Cancer awareness hits road

BOISE – Post Falls resident Tracey Brown, the reigning Miss Idaho, isn’t sure if she’s the first Miss Idaho to use her post to successfully pitch a bill to a legislative committee.

But the 19-year-old had everything lined up Monday: two legislative sponsors and two officials from the Idaho Primary Care Association, all speaking in favor of her bill to create a special license plate to benefit breast cancer education and screening.

No one spoke against the idea, which is also backed by the American Cancer Society, and the House Transportation Committee voted to send HB 607 to the full House for a vote.

Brown introduced the committee to her mother, Debbie, a breast cancer survivor.

“Because my mom did detect her cancer early, she’s here with us today and she’s a five-year survivor,” Brown told lawmakers.

The special license plate features a depiction of a pink ribbon, the symbol for breast cancer awareness, and the statement, “Early detection saves lives.”

“I really think that this can encourage women, when they’re driving along, to see this license plate and say, ‘Have I gone in for my mammogram this year?’ ” Brown told the committee.

A portion of proceeds from sales of the special license plate would go to the Idaho Primary Care Association to pay for breast cancer screening for low-income, uninsured women around the state.

Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, co-sponsored the bill. He noted that Idaho’s screening rates for breast cancer are the lowest in the country and that only Idaho, Mississippi and the District of Columbia haven’t seen their death rates from breast cancer fall in recent years.

After the meeting, a beaming Nonini noted that Brown, a 2004 Post Falls High School graduate, is from his legislative district.

“Rep. (Frank) Henderson and I are quite proud,” he said.

Brown said she’s been working on breast cancer awareness for five years, since her mother was diagnosed. So it was natural to make the issue her focus as Miss Idaho, she said. She was crowned last June and competed in the Miss America competition earlier this year. Her bill was one of three for special license plates approved by the same committee Monday.

The other two are HB 605, to benefit historic preservation, and HB 608, to advertise, but not raise money for, the National Rifle Association.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Skip Brandt, R-Kooskia, sponsor of the NRA plate bill, also co-sponsored another measure, HB 609, to prevent any future special license plates from raising money for anything other than state highways.

House Transportation Committee Chairwoman JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, is his co-sponsor.

Wood said, “All of the money would go to the department.”

Brandt said the bill would deal with the “onslaught of special license plates” – Idaho has more than 50. But Rep. Kathy Skippen, R-Emmett, noted that legislation to ban all new special plates failed last year.

“I don’t know why we are so dead-set on eliminating something that people in Idaho obviously like,” Skippen said. “I drive down the road, and I see special plates all the time.”

After committee members clarified that their vote wouldn’t stop the breast cancer, historic preservation or NRA plates they’d just voted to approve, they voted 10-4 in favor of the no-new-fund-raiser-plates bill.

If it passes both chambers and is signed into law, it would take effect for any plates proposed in 2007 or later.