C.L. “BUTCH” OTTER GOVERNOR

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Jon Hanian March 8,2010 (208) 334-2100 10:021

NEZPERCE TO HOST MARCH “CAPITAL FOR A DAY”

(BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced today that the Lewis County community of Nezperce will be Idaho’s “Capital for a Day” on Friday, March 19th.

The first-come, first-served open opportunity to meet with the Governor, selected members of his Cabinet and other senior state officials is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Nezperce Community Center/Library located at 602 4th Avenue in Nezperce. The Governor also will join Mayor Steve Bateman, other state and local leaders, and community members for lunch at noon at the Serenity Café, located at 312 Oak Street in Nezperce. The public is welcome to join and cost for lunch will be $10 per person.

Officials joining Governor Otter at Capital for a Day will include Tom Luna, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Dick Armstrong, director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW); Celia Gould, director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture; Don Dietrich, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce; Bill Deal, director of the Idaho Department of Insurance; Kelly Pearce, administrator of the Division of Building Safety; Brian Ness, director of the Idaho Transportation Department; Jeff Anderson, director of the Idaho Lottery;; Royce Chigbrow, chairman of the Idaho State Tax Commission; Don Soltman, member of the State Board of Education; Earl Bennett, member of the board of trustees for the Idaho State Historical Society; Jay Sila, area supervisor for the Idaho Department of Lands; Gwen Fransen, regional administrator for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality; Tanya McElfresh, regional director for IDHW; Heather Leach, manager of the Orofino and Grangeville offices of the Idaho Department of Labor; Virgil Moore, deputy director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG); and Dave Cadwallader, IDFG regional supervisor.

“It’s good to be bringing Capital for a Day back to north-central Idaho, and particularly to the home of the newly crowned 1A Division 2 boys high school basketball champions,” Governor Otter said. “I have a strong crew of directors joining me this month, and they’re ready to listen and to do what we can to bring the best of our State government to Nezperce and Lewis County.”

From State Senator Dean M. Mortimer,

For Your Information:

Today is the 52nd day in the 2010 session of the Idaho Legislature. The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) has been busy setting the FY 2011 budget and we will continue this week. Monday morning we worked on the budget for part of the Office of the Governor, the State Independent Living Council, and the Public Health Districts. We were scheduled to hear the school budget on Monday but were given an extra couple of days to review. With the task of cutting the school budget, I believe that extra effort in the budgeting process is a good thing. It gave JFAC, as well as the rest of the legislature, time to review and understand the cuts that are about to be made.

All eyes were on JFAC this morning for the school budget hearing. A common theme passed throughout the committee of somber and mellow tones. With the economic troubles we face, and our constitutional obligation to balance the budget, many decisions have to be made that are more than unsavory. A meeting of stakeholders over the past two weeks helped set forth the budget for public education that was agreed to today. Also, JFAC declared a financial emergency for all the school districts throughout the State which will allow more flexibility with their diminished budgets.

I recommend looking at the state website at www.legislature.idaho.gov this website is a great tool to keep up to date with the day to day business of the legislature. If you have any questions, concerns, comments, or would like to be removed from my email list, please feel free to email me at dmortimer@senate.idaho.gov. I look forward to hearing from you.

C.L. “BUTCH” OTTER GOVERNOR NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Jon Hanian March 1, 2010 (208) 334-2100 10:016

GOVERNOR, LEGISLATIVE LEADERS MAKE CASE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND

(BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and members of House and Senate leadership joined today in hailing bipartisan support for a plan to create an Idaho Higher Education Stabilization Fund to help State colleges and universities – and the people they serve – weather tough economic times.

“Idaho public schools would be struggling a lot more than they are without the $318 million that we’ve been able to use for K-12 education during this recession from the Public Education Stabilization Fund. One of the things we should learn from this downturn is how important it is to provide a similar safety net for higher education,” Governor Otter said. “It’s the right thing to do for those Idaho students who we want to keep here at home. It’s the right thing to do for their families and our communities. And it’s the right thing to do for our economic future.”

House Bill 544 would redirect interest on revenue from tuition and fees at Idaho’s State colleges and universities to a new “strategy interest account” within the broader Higher Education Stabilization Fund. That would include about $114,000 now available. The Legislature also would be able to appropriate money to the fund in the future, when there is a surplus of revenue, and it would disburse money from the fund to the institutions – including the community colleges – based on allocation practices used by the State Board of Education.

“Our economy will recover and we’ll have money available to invest in higher education again. But there also will be another recession someday, and we need to be ready,” said Senator Joe Stegner, assistant majority leader in the Idaho Senate. “This is a prudent step toward ensuring we have the means to keep our promises to Idaho’s students.”

“Career training, research and development, and an educational climate that helps us attract and retain employers are only a few of the reasons why greater stability in funding for our colleges and universities is so important,” said Representative Scott Bedke, assistant majority leader in the Idaho House. “Now is the time to prepare for the next economic downturn.”

The House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 544 and forwarded it to the Senate, where it was endorsed by the State Education Committee today and sent to the full Senate for consideration.

Semanko Calls on Allred Spokesman to Step Down from Board of Southwest Chapter of Idaho Press Club

BOISE – Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko released the following statement in response to learning that Keith Allred’s Campaign Spokesman, Shea Anderson, sits on the board of the Southwest Idaho Chapter of the Idaho Press Club:

“In their own words, the Idaho Press Club “is dedicated to improving the practice of journalism in Idaho,” with that being said I find it ironic that the Southwest Chapter of the Idaho Press Club would allow a partisan campaign worker in Shea Anderson, Keith Allred’s campaign spokesman, to sit on their board.

Shea Anderson’s involvement with the board calls into question the intentions of the Idaho Press Club. For the reputation of the Idaho Press Club, and for the sake of journalistic integrity, I call on Shea Anderson to resign his seat on the board of the Southwest Chapter of the Idaho Press Club immediately.”

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Paid for by the Idaho Republican Party • 208-343-6405 • www.idgop.org Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee

CRAPO: WE NEED TO DEVELOP A NEW HEALTH PLAN

Washington, D.C. – Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee that worked extensively on health care proposals, issued this statement today following the President’s Health Care Summit:

“I’m very discouraged by the outcome of today’s health care summit. The President’s insistence that essentially the same bill we have been debating for the last year must be the template for any health care bill to be considered precludes genuine negotiations. There is real potential to reach bipartisan support for a number of significant and meaningful reforms that will truly reduce the cost of health insurance premiums and increase access to health care. But we cannot reasonably build that consensus if the President continues to insist that the starting point must be a bill with a $950 billion price tag that would result in skyrocketing taxes, devastating cuts to Medicare, extension of government control over the health care economy, and would increase, not decrease, the cost of health care insurance for millions of Americans. Americans have made it very clear that this is not the kind of reform that they want. It is my hope that we will start genuine negotiations and build on the many ideas where we can find true bipartisan agreement.”

Crapo noted that health care reform affects one-sixth of the nation’s economy. He said ideas such as realigning payment incentives toward outcomes, not the number of procedures, along with wellness and prevention programs, encouraging small businesses to pool together and allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines to increase competition are good first steps that do not raise taxes and can lower health costs. Crapo remained opposed to artificial deadlines, such as the Christmas Eve vote on health care in the Senate or the President’s warning today setting a six-week deadline on negotiations.

To directly link to this news release, please use the following address: http://crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/release_full.cfm?id=322574

BUDGET, HEALTH CARE ON AGENDA FOR CRAPO FORUM

Idahoans can join the iTownhall conference on March 10th

Washington, DC – With budget deficit, tax and health care issues taking center stage before Congress, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is seeking the input of Idahoans during a statewide telephone town hall forum scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, March 10th. Participating is as easy as signing in on Crapo’s official website and answering the telephone for the forum that begins at 7:00 p.m. Mountain/6:00 p.m. Pacific.

To sign up for the iTownhall meeting, please go to Crapo’s website, http://crapo.senate.gov., and click on the iTownhall icon. You will be directed to send an e-mail request with your contact information. To ensure participation in the March 10th call, you should sign up by Monday, March 8th.

“Idahoans have strong feelings about our national debt, as I heard during the recent state work period last week,” Crapo said. “There are ways to improve health care that do not require dramatic tax increases and deficit spending and this town hall forum gives us an opportunity to expand our discussions about issues like health care, taxes and job creation.”

A telephone is all that is needed to participate in the iTownHall meeting. Listeners are given an opportunity to ask the Senator about topics regarding federal policies or legislation, although the meeting is limited to one hour.

Following the call, an audio file (MP3) of the full call will be posted on the website. A transcript will be posted at a later date.

To directly link to this news release, please use the following address: http://crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/release_full.cfm?id=322377