Salem, Oregon -- The state rejected a package of ballot
measures Thursday that could have allowed construction of the
state's first non-Indian casino.
The two Lake Oswego entrepreneurs backing the project, proposed for
east Multnomah County, said they would rewrite the measures and try
to qualify them for the November ballot. But critics said they doubt
whether financial consultant Bruce Studer and attorney Matthew
Rossman have enough time to get any casino measures before voters
this year.
The secretary of state rejected the measures after questioning the
legality of linking the two ballot measures, one that would repeal
the state's constitutional ban on casinos and another that would
direct the state to site a casino at the now-closed Multnomah
Greyhound Park in Wood Village.
Acting on the advice of the attorney general, the secretary of
state said it was unconstitutional to make the enactment of one
ballot measure contingent on the passage of another. In early
February, the state rejected an earlier version of the initiatives
for the same reasons.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota -- A coalition opposed to South
Dakota's newly passed ban on abortion began a petition drive Friday
to let voters decide the fate of the law.
South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families announced its intent to
put the issue on the November ballot at coordinated news conferences
in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
State Rep. Elaine Roberts, D-Sioux Falls, said she doesn't believe
lawmakers represented the will of the people with the ban and the
issue should be put to residents.
"The vast majority of South Dakotans are somewhere in the middle,"
said Roberts, one of the group's 15 co-chairs. "They have mixed
feelings about this issue."
The proposed law, which won strong approval in the South Dakota
Legislature and was signed by Gov. Mike Rounds, will automatically
be placed on hold if 16,728 signatures are collected by June 19.
Salt Lake City, Utah -- In-migration, children of baby
boomers and higher spending habits are increasing the sales tax
revenues in many Utah cities.
"There are a lot more people here than we thought," said Doug
Macdonald, chief economist for the Utah State Tax Commission. "You
have Southern Californians and all kinds of retirees coming in."
Also, add to the economy the dollars contributed by the children of
baby boomers, known as "echo" baby boomers, and city leaders have a
positive outlook on their local economies.
Those factors affect the significant percentage change in forecast
sales tax reports. Projected sales tax distributions for 2007
indicate 24 Utah cities will have an increased local sales tax,
according to the annual sales tax distribution report released by
the State Tax Commission.
Juneau, Alaska -- Gov. Frank Murkowski says he wants the
help of Alaska newspaper publishers to explain to readers outside of
the state the benefits of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge.
Given that media groups owned by companies based outside of the
state have an interest in the affairs of Alaska, they should
consider the merits of their news content, he said Thursday.
"I'm going to challenge a portion of our media because a significant
portion of our media is owned outside of Alaska," he said. "They
have significant influence with their newspapers outside of Alaska."
The governor said the message he wants Americans in the Lower 48
states to hear is that Alaska can be a domestic source of oil while
the nation considers weaning itself off of foreign suppliers;
opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling would
meet that need.
Phoenix, Arizona -- One more time Arizonans likely will have
a chance with the November ballot to make English the state's
official language.
In 1988, the state was among the first to declare English the state
language. But the Arizona Supreme Court later declared that measure
unconstitutional because of First Amendment concerns.
Advocates now are back for another try, pitching another version.
House Concurrent Resolution 2036, they say, is a kinder, gentler way
to encourage "civic virtues" - namely, the use of English.
"We have 329 languages spoken in the United States. We think that's
good," said Tim Schultz, director of government relations for U.S.
English, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. "We also think if
you don't have a language in common, that's bad."
Phoenix, Arizona -- Kirk Adams, already a candidate for a
House seat, has been sworn in to fill a vacancy created by the
resignation of Rep. Chuck Gray, a fellow Mesa Republican.
Mr. Adams, an insurancy agency owner, was one of three candidates
nominated by Republican precinct committee members in Legislative
District 19 to replace Mr. Gray, who was appointed a senator on
March 15 to replace the late Sen. Marilyn Jarrett.
Ms. Jarrett died March 10, one day after being stricken in her
legislative office.
Phoenix, Arizona -- A federal indictment unsealed in
Cleveland charges 25 people with making millions of dollars by
bringing hundreds of illegal immigrants into the United States as
part of an Arizona-based smuggling ring.
Federal prosecutors said the group would transport illegal aliens to
Ohio and other states for a fee of between $1,800 and $2,000.
U.S. Attorney Gregory White identified Manuel Valdez-Gomez, who owns
an auto sales and repair business in Phoenix, as the ring's leader.
Prosecutors say the ring had been in operation since 1997, smuggling
aliens from Mexico to Nogales, Ariz. The ring provided false
documents to the aliens and moved them from Phoenix to a network of
safe houses, including one in the northeast Ohio city of
Painesville, prosecutors allege.
Drivers would transport up to 14 aliens on each trip with final
destinations in Ohio, California, Florida, Nevada, Michigan,
Illinois and Indiana, authorities said. The illegal immigrants would
usually be met by friends and family who would pay the drivers a
smuggling fee, prosecutors contend.
Alien smuggling rings are common in Arizona, said Brian Moskowitz,
special agent in charge of the Detroit office of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement,
"Is there another operation right behind it?" he said. "I would
guess, absolutely."
Denver, Colorado -- The House of Representatives has approved
a ballot proposal that would extend certain rights and benefits to
same-sex couples, despite emotional opposition from Republicans who
said it was an attempt to endorse gay marriages.
Rep. Tom Plant, D-Nederland, said his bill (House Bill 1344) would
ask voters to give same-sex couples the same benefits allowed
married men and women including hospital visitation, inheritance
without a will and shared employer benefits.
Plant objected when Republicans tried to bar same-sex couples from
adopting children.
"We should not take that protection of a child away," he said.
Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, said the bill does not take away
rights from married men and women. She said same-sex partners
deserve equal protection.
If approved by a simple majority in the House and Senate, which are
both controlled by Democrats, the bill would go on the November
ballot.
Las Vegas, Nevada -- Nevada's candidates for governor
probably should have rescheduled to another day, pretty much any
day, so long as it wasn't the same day that Rudy Giuliani came to
Las Vegas.
Hours before a forum for the gubernatorial candidates, the former
New York mayor wooed a crowd of real estate industry folks across
town. He mimicked the New York mobsters he once prosecuted, using a
gravelly voice to quip, "Thanks for inviting me to Las Vegas, which
we used to own." He came across as humble and funny and mentioned
Sept. 11 no more than 25 or 30 times.
One reporter quipped, "With his charisma and energy, he could have
sold them a crackhouse in the Bronx."
The candidates for Nevada governor were slightly less dazzling at a
Women's Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Portland, Oregon -- Public employee unions, which helped
ensure Gov. Ted Kulongoski's election the first time around, have
turned their backs on the Democratic incumbent this year, further
roiling the waters of an increasingly unpredictable primary race.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
became the latest defector, saying it would take a pass this year,
after endorsing Kulongoski in the 2002 Democratic primary.
Also abandoning the Democrat Governor, the Oregon School
Employees Association announced its endorsement of Kulongoski's
opponent, former state Treasurer Jim Hill. That came on the heels of
a Hill endorsement by the Service Employees International Union.
"The governor has been in office for nearly four years, and the
education system is worse off," said Tricia Smith, a lobbyist for
the school employee union, which claims 20,000 members.
Denver, Colorado -- As a series of van rollovers recently
have demonstrated, Colorado is a key crossroads in a nationwide
smuggling system so vast that it is able to move hundreds of
thousands of illegal immigrants from points along the southern
border to the country's major labor markets every year.
Immigration officials caught nearly 1.2 million people trying to
sneak into the country in fiscal 2005, and experts say perhaps three
times as many got through.
Colorado State Patrol officials say they make contact with as many
as 500 a day, but even that may be only a small fraction of the
number who travel through the state as they seek to avoid U.S.
Border Patrol checkpoints on the major highways through Texas and
New Mexico.
Chicago and Florida were among the destinations of the 113 people
arrested after six smuggling vehicles crashed on Colorado's snowy
roads this week, law enforcement officials said.
"Outside of Las Cruces (N.M.), and also near El Paso, there are
permanent checkpoints. If you're destined for Florida, you don't
want to go through Texas," said Russell Ahr, a spokesman for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona, the area along the
border that is the most popular crossing point.
The sheer size of that flow - and the vast amounts of money involved
in moving it - has led to the creation of an underground railroad
that functions much the way a real one does, Ahr and other
immigration officials say.
Olympia, Washington -- A Snohomish County judge has ruled
that the Washington Legislature violated the voter-approved spending
limit last year by manipulating the state budget to avoid having
voters consider $250 million in tax increases.
Superior Court Judge James Allendoerfer in Everett said voters must
have their say if the state wants to continue collecting the
increased taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and self-service laundries,
among other things.
The judge said lawmakers and state officials "exploited a loophole
with the express purpose of artificially increasing the limit,"
according to Dick Stephens, the attorney for the group of
organizations that sued the state.
The judge's ruling, made from the bench, also was confirmed by
Janelle Guthrie, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Rob McKenna,
whose office defended the case.
Stephens said Allendoerfer didn't address what should happen to the
taxes already collected. But the ruling could affect $130 million in
taxes the state hoped to collect and spend this fiscal year.
The taxes were raised last year to help balance the state's $26
billion, two-year budget. Cigarette taxes went up 60 cents a pack,
and hard-liquor taxes rose $1.33 per liter.
The judge ruled that the series of money transfers made by the
Legislature "trumps the intent and spirit of 601," a reference to
the 1993 initiative that sets a state spending limit and requires
voter approval to raise taxes above that limit.
The limit is based on a three-year average growth in population and
inflation.
In 2000, the Legislature approved a loophole that allows the limit
to be raised by transferring money among different state accounts.
The Legislature did something like that last year, according to the
plaintiffs, to raise the limit by about $250 million.
Allendoerfer said the Legislature manipulated the budget "to avoid a
vote of the people" on the tax increases for the current two-year
budget, according to Jason Mercier, senior budget analyst for the
Evergreen Freedom Foundation.
The lawsuit was filed last year by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation
along with the National Federation of Independent Business, the
Building Industry Association of Washington, the Washington Farm
Bureau and the Washington State Grange.
Austin, Texas -- Texas Governor Rick Perry is telling the
capitol press corps that the Legislature must focus on lowering
property taxes and reworking the tax formula that pays for Texas
public schools in the upcoming special session.
Using an entire projected $4 billion budget surplus to address a
court order to lower property taxes is only a short-term solution,
he says.
Perry has called a 30-day special session to start April 17.
Last year, the Texas Supreme Court ruled the state's dependence on
local property taxes is unconstitutional and must be changed by June
1.
"We've got to stay focused on what the Supreme Court has directed
us, mandated us, and that is lowering property taxes," Perry said
after a speech to the Texas Association of Manufacturers, a new
lobby created to represent many of the state's largest companies.
"That's what we must do so that the schools open up," he said.
Perry said he would not oppose using part of the budget surplus, but
emphasized the need to create a new, low-rate, broad-based business
tax to buy down property taxes across the state, said Perry, a
Republican.
The special session will be the fourth Perry has called on the issue
in the last two years. All have ended in gridlock and failure.
Round Rock, Texas -- Dell Inc. plans to double the number
of its employees in India to 20,000 in three years, Chairman Michael
Dell said, in what appeared to be moves by the world's largest
personal computer maker to beef up its presence in one of the
world's fastest growing markets.
Although most of the new hiring will be made at the company's call
centers, there will also be substantial recruitment at the its
product testing center and a possible manufacturing plant.
The Round Rock, Texas-based company currently operates four call
centers in India, a product testing center for corporate customers
and a global software development center. Some 10,000 people are
employed at these facilities.
"We will double our staff from the current level over the next three
years," Dell told reporters during a visit to Bangalore, India's
technology hub.
"There is a fantastic opportunity to attract talent (here)," he
said. "We will ensure a major recruitment push in engineering
talents."
Scores of Western companies have been cutting costs by shifting
software development, engineering design and routine office
functions to countries such as India, where English-speaking workers
are plentiful and wages are low.
But Dell's plans don't appear to be limited to cost cutting,
analysts said. They said Dell appears intent on increasing its share
in India's fast-growing market for computers.
Houston, Texas -- Many of the Kinky Friedman supporters
who gathered in Houston for the gubernatorial candidate's petition
drive had never before been involved in politics.
But then, Friedman isn't your typical politician.
"We won't get a hell of a lot done in the morning, but we'll work
late, and we'll be honest," the musician/author-turned-governor
hopeful told supporters while gripping his signature cigar.
That fired up a crowd of about 150 volunteers, who then scattered
around the city to collect signatures to put Friedman's name on the
November ballot.
The independent candidate has until May 11 to gather 45,540
signatures to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Perry. Comptroller
Carole Keeton Strayhorn, also running as an independent, must meet
the same standard. Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell of Houston is the
Democratic candidate.
"If we get on the ballot, there will be no turning back, and we'll
win the election," Friedman said.
Some volunteers, many clad in "Kinky for Governor" shirts, hats and
buttons, went door to door in search of signatures, while others
staked out public places.
They were careful to solicit only eligible Texans: registered voters
who did not vote in the primaries or sign a petition for another
candidate.
About 5 percent of the state's 12.7 million registered voters cast
Republican ballots in the primaries, and 4 percent voted in the
Democratic race.
Austin, Texas -- Under electricity deregulation, Texans
have paid some of the highest rates in the nation -- a reversal of
at least a decade of relatively cheap electricity under the state's
old regulated system.
That's the conclusion of a national utility expert, who also reports
that those in deregulated states typically have had larger rate
increases than customers in states still under regulation. Separate
academic reports likewise show, after making adjustments for
inflation and other factors, that electricity prices in Texas have
gone up since 1996, while those in regulated states have gone down;
and that in general terms, electricity prices in the United States
have not fallen under competition.
"Deregulation isn't working in the way that most people had hoped,"
said Kenneth Rose, a senior fellow at Michigan State University who
did the study for Virginia regulators. "Evidence that we're
gathering -- at least as we had originally thought it would work --
is not bearing out from the customer perspective."
Olympia, Washington -- Democratic lawmakers congratulated
themselves for being frugal when they passed a state budget this
month that reserves $935 million to deal with future expenses. What
they didn't say is they've essentially spent that money already.
State estimates show lawmakers created programs, tax breaks and
improvements in state services this year that are expected to cost
about $940 million over the next two fiscal years.
That basically blows away the money set aside by the Legislature —
some of it earmarked for other things, such as pensions and schools
— and leaves a projected $500 million shortfall next session.
Republicans say it also belies claims made by Democrats — who
control the House, Senate and governor's office — about being
"fiscally responsible."
A $1.6 billion budget surplus this year allowed lawmakers to add
programs and services while still setting aside money for next year.
As recently as last year, Democratic leaders spoke of the need to
bring spiraling costs under control to have a sustainable budget.
Gov. Christine Gregoire and others warned, for instance, about
medical-assistance costs outpacing state revenue growth.
Juneau, Alaska -- Major oil companies operating in Alaska
and state administrators have taken issue with a proposed tax they
said concentrates on short-term revenues for the state at the
expense of long-term investment in the oil patch.
The Senate Resources Committee's changes to Gov. Frank Murkowski's
net-profits tax bill could speed the decline of oil production on
the North Slope and jeopardize efforts to build a gas pipeline, said
various administration and industry officials.
Revenue Commissioner Bill Corbus said the proposal would upset the
careful balance the governor struck between higher taxes and
investment incentives.
Oil production - now averaging 870,000 barrels a day - is expected
to decline to 772,000 barrels a day by 2016, said Corbus. New fields
or expansion of existing fields would slow the rate of decline.
The Senate committee's version of the bill would change the
governor's base tax rate from 20 percent to 25 percent, while
retaining a 20 percent tax credit on capital investments.
Pedro van Meurs, the administration's lead consultant, said oil
company investments - which amounted to about $1 billion a year over
the last five years - would likely stay the same under the Senate
proposal.
The original bill would allow oil companies to claim the last five
years of capital investments as tax credits. The committee proposes
instead giving producers a $1 credit for investments made in the
last five years for every $2 invested in the future.
Phoenix, Arizona -- A federal judge has ruled that $21
million in fines against the state must be used to teach students
English. In a separate ruling, he also denied a request from the
state’s schools chief, exempting English language learner students
from passing the AIMS test to graduate high school.
Judge Raner C. Collins approved a request by Tim Hogan, the
plaintiffs’ attorney, and Attorney General Terry Goddard that the
fines be used to supplement state funding for ELL programs. An
attorney for House Speaker Jim Weiers had requested the money be
used to supplant state funding for the programs.
Because it did not meet a December court order to comply with
federal law by fully funding ELL programs by Jan. 24, the state was
subject to fines that began at $500,000 per day and escalated to $1
million per day.
Denver, Colorado -- A committee of local Democratic
officials chose state Rep. Betty Boyd of Lakewood to fill the
Colorado Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Deanna Hanna, who
announced her resignation earlier this month.
"There was no opposition," Boyd said. "It was unanimous."
Boyd, serving her third term in the House, will face a general
election in November for the remaining two years in Hanna's term.
Boyd said she will run for a four-year term in 2008.
Hanna, was the subject of an ethics investigation.
Last summer, Hanna sent a letter to the Colorado Association of
Realtors' political action committee seeking $1,400 in "reparations"
after the group endorsed her opponent in the 2004 election.
Hanna called it an "an inappropriate letter written in anger and
haste."
Denver, Colorado -- Republican gubernatorial candidates
Bob Beauprez and Marc Holtzman met in their first campaign debate
and Holtzman almost immediately launched a strong attack against
Beauprez on issues including illegal immigration and federal
spending.
The debate at the Hyatt Regency-Denver Tech Center was sponsored by
the Southeast Denver Business Partnership. About 60 people gathered
to hear the two candidates share their opinions on topics that
included education, water and taxes.
Congressman Beauprez presented himself as a "principled
conservative" with the background to lead the state, while Holtzman
took the stance of the outsider vowing to shake up the system.
Holtzman made it clear illegal immigration would be a focus of his
campaign, saying that many of Colorado's fiscal problems could be
solved if the state "could take the $600 million we're spending on
illegal immigrants" and use if for roads and other needs. He
launched a blistering critique of Beauprez on the issue, accusing
him of being "Both Ways Bob" and saying one thing while voting a
different way. He was especially critical of Beauprez's support of
the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and also accused Beauprez
of being a big spender in Congress.
Phoenix, Arizona -- The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
have chosen GOP Rep. Chuck Gray fill the District 19 vacancy left by
the sudden passing last week of Sen. Marilyn Jarrett.
“With our hearts still heavy from the loss of our wonderful friend
and colleague, Marilyn Jarrett, the law requires that the business
of the people of this state continues to move forward. Today the
Senate is proud to welcome Representative Chuck Gray as a member of
the Arizona State Senate," said Senate President Ken Bennett in a
press release.
Austin, Texas -- Legislators will return to
the Capitol on April 17 to untangle school finances, which have been
declared unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court.
Gov. Rick Perry on Friday announced the time of the anticipated
session, which will be the fourth in a year where lawmakers have
attempted to resolve the issue.
Last year, the Supreme Court determined that the state, by
establishing a cap on property tax rates, has in effect created a
statewide property tax, which the constitution specifically
prohibits. The court gave the state until June 1 to figure out a new
financing method.
The state used to provide more than 60 percent of the money for
education, but over the past decade, the state’s portion has dropped
to about 35 percent, forcing a greater reliance on property taxes to
fund education.
In earlier sessions, lawmakers have examined lowering property taxes
by as much as one-third, but have deadlocked on how to make up the
estimated $6 billion in tax revenue that would be lost. A
broad-based business tax, as well as sales and cigarette taxes are
among the proposals expected to surface again during the special
session.
A commission headed by former Comptroller John Sharp is expected to
make formal recommendations on the tax issue next week.
Olympia, Washington -- Two-term Republican Rep. Rodney Tom
of Medina said Tuesday he's quitting the Republican Party to run for
the state Senate as a Democrat.
Tom will challenge incumbent Sen. Luke Esser, R-Bellevue.
"I realized the far right has complete control of the party and for
me to be effective for my constituents I need to be a Democrat," Tom
said.
He said being a Democrat is not only a better fit for the political
demographic of the Eastside's 48th Legislative District but a more
comfortable fit for his ideology, which includes support for legal
abortion, gay rights and higher taxes for transportation.
He made the announcement Tuesday after talks with Democratic Senate
leaders and a few Republicans.
"A couple said they were surprised I didn't do it sooner," Tom said.
Juneau, Alaska -- Just weeks after endorsing an oil-tax
increase that Gov. Frank Murkowski says is part of a tentative
natural gas pipeline deal with the big three oil companies, Conoco
Phillips has begun an advertising campaign opposing any higher
taxes.
The ad campaign comes as state lawmakers are mulling changes to the
governor's oil-tax plan. It makes a simple assertion: Higher taxes
would suppress oil-industry spending in Alaska and would be bad for
the state's economy.
Dawn Patience, a Conoco spokeswoman in Anchorage, said the ad
campaign is aimed at raising public awareness about oil-industry tax
increases under consideration in the Capitol.
Murkowski last month rolled out a proposed revamp of the state's
oil-production tax system. He said it is part of a package deal his
administration struck with Conoco, BP and Exxon Mobil on a contract
for tax and other state terms if they build a natural gas pipeline
from the North Slope to the Lower 48.
In public testimony before the House and Senate Resources committees
last month, Brian Wenzel, Conoco Phillips Alaska's vice president of
finance, said his company supports the governor's plan, but only
because it could help get a gas pipeline project going.
Patience insisted that the anti-tax message in Conoco's new ad
campaign doesn't conflict with the company's stated position on
Murkowski's oil-tax plan.
Des Moines, Iowa -- Anti-smoking advocates released a
letter signed by 14 House Republicans urging House Speaker
Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, to allow a vote on raising the
state’s cigarette tax.
The letter provided new ammunition to tax hike backers who claim
there is bipartisan support for an increase. A bill doubling Iowa’s
36-cents-per-pack cigarette tax cleared the Senate last year, but it
stalled in the GOP-controlled House.
“I can support it because it’s a health issue in my mind,” said Rep.
Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, who signed the letter. “If you increase the
cigarette tax, you get a health benefit. I believe that.”
The letter argues that raising the tax would discourage young Iowans
from using tobacco and prompt some current smokers to quit. Iowa’s
tobacco tax has remained unchanged since 1991 and is the
eighth-lowest nationally.
Public opinion polls in Iowa show broad support for raising the tax.
Gov. Tom Vilsack is seeking an 80-cents-per-pack increase to pay for
a series of health-care initiatives, although Republican tax hike
supporters say they are reluctant to use the increase for new
spending.
Aberdeen, South Dakota -- Former South Dakota Sen. Tom
Daschle is busy raising funds and campaigning for Democratic
candidates for Congress and governor’s chairs nationwide, but he
also hinted again during the weekend at a future campaign for
himself.
It might be for the presidency.
Daschle further fueled the already simmering fires of speculation
after a political gathering in Aberdeen, when he told the Associated
Press that he hadn’t ruled out a run for the presidency and expected
to make a decision on that issue by the end of the year.
“I’m encouraged by the strong support many people have voiced for my
candidacy around the country and in South Dakota. I’ll make a
decision at some point later on this year,” he said.
Jefferson City, Missouri -- A state law barring people
convicted of a federal felony or misdemeanor from running for office
is unconstitutional, a circuit judge ruled.
Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled in favor of Henry
Rizzo, a member of the Jackson County legislature and former state
House member who challenged the law.
Rizzo, a Kansas City Democrat, seeks re-election to the county seat
but would be barred from running by the new state law because of a
federal misdemeanor conviction in 1991 of providing a false
statement to a financial institution.
The law was passed last year as part of a much broader bill dealing
with local government. Callahan said the provision on who can hold
elective office violates the U.S. and state constitutions' equal
protection clauses.
He found that there is no rational basis for limiting public office
based on federal convictions but not state ones.
Denver, Colorado -- State Sen. Deanna Hanna resigned as an
ethics investigation pushed for details surrounding her written
demand for “reparations” from an organization that backed her
opponent during the 2004 campaign.
The Lakewood Democrat’s last day will be March 21. A vacancy
committee will select her successor, who will have to stand for
election in November. Because her Jefferson County district is not
seen as an automatic win for Democrats, Hanna’s departure means her
party’s one vote majority in the Colorado Senate could be threatened
in November.
She notified fellow senators of her decision by letter.
As Republicans called for her to resign, she publicly apologized in
front of the entire Senate. But the push for her resignation picked
up steam, with the nonpartisan watchdog group Colorado Common Cause
calling for her to step down.
Some constituents from her district also were planning a recall
election.
Phoenix, Arizona -- Former state Senate President John
Greene withdrew from the governor's race saying he could not
"overcome the far right's dominance of the Republican Party" or
potential supporters' apparent belief that Democratic Gov. Janet
Napolitano will win re-election.
Winning the Republican primary "realistically appears out of reach,"
said Greene, a fiscal conservative and abortion-rights supporter.
"I think Len Munsil has got it hands down," Greene said during an
interview, referring to the conservative activist and attorney who
recently stepped down as president of the Center for Arizona Policy.
"It is clear that leaders in the party are getting behind him."
Besides Munsil, other Republicans still in the race include retired
appellate Judge Jan Smith Florez and Don Goldwater, a party activist
who is a nephew of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater. All three have
voiced anti-abortion positions.
Greene was the second Republican to withdraw from the governor's
race this month. Rep. Ted Carpenter, R-Phoenix, on March 2 quietly
amended his campaign-finance filings to run instead for an open
state Senate seat.
A Phoenix attorney, Greene served six years in the Senate during the
1990s, including four years as president.
Phoenix, Arizona -- Secretary of State Jan Brewer will
tell county election officials to ignore a ruling that Arizonans do
not need to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote
with a federal registration form.
In an angry letter to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission,
Brewer dismissed the ruling as "completely inconsistent, unlawful
and without merit."
The commission informed Brewer that "Arizona may not refuse to
register individuals to vote in a federal election for failing to
provide supplemental proof of citizenship," as required under
Proposition 200.
Overwhelmingly approved by voters in November 2004, Prop. 200 made
Arizona the first state in the nation to require proof of
citizenship for voter registration.
Under its terms, county election officials must reject any voter
registration form that is not accompanied by documentation such as a
birth certificate, passport, tribal ID card or an Arizona driver's
license issued after Oct. 1, 1996, when proof of legal residency for
licenses became necessary.
But the commission determined that applying the state requirement to
a voter using a federal registration form could result in a loss of
voting rights, because "no state may condition acceptance of the
federal form upon receipt of additional proof" of citizenship.
Brewer dismissed the interpretation as "incorrect." In her letter to
commission Chairman Paul S. DeGregorio, she notes the proposition
and new state voter registration forms were cleared by the U.S.
Department of Justice, which "has expressed no concern about
Arizona's proof of citizenship requirement when registering to
vote."
Tucson, Arizona -- A ruling by a federal commission that
says voters who register using a nationwide form don't have to prove
they are citizens is drawing howls of protest from state elections
officials.
The ruling by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission amounts to a
potential loophole in Proposition 200, the voter-approved initiative
that made Arizona the first state in the nation to require proof of
citizenship for voter registration.
The ruling says ‘‘Arizona may not refuse to register individuals to
vote in a federal election for failing to provide supplemental proof
of citizenship,'' as required under Proposition 200.
The ruling was requested by Secretary of State Jan Brewer, who
called the outcome of her request ‘‘outlandish'' and asked the state
attorney general to review it.
‘‘I certainly have concerns about this,'' Brewer said. ‘‘I don't
believe they're correct.''
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Terry Goddard said the office is
reviewing the ruling but that Proposition 200 will be enforced in
the meantime.
Prop. 200 survived numerous legal challenges before it passed muster
with the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2005.
Phoenix, Arizona -- Republican leaders previewed the
Arizona Legislature's 2006 regular session by announcing that their
members wanted to cut taxes.
Senate President Ken Bennett and House Speaker Jim Weiers said back
in January that the Republican majority's tax-relief package would
total at least 250 (m) million dollars.
What they didn't offer were specifics on the package's likely
elements.
Now, the election-year tax package is starting to take shape as
lawmakers haggle behind closed doors.
There are growing indications that the result could be savings on
property and income taxes.
The House and Senate separately have given preliminary endorsements
to bills to eliminate a state-imposed property tax for
K-through-twelve schools and reduce state income tax rates.
Lawmakers also have a host of other, narrower tax cuts in the mix
for the dollars available for tax cuts.
Phoenix, Arizona -- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will not
be sending any National Guard troops to the state's porous southern
border anytime soon because of a bitter partisan squabble with the
Republican-led Legislature.
As promised, the Democratic governor vetoed a bill that would have
spent $10 million to station 100 Guard troops at the border because
she said it usurps her authority to command the National Guard.
Denver, Colorado -- A bill targeting immigration "sanctuary
cities" won its initial vote in the state Senate.
The bill, by Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, passed on a voice vote
with little debate. It would require local police officers to report
suspected illegal immigrants they arrest to federal immigration
agents. It also requires cities to report immigration arrests to the
Legislature.
An earlier version of the bill would have required police to call
the feds every time they found a suspected illegal immigrant,
whether or not an arrest was made.
Durango has drawn fire from immigration critics for telling officers
not to call federal immigration authorities unless they arrest a
suspected illegal immigrant.
Denver, Colorado -- An education advocacy group said it would
appeal the dismissal of its lawsuit alleging Colorado's schools are
underfunded by up to $1 billion per year.
Denver Judge Michael Martinez last week ruled that any dispute would
have to be resolved by lawmakers, not judges.
Children's Voices filed the lawsuit last year in Denver District
Court, arguing that teacher salaries, school construction, classroom
equipment and school programs have suffered even after voters in
2000 approved Amendment 23, which requires annual increases in
school funding.
Boise, Idaho -- Representative Bill Sali, a Republican
from Kuna, is making another run at passing a law requiring minors
to get parental consent before a doctor will terminate their
pregnancy.
Last July, Federal Judge Lynn Winmill ruled a law passed during the
2005 session puts an undue burden on a minor's constitutional right
to an abortion.
That's after a 2004 ruling by a federal appeals court that a
previous Idaho parental-consent law failed to provide sufficient
access to an abortion for minors who needed one for medical reasons.
Idaho's latest effort to change its abortion law comes after South
Dakota lawmakers passed a bill to outlaw abortions -- except in
cases where a pregnant woman's life is in danger.
St. Louis, Missouri -- A proposal to require most Missouri
gasoline to contain a 10 percent ethanol blend would force seven
lawmakers to weigh public policy and business.
The rural lawmakers who are investors in ethanol plants are Sen.
John Cauthorn and Reps. Steve Hobbs, Brian Munzlinger, John Quinn,
Therese Sander, Wes Shoemyer and Terry Witte. They could cash in on
the boon a mandate would create for ethanol makers.
Hobbs, R-Mexico, dismissed claims that his financial stake creates a
situation different from that regularly faced by lawmakers who have
jobs outside the Legislature.
"I don't believe it's a conflict at all, no more than it would be if
a (certified public accountant) votes on bills dealing with CPAs,"
he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Missouri ethics rules allow lawmakers to vote on bills involving
issues they have a personal stake in, so long as they disclose their
interest before voting. All seven have done so.
Austin, Texas -- Pablo Pascal considered Kinky Friedman a
joke, until he heard him speak recently at Richland College.
"I thought he was running for governor just for the publicity," said
Mr. Pascal, an academic adviser at the college. "But he was
even-tempered and had a lot of good ideas. I was impressed with
him."
So Mr. Pascal, a Dallas resident who describes himself as an
independent, and millions of voters like him face a tough decision
in Tuesday's party primaries.
They can exercise their right to vote and support the party
faithful, or skip the primaries to be eligible to sign the petitions
of independent gubernatorial hopefuls Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Mr.
Friedman and more than a dozen other assorted nonaffiliated
candidates who could line the statewide ballot.
Their decisions could have significant political ramifications. If
they skip the primaries, they can't participate in several races
down the ballot that could be close, such as the Dallas County clash
for district attorney and statehouse races where education is a big
issue, such as the Kent Grusendorf-Diane Patrick tilt in Arlington.
But voting in the primary would mean not being able to help the
independents get on the ballot, as state election laws dictate that
they must gather 45,540 signatures from registered voters who
skipped the primaries in 60 days in order to be considered in the
November general election. If there is a runoff, the signatures must
be gathered in 30 days.
Hannibal, Missouri -- Missouri Democrats used their annual
Democrat Days as a platform to launch bare-knuckled jabs at the
Republicans now in charge of the state and the country.
State Republican Party spokesman John Hancock contended that such
Democratic attacks reflected "a shrill, angry, bitter and lost party
who is beginning to come to grips with the fact that it doesn't
represent mainstream Missouri."
Hannibal also represents the outstate turf where the Democrats once
had been dominant, but which has switched allegiance over the past
decade to Republicans.
Now, local Democrats say they're hearing from rural voters,
especially the elderly, who are promising to return to the fold
because of their anger and fear over the Medicaid cuts, higher fuel
prices and the new Medicare prescription drug program.
It was a GOP victory in that district in 2001 that allowed
Republicans to take control of the state Senate. That victory was
largely credited with launching the successful Republican drive that
resulted in the 2004 capture of the Legislature and the governor's
office.
Most Democrats agree that they are unlikely to retake control of the
Legislature this fall. Republicans have a 31-seat edge in the House
and outnumber Democrats by 11 in the Senate.
Seaside, Oregon -- More than 600 Republicans gathered at
the Oregon coast this weekend for their annual Dorchester Conference
amid a growing sense of optimism the GOP will win back the
governor's office in November after five successive election
defeats.
"This is our year. That's the mood," Oregon Republican Chairman
Vance Day said Saturday, capturing the hopeful views of the party
faithful who traveled to this resort town for the three-day
Dorchester meeting.
The top three GOP gubernatorial contenders spent the day greeting
Dorchester delegates from around the state in hopes of drawing
support in the convention's straw poll.
Former state Rep. Kevin Mannix, Portland lawyer Ron Saxton and state
Sen. Jason Atkinson all believe that Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski
is vulnerable. They say the fact that Kulongoski faces two
challengers for his own party's nomination underscores his shaky
standing.
"We smell blood, and it's the Democratic governor's blood," said
Mannix, who was narrowly defeated by Kulongoski in the 2002
governor's race.
Denver, Colorado -- Colorado voters may be first in the
nation to decide on a national initiative that requires school
districts to spend at least 65 percent of their budgets on direct
classroom instruction.
Republican legislators in Colorado spearheaded the drive to collect
more than 100,000 signatures on a petition to include the initiative
on November’s ballot as a state constitutional amendment. Gov. Bill
Owens publicly added his name to the petition last week. Republican
gubernatorial hopefuls U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez and Marc Holtzman, and
former Republican senate candidate Pete Coors, are among those
serving as state co-chairs of the Colorado campaign.
The nationwide movement, known as “the 65 percent solution,” started
last year with the founding of First Class Education, a national
nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to passing the initiative in all
50 states.
Salem, Oregon -- Oregon's elected leaders had an informal
agreement that any special legislative session this election year
would be short, free of partisan bickering and focused exclusively
on closing the $172 million budget gap at the state Department of
Human Services.
Forget about it.
Hours after state economists announced booming tax and lottery
revenues, Senate President Peter Courtney called House Speaker Karen
Minnis to tell her he was about to tell the media that a special
session should not only take care of Human Services but also find
more money for Portland schools.
Minnis had news of her own: She wanted to add regulation of payday
loans to a special session agenda.
Neither was happy to be surprised.
Not to be outdone, Gov. Ted Kulongoski's staff revealed the governor
had promised $10 million for Portland Public Schools if a special
session occurs. On Thursday, the governor also signaled a
willingness to take up changes to the corporate kicker income-tax
refund.
A special session looks more likely this spring. It also looks as if
it will be far more politically complicated.
Olympia, Washington -- The 59th session of the Washington
Legislature is headed for infamy. Gov. Christine Gregoire is
convening a "five-corners" meeting of bipartisan representatives of
the state House and Senate and her own office to come up with a plan
to fund a major expansion of KeyArena for the Seattle SuperSonics
basketball team.
Many in Olympia think that some kind of Sonics plan will pass the
Legislature before it adjourns.
Gregoire seems destined to join the likes of other recent Democratic
governors, Gary Locke and Mike Lowry, and push a hastily assembled
mega-deal through the Legislature for a sports team. Recently dubbed
"negotiator in chief" by Associated Press reporter Dave Ammons for
her prowess at cutting deals, the governor will meet with the state
Senate's chair of ways and means, Margarita Prentice, D-Renton; the
Senate's Republican leader, Mike Hewitt, R–Walla Walla; the House's
finance chair, Jim McIntire, D-Seattle; and the House's deputy
Republican leader, Mike Armstrong, R-Olympia.
Their mission is to craft an agreement that can be brought back to
the Legislature's respective caucuses. Legislators report that
Gregoire is lobbying hard. State Sen. Darlene Fairley, D–Lake Forest
Park, says Gregoire spoke to her about the arena issue. "The
governor is making a major push," she says. While Fairley will not
vote for a remodel of KeyArena for the Sonics, she believes enough
of her colleagues will. "It will pass with conservative Ds and
Republicans," she predicts.
The elements that are expected in such a package include a sizable
contribution from the Sonics, a three-year extension of current
stadium taxes, and a referendum on the matter for the voters of King
County or the state of Washington.
Jefferson City, Missouri -- Some religious leaders blasted
a proposed Missouri House resolution that supports prayer in schools
and recognizes a "Christian God," saying legislators are pushing
Christianity as a state religion.
"It's an atrocity," said the Rev. Timothy L. Carson, senior minister
at Webster Groves Christian Church. "Thomas Jefferson would be
rolling in his grave. It's indicative of a movement within one
segment of activist Christianity that wants to dominate the rest
with their views."
Some lawmakers blamed the backlash on a misunderstanding of the
purpose of such resolutions.
The proposed resolution states that "voluntary prayer in public
schools, religious displays on public property, and the recognition
of a Christian God are not a coalition of church and state."
It was recently approved by the House Rules Committee along party
lines - five Republicans backed it, three Democrats did not - and
could come for a vote before the full House next week. It would also
have to pass in the Senate.
The resolution, sponsored by Rep. David Sater, R-Cassville, and
co-sponsored by Rep. Barney Joe Fisher, R-Richards, is not a bill
and therefore cannot become a law.
Las Vegas, Nevada -- State Sen. Dina Titus hopes she can
convince voters that the decade and a half of experience she has had
in the Nevada Legislature will make her the most viable candidate in
the 2006 race for governor.
Titus, a political science professor at UNLV, has been in the center
of education issues since taking office in 1989 and wrote the law
making prescription drugs more affordable, supported passage of the
Amber Alert law and has backed legislation strengthening state laws
protecting senior citizens from exploitation and abuse.
She exudes a mix of authoritative leadership with Southern charm.
Critics call her difficult; she says she may have earned that label
because she's tough.
Titus is running against Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson in the
Democratic primary election.
Boise, Idaho -- Boise, Idaho -- The Idaho House has voted
49-17 to allow businesses located within year-round resorts to get
liquor licenses, helping clear the way for cocktails at a swanky
hotel project that's being financed by tennis stars Andre Agassi and
Steffi Graf.
The plan now goes to the Senate.
Under current law, the couple's 225-room, 300,000-square-foot hotel
project at Tamarack Resort near Donnelly — or any other
establishment that buys or leases space at such resorts — is limited
to selling nothing more than beer and wine.
Phoenix, Arizona -- Many elected governors, along the
border and interior, were complaining about the flood of illegal
immigrants pouring into their states in a recent governors meeting
in Washington, D.C. February 27, 2006.
"This is a national issue," said Governor Janet Napolitano of
Arizona, where 500,000 attempts to illegally cross the border were
turned back last year and an untold number got through.
"We're absorbing through taxpayer dollars the incarceration costs,
health-care costs, education costs," Napolitano stated.
In 2005, the illegal immigration crisis compelled Napolitano and
Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico to declare states of
emergency in border counties in each state. An increase in violent
criminal activity due to Border crossers was the purpose of
Arizona's emergency declaration in August, 2005. The declaration was
to assist local authorities in enforcing state laws regarding
smugglers.
Curiously, Governor Napolitano has vetoed every state bill regarding
illegal immigration issues. Prop 200 was passed overwhelmingly and
she is still trying to stop its implementation. The governor has
also stated she believed undocumented aliens should have driver
licenses in Arizona.
Phoenix, Arizona -- Gov. Janet Napolitano has decided to
allow House Bill 2064, the Arizona Legislature's latest
English-language-learners plan, to become law without her signature.
In a letter to House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix, Napolitano
criticized the legislation, but wrote that "after nine months of
meetings and three vetoes, it is time to take this matter to a
federal judge."
Napolitano wrote: "Although I am allowing House Bill 2064 to become
law without my signature, I do not believe this bill meets either
the Court's multiple orders or our existing consent decree."
The governor criticized the measure's "arbitrary funding level,"
failure to "ensure academic accountability," inability to gauge the
program's effectiveness and its unnecessary bureaucracy and
paperwork requirements.
Yankton, South Dakota -- Yankton's Matthew Michels,
speaker of the South Dakota House, is stepping away from politics -
for now.
Michels, a Republican finishing his fourth two-year House term,
can't run for re-election because of term limits.
Some people have urged him to run for the state Senate, but he said
Thursday that he has decided not to do that. He said he wants to
spend more time at home with his family.
Michels, who spent four years as House speaker, did say he has an
"intense interest" in running for a statewide office someday.
Santa Fe, New Mexico -- It's official: New Mexico will be
moving back to a statewide system of paper ballots.
With is signature, Governor Bill Richardson signed legislation which
officially moves the state from a system of electronic touch-screen
voting to audit-friendly paper ballots by the November 2006
elections.
The return to paper ballots also will require poll workers to be
trained on new optical scanner voting machines that will be required
with the new ballots.
Richardson has said the new paper ballot system will provide more
accountability to the election process and will give voters'
confidence that their votes will be correctly recorded.
This state's electronic balloting system was one of many criticized
by voters and political parties during the 2004 presidential
election because of unrecorded or switched votes that apparently
were caused by the electronic systems. In some states, including New
Mexico, hundreds of votes reportedly went uncounted.
Richardson has asked the state's 33 counties to train poll workers
on the new paper balloting equipment in time for the elections in
November.
Olympia, Washington -- Washington state is moving its
post-Labor Day primary to earlier in the summer, beginning next
year.
After years of wrangling over whether to change the state's
mid-September primary, one of the nation's latest, the state House
overwhelmingly approved a switch to the third Tuesday in August.
The measure easily cleared the Senate in February and now heads to
Gov. Chris Gregoire for her expected signature. The Senate had been
the longtime burial ground for legislation to hold the primary
earlier.
Portland, Oregon -- All of a sudden, money is raining down
on a state hard-pressed to pay its bills. So now what?
With a possible $666 million in "kicker" refunds and $45 million in
extra lottery money in play, pressures are building over how to use
it — or how not to.
Top candidates for the money are the Department of Human Services,
which has a $172 million shortfall, and schools. The Portland School
District alone is looking at a $57 million hole for 2006-2007.
State School Superintendent Susan Castillo says she wants the
Legislature to enter a special session and dedicate the lottery
money and the corporate portion of the kicker refunds — $205 million
— to education.
"Oregon schools have suffered severe cuts since 2003, falling to
30th in the nation in per-pupil spending," Castillo said in a
statement. "Schools should be the first in line to benefit from the
improvement in our economy."
She was joined by the Oregon Education Association, Oregon's largest
teachers' union and one of the more powerful lobbies in Salem.
But any move to shrink the corporate share of the kicker could face
tough going in a pre-election special session. The Republican-run
House is likely to oppose it, and Senate Majority leader Kate Brown,
D-Portland, said she is leery.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski, initially reluctant to call a special session
to patch up the Department of Human Services budget, now feels one
may be necessary, and education could be part of it.
Oregon has been criticized for paying the kicker instead of setting
the money aside for leaner years. But since voters put it into the
Oregon Constitution, it would require a vote of the people to repeal
it.
Aspen, Colorado -- Marc Holtzman formally kicked off his
campaign for governor with a party in Denver, a gathering that also
served as his 46th birthday party.
Holtzman has been campaigning for months, but the kickoff was meant
to mark a turning point from an exploratory campaign to a
higher-profile push for the seat leading up to the Republican
primary.
The former University of Denver president and state technology
secretary is challenging Rep. Bob Beauprez for the GOP nomination.
He has sought to distance himself from Beauprez by championing
issues like immigration reform and his opposition to Referendums C &
D, issues that Beauprez has taken less aggressive stances on.
Beauprez has referred to himself as a "principled conservative" and
has racked up endorsements from many of the party's leaders,
including Gov. Bill Owens. Holtzman said he believes people will be
less swayed by endorsements from the party's "elites" than by his
platform.
The winner of the primary will likely face Democratic candidate Bill
Ritter, a pro-life Democrat and former Denver district attorney.
Ritter is unchallenged after his only Democratic opponent, state
Rep. Gary Lindstrom, of Breckenridge, dropped out of the race on
Tuesday, saying he didn't want to divide the party in its efforts to
retake the governorship. Last month, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper
ruled out a run for the party's nomination.
Lincoln, Nebraska -- Opponents of term limits are taking
their fight to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Constituents of three state senators have asked the high court to
review a Lancaster District Court judge’s February decision to throw
out their challenge of term limits.
“There’s always hope,” Sen. Marian Price of Lincoln, one of the
senators who helped initiate the challenge of term limits, said
about chances she may get a favorable decision in time to run for
office.
Price is one of 20 state senators slated to leave office after this
year because of the voter-approved law that limits senators to two
consecutive four-year terms. Sen. Dennis Byars of Beatrice, who is
also among the 20, and Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, who has another
two years, also helped spur the legal challenge.
The attorney leading the legal challenge of term limits, Alan
Peterson of Lincoln, told The Associated Press that he believed the
senators’ names should be allowed to go on the ballot if the high
court strikes down the law before the May 9 primary election.
Secretary of State John Gale has said that there would have to be a
court order before March 15 for Byars and Price to be allowed to
file.
Phoenix, Arizona -- Arizona Sen. John McCain is headed to
Beverly Hills to help the re-election efforts of Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
McCain -- who is mulling a 2008 presidential run -- will appear with
Schwarzenegger at a California GOP fundraiser and rally March 20 at
the Beverly Hills Hotel. The Republican California governor faces a
tough re-election campaign this year in the Democratic-oriented
Golden State.
Democratic rivals include California state Comptroller and former
EBay executive Steve Westly and state Treasurer Phil Angelides.
Schwarzenegger was in Phoenix earlier this month helping raise
campaign funds for Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl. McCain also backs Kyl who
faces a Senate challenge from Valley real estate developer Jim
Pederson.
Salem, Oregon -- A dozen committees, commissions and task
forces are mulling health care proposals to bring to the 2007
Legislature -- perhaps a hint that the next session could be focused
on rising medical costs and the 600,000 Oregonians who lack health
insurance.
The clump of committees is certainly a sign that health care is on
voters' minds this election year and that politicians want
Oregonians to know they share the pain -- even if they don't have an
easy cure.
"When legislators are powerless or feel powerless, they study," says
Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day.
"The impulse is, maybe if we sift through the details, we'll find
something."
It's not unusual for legislators to study stubborn policy issues
between sessions. But this year health care is by far the top topic.
More groups are looking at health care than education and taxes
combined.
Boise, Idaho -- Midway through the 2006 Legislature, Gov.
Dirk Kempthorne and lawmakers remain at odds on several signature
issues he hoped would cement his legacy as an economic-development
champion and leave his two-term administration's mark on Idaho.
His $63 million plan to give every man, woman and child a $50
energy-relief check is dead, Republican leaders say.
Meanwhile, the future of his $34 million proposal to improve and
expand Idaho's state parks system remains unresolved, even after
Kempthorne abandoned a $6.6 million, state-funded lodge to appease
foes.
Now, "Connecting Idaho," the governor's $1.2 billion proposal that
won lawmaker support in 2005 to improve 258 miles of highways, is
the subject of intense scrutiny from some House and Senate
lawmakers. They favor scaling back bond sales meant to finance
construction, for fear they'll load Idaho with too much debt.
The legislative panel that holds the pursestrings on Idaho's $2.2
billion of taxpayer money will begin divvying it up soon. Over the
next month, they'll make key decisions on whether Kempthorne's
initiatives survive.
The divide separating the governor from House and Senate members is
broad.
Republican leaders say one reason for the current strife may be that
Kempthorne kept many of his proposals veiled from them before the
session's start, hampering opportunities to build consensus before
potentially controversial issues went public.
