Dixon holds town hall

BONNERS FERRY — Rep. Sage Dixon held a town meeting early Saturday morning for the residents of Boundary County. Community members were invited to participate in the informational meeting to discuss local issues and be informed on recent issued being addressed within the legislature.

Dixon gave a brief synopsis of the bills, proposals and changes that are currently taking place on Capitol Hill, as well as what Dixon referred to as ‘hot-button’ topics. Also, opening the floor to questions and thoughts from a local perspective.

For the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee, the next six weeks are dedicated to going over the 2018 budgets for; K-12, Deficiency Budget, Supplemental Appropriation budget, and more.

Monday, the K-12 Budget is set to be heard. Over 60 perfect of the Idaho state budget goes towards education, with 55 percent alone going to K-12.

Two budgets that have already been seen and passed are the Public Utility and Building Safety budgets.

The Business Committee has been busy as well.

Hearing bills from the insurance industry and ORSA in regards to state accreditation, as well as the cosmetology industry on new state regulations.

Idaho State dropped its hourly requirements for cosmetology certification from 2,000 hours to 1,600, corresponding with the national average.

The Idaho Transportation Department is currently a big topic on Capitol hill. The bill currently on the floor that is getting much discussion is the Extend Eliminator Clause that addresses the backlog on state highways. Dixon said he is looking for a 40/60 split for the budget, going between northern Idaho and southern Idaho.

On the local level, citizens voiced concern regarding getting appropriate turning lanes around the Deep Creek Lp. area, but also discussed necessary road repairs from Bonners Ferry to at least MacArthur Lake.

Another big topic was the Federal Real I.D. program. This means that in order to be on federal government property, or fly, even domestically, you would have to be in possession of the Real I.D. The nationally accepted I.D. would keep state records on the holder from 4 to 7 years, and have a chip. Individuals will be able to opt out and stick with the more traditional State I.D. and passport for flying. However, contractors and personnel who work on federal grounds will be subject to mandatory Real I.D.

The timeline for new regulations are 2018 for federal property, and 2020 for flying.

The proposed Constitutional Convention, Article V. balanced budget, being ran by state senate, passed 5 to 4 out of committee. It will now go to the House Convention of States on the federal level, then will come back to the state and house next week.

Dixon said he is firmly against the controversial Article 5, stating that he has full faith in our government’s amendment process and that it should be used instead of simply overwritten.

“The problem I see is not with the Con-con itself,” Dixon said, “rather, the people sworn to uphold it. There is no guarantee it can be restricted.”

Information: www.legislature.idaho.gov