Though Idaho is, in many ideological aspects, as far from California as one state could be, some of the citizens of Idaho want the Legislature to consider a very California-esque proposition: legalize the sale of marijuana.  The two states are facing huge revenue shortfalls, though California’s is in the billions and Idaho is in the millions, and some citizens believe one way to make up the shortfall is to regulate the sale of pot.

“If possession of less than one ounce of marijuana was penalized with a ticket…the state would go from spending to making money instantly,” wrote Coral Spitler of Boise, who argued instead for the punishment for marijuana possession to be lessened.

Advocates of the pot taxation idea believe California could generate as much as $990 million and the measure to make legal the practice of smoking cannabis for pleasure is under consideration by the state’s legislature.  It is unknown how much Idaho would make if the state made the change.

Citizens also took the time to suggest changes for the operation of the Legislature.  Several suggestions involved how to effectively reduce the cost of the having a legislative session.  Many recommended Idaho join Nevada, Montana, Oregon, North Dakota, and Texas in having one legislative session every two years.  A few respondents advocated that Idaho join Nebraska and condense the legislature down to a unicameral (single legislative body combining House and Senate) body.  Other citizens believed the Legislature should put a time limit on itself of either 30 or 45 business days, which is the standard in Utah.

“Nothing in this state should take one-fourth of each year for a legislative session,” wrote W. Loshbaugh of Meridian. Brad Moulton, also of Meridian, called on lawmakers to meet only by teleconference which, he argued, would save the state money and make legislators more accessible to the general public.

According to some estimates, the Idaho Legislature costs taxpayers $30,000 each business day, though some believe it could be as much as $35,000 per day.

No discussion about government would be complete without some form of tax talk.  This list is no exception, though many citizens called for taxes to be raised, not lowered.  Suggestions for tax increases varied from increasing the income tax by 1 percent to increasing the sales tax from 6 percent to 8-9 percent.   Many people submitted suggestions to increase taxes on “sin” items—beer, wine, cigarettes, and liquor – to gain additional revenue.  Ken Jackson, of Sandpoint, even suggested raising the gas tax by 25 cents, which he believes would force people to drive less and allow Idaho to enter the “transportation 21^st century.”

One of the primary causes of last year’s elongated legislative session was Gov. Butch Otter’s desire to see a 3-cent increase in the state’s gas taxes.  The Senate approved the hike, but the House refused to approve even a 2-cent hike.

Among the other suggestions were:

• Consolidating all state university systems into a single unit.
• Combining all state university athletic programs (no more Vandals vs. Broncos).
• Raising tax on chocolate and bottle water.
• Giving the state checkbook to a woman who has lived through hard times.
• Cutting “unconstitutional” athletic and music programs in schools.
• Cutting the pay of Boise State football coach Chris Peterson.

And this from Suzanne Coffey in Nampa:

• “I propose families who have more than 2-3 children…start paying some type of an amount back to the state to educate each child.”  Coffey argues that children from large families usually have large families of their own and that, in turn, leads to school districts needing more buses, teachers, and support staff.

To review the list for yourself or to make suggestions, please visit the governor’s website.

Rep. Stephen Thayn, a Republican from Emmett, and Rep. Branden Durst, a Democrat from Boise, are collaborating on an education bill that could radically alter the educational system in Idaho, save the state government thousands, and incentivize students to become more involved in their own education.  The two legislators want to create a pilot project that would allow students in selected districts to move through school at their own pace and move up grade levels in K-6 schools and test out of classes in grade 7-12 in order to graduate early.

The Mastery Advancement Pilot Program, as it is called in the bill, would create a six year long pilot project that would test the ability of the program to operate efficiently and meet its targeted goals.  Schools districts of every size from across the state would be allowed to apply to be part of the project and the Idaho State Department of Education would select twenty-one schools districts and three charter schools of various and proportional sizes to participate.  Charter schools would also be allowed to apply, though only three from across the state would be accepted into the program.

For grades K-6, the Dept. of Education would create skill-based benchmark tests to be administered by each school in the pilot districts.  Upon successful completion of a test, a student would receive full credit for the grade level they tested out of and would be allowed to move to the next grade.  There are no specific limits on how many grades a student could skip during the “benchmark” phase.

For grades 7-12, the Dept. of Education would develop knowledge-based end-of-course-assessments called “mastery exams.”  Each class or subject area would have an exam and students would be required to score at least eighty-five percent on the exams to receive completion credits.   Once students test out of a class, he or she would be allowed, under the supervision and direction of the district and school, to study other subjects required for graduation.  Through self-study, it is anticipated the student would have access to online high school courses and additional materials that would aid in the learning.  The students would need to complete all curriculums as required by the school district, either through testing out or in-class instruction, to graduate.

Students who graduate in less than the standard thirteen years (including Kindergarten), would receive a state-funded scholarship for use only in public colleges and universities in Idaho.  For each year the student graduated early he or she would receive money, in the form of a scholarship, which would equal thirty-five percent of the student’s district’s cost of educating the student.  Thayn estimated the state pays approximately $2,500 a semester to educate each student, so students would receive just under $1,000 in scholarship funds.

Students who would graduate early under the program would be allowed to remain in school and participate in concurrent enrollment programs, which allow students to take college courses and earn college credit in a high school setting.

Schools would ultimately save money by having fewer students that require all thirteen years of education.  It is not known at this time if any teachers would lose their jobs as a result of the reduced student levels.  For each semester students would graduate early, the state would pay the district about thirty-percent of the cost to educate the student, though the student would not be enrolled in school.