‘Informed consent’ measure clears House
The Idaho House passed legislation Monday to strengthen “informed consent” requirements for women seeking abortions. The bill now goes to the governor.
SB 1482a would fine doctors who don’t follow rules requiring them to give women seeking abortions state-funded literature about the procedure and about fetal development and imposing other requirements.
“It’s noble, it is good, it will empower women and most importantly, it will save lives,” said Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls, the bill’s House floor sponsor.
The bill then passed 50-14. It had earlier passed the Senate, 30-5.
Rep. Bill Sali, R-Kuna, offered an apology to the House for causing a brouhaha Friday, when his repeated claims that abortion is linked to breast cancer prompted a partial walkout and a premature adjournment of the day’s House session.
“I never intended to cause anybody any discomfort,” Sali told the House. He said he wasn’t sure if there were any reason for an apology, but, “I guess if there’s one out there, I apologize for it.”
– Betsy Z. Russell
Kempthorne signs bill expanding tax break
Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has signed into law HB 422, a measure to expand the “circuit breaker” property tax break for low-income elderly or disabled homeowners.
The bill earlier passed both houses of the Legislature unanimously. It raises the income threshold for the tax break from $22,500 to $28,000, increases the maximum benefit from $1,100 to $1,320, and indexes the income threshold to poverty levels in future years.
The bill was among an array signed by the governor last week, including various pieces of the state budget. Also among the bills signed were:
“HB 713a, banning sex offenders from school grounds, with only narrow exceptions, such as for a parent picking up his or her child from school.
“HB 791, imposing a two-year moratorium on any new coal-fired power plant in Idaho.
“HB 853, allowing four Idaho art-film movie houses in the Sun Valley and Boise areas to continue to sell beer and wine under existing licenses.
– Betsy Z. Russell
Post Falls
School board alumnus wants the job again
Bruce Howard, a former Post Falls school board member, is running again for the job.
Howard submitted his papers Monday to officially become a candidate in the May 16 election for Zone 1, a seat held by Alison McArthur.
McArthur said she will decide whether to run for re-election Friday, the filing deadline.
As the regional account manager for a pharmaceutical company, Howard said he believes he has the business background to help the district with the financial pressures that come with explosive population growth.
“I’m looking to be a fiscal hawk when it comes to spending the taxpayers’ money and do the most possible to ensure educational opportunities for every student,” said Howard, whose three-year term on the school board expired in 2004.
“There are potential ways to afford the programs that are necessary by doing a more frequent review of the value of the programs and determining whether or not it supports the best interest of the community,” he added. “What I bring to the board is a fair and balanced approach to making difficult personnel and financial decisions, whether they”re popular or not.”
Howard has a son and daughter, both students at River City Middle School in Post Falls.
– Rasha Madkour