enhancement budgets. Calling next year's Medicaid total budget the largest Idaho has ever had, Rep. Faye Thompson, R-McCall, said she couldn't vote for a budget of this size. 'This comes at a very great cost to the working man. And it comes at a very great cost to generations that follow us, and that also includes everybody in this room,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho House passes budget for Vocational Rehabilitation program facing financial shortfall
Members of the Idaho House of Representatives hold a floor session on March 10, 2025, at the Idaho Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho House of Representatives voted Friday to approve next year's budget for the embattled Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX House Bill 460 is a 2026 budget enhancement for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Vocational Rehabilitation is a state/federal program that seeks to help people with disabilities secure and retain employment, according to the division's website. At the time that the division's financial troubles came to light last year, Vocational Rehabilitation was serving about 8,000 Idahoans with disabilities. A year ago, at the very end of the 2024 legislative session, the former administrator of Vocational Rehabilitation suddenly told the Idaho Legislature's Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the division was out of money and would be unable to pay its bills, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC, is a powerful legislative committee that sets the budgets for every state agency and department every year. Since the financial problems came to light publicly, the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration (which is part of the U.S. Department of Education) notified the state that the Vocational Rehabilitation grant was considered high risk because of significant concerns about the division's financial accountability, the Sun previously reported. In September, the Sun reported Vocational Rehabilitation was offered $10 million in emergency federal funding to help the division pay for people the division has already committed to helping. In order to fully access the federal funds, Idaho would need to provide $2.7 million in state funds. CONTACT US Fast forward to Friday, and House Bill 460 provides $35,000 in additional funding for the fiscal year 2026 budget for interpreter services and a one-time $4.4 million supplemental funding appropriation for the current fiscal year 2025 budget. The supplemental funding includes $2.7 million as a state match to allow Vocational Rehabilitation to access $10 million in emergency federal funds intended to help the agency stay afloat and $1.7 million for client services that have already been provided but are not eligible for federal reimbursement. Idaho's state government runs on a fiscal year calendar. The current 2025 fiscal year ends June 30, and the 2026 fiscal year begins July 1. Rep. Wendy Horman, an Idaho Falls Republican who serves as co-chair of JFAC, acknowledged the division's financial concerns Friday and said Vocational Rehabilitation is under new leadership. 'I must give praise to the interim director, who stepped into a difficult situation and is trying to make sense of what's going on, but it's a very complicated situation,' Horman said. Without any debate, the Idaho House voted 49-20 to pass the Vocational Rehabilitation budget bill. House Bill 460 heads next to the Idaho Senate for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho House passes Water Resources budget with $30M for infrastructure projects
The Idaho State Capitol rotunda is pictured in this Jan. 23, 2024, photo. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho House of Representatives voted 56-13 on Thursday to pass the Idaho Department of Water Resources budget with $30 million in new funding for water infrastructure projects. Idaho water issues came to a head last May when the Idaho Department of Water Resources director issued a curtailment order requiring 6,400 junior water rights holders who pump off the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer to shut off their water in order to protect senior water rights holders from a forecasted shortfall. The curtailment order was in place for about three weeks until the two sides reached an agreement that resolved the issue for 2024. The two sides then continued negotiations until the Surface Water Coalition and Idaho Groundwater Association reached a long-term settlement agreement last fall. Then, in conjunction with his Jan. 6 State of the State address, Idaho Gov. Brad Little called for spending $30 million on water projects to increase water levels in the aquifer and support the settlement agreement. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The $30 million was included in House Bill 445, the fiscal year 2026 budget enhancements for the Idaho Department of Water Resources, which the Idaho House took up Thursday. Several legislators stood up on the House floor and made passionate speeches in favor of approving the funding and the budget. 'Water is the lifeblood of our state,' Rep. David Cannon, R-Blackfoot, said. 'Water is the lifeblood of my legislative district. There is no more urgent issue in the immediate term or in the medium term or in the long term to the state of Idaho than water. And in my view, House Bill 445, is one of the most important bills to come through this session. And I urge unity. I urge the state to join together on this issue for the betterment of Idaho and for the protection of Idaho water going forward.' Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, an Idaho Falls Republican and chair of the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, said there are more water projects than there is money to go around, and many projects take multiple years to complete. But Mickelsen said legislators have a responsibility to protect water resources. She described investments in water projects as investments in the state's overall economy. 'I had ancestors that came and dug the very beginning of the canals in Taylor, Idaho,' Mickelsen said. 'And now I sit here and I look and we're not going to sacrifice anything to keep these waterways and this aquifer healthy? We could have the problems of the Ogallala (Aquifer) that are in Nebraska and Kansas, and they are a declining resource that they may not be able to save. The lucky thing for Idaho is we have plenty of water, but we have to make the investment to protect the resource that we have.' Not every legislator agreed with spending the money, however. CONTACT US 'I understand the importance of water in our state,' Rep. David Leavitt, R-Idaho Falls, said. 'It is the lifeblood of our state. It's what makes everything function, every single industry. But the reality is this is $30 million. This is a massive amount of money. And with this money, we don't know where it's going to be spent.' Several legislators pushed back, saying it is not true that the state doesn't know where the money is going or what the projects are for. Page 2 of the bill, beginning on line 38, states projects shall prioritize aquifer recharge, groundwater management, development and rehabilitation of water storage and conveyance systems, including reservoirs, diversion structures, pipelines and canals, water supply and delivery improvements that enhance efficiency and conservation, emergency water repairs and upgrades to ensure the reliance of vital water systems. Additionally, Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, passed out documents to all legislators Thursday outlining specific water projects. 'That's why I handed out the list of projects – so you all can see this is not a secret,' Horman said. 'If you're not knowing what these projects are, it's only because you're not looking. Here they are!' After a passionate, hourlong debate the Idaho House voted 56-13 to pass the budget with the $30 million for water projects. House Bill 445 heads next to the Idaho Senate for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho Senate passes bill to prevent local, state governments from displaying some flags
Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, said the bill targets her city and the neighborhood she represents that flies pride flags across Harrison Boulevard in North Boise. (Mia Maldonado/Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Senate in a 20-11 vote on Wednesday advanced a bill to prevent government entities from displaying certain flags. House Bill 96 prevents government entities from displaying flags on its properties, with exceptions to: The U.S. flag The official flag of a government entity U.S. state flags Military flags POW/MIA flags Tribe flags Country flags to commemorate special occasions Flags of Idaho colleges, universities and schools The bill already passed the Idaho House of Representatives in a 53-17 vote. The bill now heads to the governor's desk where he can sign it, let it become law without his signature or veto it. The bill sponsor, Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d'Alene, said the bill 'isn't stifling freedom of speech,' and local and state governments should remain neutral. Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, asked if it would impact Bonners Ferry, a town he represents which flies a Canadian flag at the entrance of the city to welcome Canadian visitors. 'It's hard to say if that's a special occasion, I mean being a border town, I think it is understood as something that's important, and it does allow for official flags of countries other than the United States,' Toews said. 'It's a little bit of a gray area to be honest.' Woodward joined three other republicans to vote alongside Democrats against this bill, including Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls; Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls; and Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon. Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, said the bill targets her city and the neighborhood she represents that flies pride flags across Harrison Boulevard in North Boise. 'I understand that in my neighborhood now, when we want to celebrate and unite under this rainbow flag and support our community, that is going to be taken from us by the state,' she said. 'This is two blocks off my street. Every time those flags get hung, big groups of people go out to celebrate because we welcome everyone in my district. I think this is far overreach.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
