Resolutions Passed, March 17th, BCRCC Meeting

The following resolutions passed at the March 17th, BCRCC meeting.

Lisa Keller, BCRCC 2nd Vice Chair and Chairman, Nominating and Rules Committee.

Resolution Amending Bylaws


NOW THEREFORE be it RESOLVED, that the bylaws of the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee be, and the same are hereby amended as follows:

1. ARTICLE III, SECTION 6:, Subsection 3. "Republican Office Holders and Elected Officials", number 1. shall be deleted and replaced with the following language:

1. In the event they are not already PCOs, and so long as they are residents of Bonneville County, Republican office holders (including all elected county officials, state legislators, state constitutional officers and federal legislators) shall be honorary members of the Bonneville County Republican Central committee, with the right to attend meetings of said committee and to express opinions and comments and offer advice on all matters considered at such meetings, but shall not be entitled to offer motions or to vote.

2. ARTICLE IV, SECTION 2: "Extended voting rights", shall be amended by deleting all of the language under number 7. regarding "Elected Republican Office Holders", and renumbering the following subsection, now number 8., by replacing such number 8 with the number 7.






Tim Urling, BCRCC 3rd Vice Chair and Chairman, Issues and Legislative Advisory Committee


Resolution Opposing Tax Money to Subsidized the Idaho Falls Events Center


WHEREAS, it is anathema to the Proper Role of Government to use public money to subsidize a business entity and compete in the free market system, and

WHEREAS, increasing taxes to provide entertainment makes government bigger and diminishes freedom, and
WHEREAS, the proposed Idaho Falls events center will use tax dollars for its construction, and maintenance,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BONNEVILLE COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO hereby opposes a tax-supported Idaho Falls events center.




Bonneville County Resolution Vote of Disappointment in Senators Davis and Hill, and Attorney General Wasden


WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the entire scope of federal power as that specifically authorized by the Constitution of the United States, which does not include health care; and


WHEREAS, Nullification is historical, moral and Constitutional; and


WHEREAS, Many Constitutional Scholars have indicated the Constitutionality of Nullification, including Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison; and


WHEREAS, the Idaho State Republican Convention passed, with a super majority, a resolution, supporting State Rights and Nullification ; and


WHEREAS, the Bonneville County Republican Party passed, with a super majority, a resolution supporting State Rights and Nullification; and


WHEREAS, the Idaho State House of Representatives passed, with a super majority HB 117; and


WHEREAS, Governor Butch Otter strongly supports State Rights and Nullification and indicated he would sign HB 117; and


WHEREAS, HB 117 regarding State Rights and Nullification was killed in committee thus preventing debate and a vote of the full senate;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE BONNEVILLE COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ISSUES A LETTER OF DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE KILLING OF HB 117 REGARDING STATE RIGHTS AND NULLIFICATION AND RESPECTFULLY REQUESTS SENATORS BART DAVIS AND BRENT HILL AS WELL AS ATTORNEY GENERAL LAWRENCE WASDEN RECONSIDER THEIR POSITIONS ON LEGISLATION REGARDING STATE RIGHTS AND NULLIFICATION.

House Highlights 3/16/2011

House Highlights
By Tom Loertscher

Sometimes in life things seem to come full circle. I've seen the Legislature respond to problems and put solutions in place only to find out later that the changes made either haven't worked or have created new problems. So in an effort to fix those things we tend to go right back to where we started.

A case in point is the reworking of the Medicaid law. Over the years the Legislature has put things in place to make it plain how programs would be reimbursed, how certain populations would be eligible for the programs, and other provisions that have sprung out of years of confusing rule-making by the Department of Health and Welfare. There were, of course, good reasons for having done that but one of those reasons was not necessarily to save money.

On Tuesday afternoon we had a very large group of people assemble outside the auditorium where there was a joint House and Senate Health and Welfare Committee having a hearing about proposed cuts to Medicaid. It was one of those marathon meetings of which I have attended many. Out of that meeting and in conjunction with negotiations that were taking place behind the scenes, many changes were put into the legislation. On Thursday, one of those things that most folks say is difficult to observe (and some folks say is dangerous) was the writing of legislation by committee. The outcome takes us full circle putting us in exactly the same place we were several years ago. Most of the changes allow the department to make changes by rule rather than having it done by statute.

What was even more interesting about this process was that most people who are concerned with the cuts seem to be pleased with what was done. One of the areas most carefully considered was how the trimming of Medicaid will affect the developmentally disabled. Most around the table thought that we had at least addressed the majority of the concerns. Time will tell.

By now I'm sure that you've heard about House Bill 222 which would allow for concealed carry permitted individuals to carry weapons on college campuses. The discussion on that bill spilled over into two days, which is something I had not anticipated. The bill was sent to the floor of the house for further discussion and that too will be a lively one on the house floor. One of the issues that came up in the committee, was just how many law-abiding permit holders already take weapons onto campuses not knowing there are policies in place from the Universities that would prevent them from doing so. Even more alarming is that those folks who do not have concealed weapons permits are also carrying weapons on the campuses. It will be interesting to see how the vote comes out in the house.

We are moving full steam ahead at this point with several budget bills on the agenda for the coming week. The challenge now is to consider all of the house legislation and get it sent to the Senate and then getting all those Senate bills passed (or not) so that we can go home. In the western part of the state the ground is bare which is nowhere near what it looks like in our part of the world. I was commenting to Linda over the weekend that it seems like the weather has tipped over just a bit and that spring just might get here soon. Hold that thought, it's still freezing every night and the ground is covered with snow.

House Highlights 3/2/11

House Highlights
By Tom Loertscher

I'll bet you've seen the posters around some businesses that come from a website called despair.com. I've rather enjoyed some of the sayings over the years and one that I ran across this last week has to do with what is happening right now in the legislature. The one I am talking about is a picture of a tornado and the title of it is Change. It goes like this. "When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can turn into deadly projectiles." What we are experiencing here with the debate on education is certainly not trivial, but as we know the little details of things seem to become projectiles at some time or other.

We as human beings tend to resist change with everything we have. It may be just because we have some fear of the unknown or that we just have a hard time getting our arms around a new concept. There is a lot of resistance around this place mostly from outside, from various groups that hate to see change occur in the way we educate students. I suppose I'm one of those who likes to be an innovator and I can't blame Superintendent Luna for trying to bring about change. New methods are worth exploring and if all of the dire reports about how we are doing in education in Idaho have any validity, we definitely do need to do something. I'm just not sure that this plan is the something we need to do. Everywhere I went over the weekend I was asked about the "Luna" plan.

At the first of the week we had the young 4-H kids from our area come for the annual Know Your Government conference. It was a pleasure to sit with kids from our area and one of the first things they asked about was the new plan for education. I turned the tables on them and asked what they thought of Superintendent Luna's program. To a person they said that they didn't like the idea and had some concrete reasons why they didn't think it was good. I told him that I thought they were very fortunate to live in the times they do, when they have access to so much information and the ability to learn so much from the resources they have. I asked them if they would be willing to help in the design of the next generation of learning in the classroom. They indicated a willingness to do so. I am impressed with the quality of kids that we have and that they are able to figure out ways of doing things that we in the older generation haven’t dreamed of.

There is one thing that I know for sure and that is that I do not have all the answers. What I would like to see us do at this point is to take a deep breath, step back and try to get buy-in over this next year into programs that teachers, administrators, students, and parents can help implement. I really think that's the only way that education reform can happen with any degree of success.

Several years ago while meeting with teachers, I told them that I would be willing to meet with them anytime to discuss education and some of the problems that they face. That invitation is still extended. All good ideas take time to develop and to implement correctly. We mandate too much from the legislature, demanding things that do not improve education that just cost money. We need to stop mandating and this is the right year to start.