House panel passes bill that Idaho attorney general says is unconstitutional
Posted by Betsy in Eye On Boise
March 13, 2014 4:29 p.m. • 0 comments
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on an Idaho House committee’s vote today to approve legislation attempting to nullify the EPA, though a state Attorney General’s opinion says the measure’s unconstitutional. Rep. Paul Shepherd, R-Riggins, said, “I don’t happen to agree.”
Shepherd noted that it’s late in the legislative session – lawmakers are hoping to finish their session next week. “We’re lucky to even have this hearing,” he said. “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen now.” No one testified against the bill, HB 473; seventy-six people signed in at the committee hearing in support. After dozens testified, including lots of suction dredge mining enthusiasts who don’t like a new EPA permit requirement that went into effect last April, the committee approved the measure on a voice vote with no discussion.
In the attorney general’s opinion, Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane wrote that the bill “would, with almost certainty, be found unconstitutional.” In a six-page analysis, Kane wrote that many mistakenly believe the EPA was “created by executive order” rather than by Congress. Actually, he wrote, it was created by President Richard Nixon in 1970 under a specific clause in federal law, and then, as required, ratified by both houses of Congress - twice. Congress then delegated regulatory authority to the EPA through “numerous federal laws,” he wrote, and those laws have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Shepherd said, “I think that the Supreme Court needs to go by their oath of office. The Supreme Court’s changing the Constitution.”
Jim Werntz, Idaho director for the EPA, said the agency chose to try to regulate suction dredge mining in Idaho, rather than just shut it down, as happened in California and Oregon. More than 80 of the new permits have been issued; they’re good for five years. But, he said, “Where there were species issues or protected waters or wild and scenic waters, those waters were protected and closed.” That included popular areas along the main and lower Salmon River near Riggins, where critical habitat for salmon and steelhead prompted closures to dredging.
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Otter signs bill allowing 10-year-olds to hunt big game
Posted by Betsy in Eye On Boise
March 13, 2014 5:08 p.m. • 1 comment
Gov. Butch Otter signed 20 bills into law today, including HB 399, which lowers the minimum age to hunt big game from 12 to 10, provided that the youngster is accompanied in the field by a licensed adult. Also signed today: HB 504, establishing “leadership premiums,” one-time bonus awards for teachers; HB 403, creating a special 4-H license plate; and HB 550, providing an additional $6.6 million in state funds to Education Networks of America this year for the Idaho Education Network. So far this year, he hasn’t vetoed a single bill.
Tags2014 Idaho Legislature
Senators, including former ski patroller and former ski instructor, pass ski area liability bill
Posted by Betsy in Eye On Boise
March 13, 2014 4:46 p.m. • 0 comments
After much debate, the Senate has voted 32-2 in favor of HB 462, which updates a ski area liability statute to include clauses about snowboarding, terrain parks, and in-bounds avalanches. Though some senators raised concerns that the measure went too far to absolve resort operators from liability – particularly in the case of in-bounds avalanches – others argued that the same level of liability protection already was set under the current law.
During the course of the debate, numerous senators had a chance to share stories about their skiing experiences. Among other things, listeners learned that Sen. Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, is a former explosives-wielding ski patroller, and Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, who learned to ski 52 years ago, is a former ski instructor. The bill, proposed by the Idaho Ski Areas Association, now goes to Gov. Butch Otter.
Tags2014 Idaho Legislature
House panel passes bill that Idaho attorney general says is unconstitutional
Posted by Betsy in Eye On Boise
March 13, 2014 4:29 p.m. • 0 comments
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on an Idaho House committee’s vote today to approve legislation attempting to nullify the EPA, though a state Attorney General’s opinion says the measure’s unconstitutional. Rep. Paul Shepherd, R-Riggins, said, “I don’t happen to agree.”
Shepherd noted that it’s late in the legislative session – lawmakers are hoping to finish their session next week. “We’re lucky to even have this hearing,” he said. “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen now.” No one testified against the bill, HB 473; seventy-six people signed in at the committee hearing in support. After dozens testified, including lots of suction dredge mining enthusiasts who don’t like a new EPA permit requirement that went into effect last April, the committee approved the measure on a voice vote with no discussion.
In the attorney general’s opinion, Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane wrote that the bill “would, with almost certainty, be found unconstitutional.” In a six-page analysis, Kane wrote that many mistakenly believe the EPA was “created by executive order” rather than by Congress. Actually, he wrote, it was created by President Richard Nixon in 1970 under a specific clause in federal law, and then, as required, ratified by both houses of Congress - twice. Congress then delegated regulatory authority to the EPA through “numerous federal laws,” he wrote, and those laws have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Shepherd said, “I think that the Supreme Court needs to go by their oath of office. The Supreme Court’s changing the Constitution.”
Jim Werntz, Idaho director for the EPA, said the agency chose to try to regulate suction dredge mining in Idaho, rather than just shut it down, as happened in California and Oregon. More than 80 of the new permits have been issued; they’re good for five years. But, he said, “Where there were species issues or protected waters or wild and scenic waters, those waters were protected and closed.” That included popular areas along the main and lower Salmon River near Riggins, where critical habitat for salmon and steelhead prompted closures to dredging.
Tags2014 Idaho Legislature
House panel backs EPA nullification bill
Posted by Betsy in Eye On Boise
March 13, 2014 2:20 p.m. • 0 comments
In this afternoon’s House Resources Committee meeting, all the testimony was in favor of HB 473, Rep. Paul Shepherd’s bill to nullify the EPA because of concerns from suction dredge miner about regulations. “EPA just wants control, they want power,” Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, told the committee. She said veterans are “precious to us,” and many veterans find it “soothing” to do recreational suction dredge mining. “They’re trying to control us, and they’re trying to control our vets also,” she said.
Others who spoke railed against “environmental fruitcakes,” “tyrannical bullshit,” “people from back east” and “these big environmental groups.” Shepherd told the committee, “All over the United States, people are concerned with EPA overreach. … The purpose of this legislation is to protect citizens of Idaho from EPA regulations that are not authorized by the Constitution of the United States and that violate the Constitution’s true meaning of intent.”
On a motion from Rep. Terry Gestrin, R-Donnelly, the committee agreed on a divided voice vote to forward HB 473 to the full House with a recommendation that it “do pass.
lets get there and support our rights.
