Though Democrats hold just a small number of seats in the House and Senate, it seems Republicans may be willing to work with the minority on ethics reform.

House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, seemed skeptical of the plans, but did hint that cooperation might be in order. “I am willing to work with minority, maybe we could come up with something out of that.”

Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malapeai, D-Pocatello, told reporters gathered at the Capitol for the annual legislative preview that the last few years have seen behavior “unbecoming of public servants” in the state and that the minority party plans to address the issues. The Senate minority leader wouldn’t give many details, but did hint that potential legislation could create an independent ethics commission. He also said Democrats may pursue “revolving door” legislation that would prevent lawmakers from taking Idaho government-related private sector jobs immediately after working in the public arena.

What Malapeai wouldn’t say is exactly why he and his party are motivated to bring ethics reforms, but he hinted at the causes. “I think most of you have been reading the things in the papers … to know what I am talking about,” the Pocatello Democrat said. “I’m not prepared to get into naming names.”

The only ethics cases in either chamber of the Legislature came in 2010 when Athol Republican Rep. Phil Hart faced complaints about his non-payment of state and federal taxes and controversy over his theft of timber from state endowment lands. Hart lost his spot on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee and his vice chairmanship on the House Transportation Committee as a result.

During 2011, two state senators came under public scrutiny involving the per diem allowance for legislators.  Sens. John McGee, R-Caldwell, and Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, accepted per diem money for maintaining a second residence during the 2011 legislative sessions, but reportedly slept rent-free at different locations. McGee slept at this parent’s home in Boise and McKenzie caught rest on the couch in his Boise law office.

McGee also came under fire due to his June arrest for drunken driving. He was originally charged with driving under the influence and grand theft, but the latter charge was dropped in a plea deal. In the ordeal, McGee stole and eventually jackknifed an SUV and trailer in Boise.

Another incident involving an unelected public figure also raised questions about moving from the public sector straight into a lobbying position in the private sector.  Gov. Butch Otter’s chief of staff, Jason Kreizenbeck, resigned his position to join one of the largest lobbying firms in Idaho.

Without pointing specific fingers, Democrats say ethical lapses of the recent path have caused Idahoans to question the government’s integrity. House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, says it’s time to restore public trust. “People want what government is necessary to be focused on the common good and not on personal gain,” he said. “So we’ll be trying to address programs and proposals that restore some of the faith that people have lost in government.”

Rusche told IdahoReporter.com that the bills will likely be ready in the first or second week of the legislative session.

House Bill 699a, sponsored by Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, and the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a Boise-based free market think tank, mandates that school districts serving more than 300 students post vendor contracts, collective bargaining agreements and monthly expenditures on their websites. The information must be easily-accessible from a district web page.

Officials had until Thursday to meet the guidelines, though Melissa McGrath, spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Education, said the legislation doesn’t address enforcement of the law.

Laura Rumpler, communication director for the Coeur d’Alene School District, says the law has added a burden to school officials, noting that adding the data to the website took about 20 hours in the last few weeks. Going forward, Rumpler expects school workers to spend on average five hours each month keeping the data and information current.

Still, she says, officials are happy to follow the rules. “We are a district that follows the law,” she explained.

Coeur d’Alene completed the task in the last few days. “We made sure everything is public and easy to access,” Rumpler concluded. (See Coeur d’Alene’s expenditure disclosure site here.)

But Wayne Hoffman, IFF’s head man, disputes that the mandates mean extra tasks for schools. “It doesn’t add a bunch of extra work,” Hoffman said. “It’s just a matter of making information that is already there accessible to the public.”

Hoffman said government entities have the duty to disclose the data. “One of the basic roles of government is being transparent to taxpayers,” Hoffman explained. “It they are unable to do that, they need to ask themselves why they cannot fulfill one of the most basic missions of government.”

Beth Pendergrass, community relations manager for the Twin Falls School District, told IdahoReporter.com Thursday that she too is happy to provide the information for transparency’s sake, but also believes the requirements of the law mean much extra work.

“It does put kind of a burden on the schools because of the time needed,” Pendergrass explained. “But obviously, the public has the right to know.”

Pendergrass said that open records laws may have been enough to create an environment of transparency, but says, like Rumpler, her district will follow the law. “I think it’s appropriate to have transparency in government agencies,” she explained.

The problem with the measure, she added, is the mandates on how fiscal reports are generated. The specifics in the law, Rumpler said, mean extra work for employees in all 13 schools in the Twin Falls School District. (See Twin Falls’ expenditure site here.)

The Pocatello School District finished posting its financial data this week, though finance director Carl Smart notes he has been placing most of the data on the website for years. To come into compliance, Smart only had to create monthly expenditure reports, a task that took at least a week.  Smart said ensuring that no protected employee or student data was put into the public domain took most of the time.

“We have to be careful in the way we disclose things,” Smart said.

Disclosure notice: The Idaho Freedom Foundation publishes IdahoReporter.com. 

It looks like Idaho might follow Perry’s lead when lawmakers meet in Boise next year.

Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, told IdahoReporter.com said he may address search methods in the next legislative session, set to begin in January.  “I do plan on revisiting the issue,” said Hart, who unsuccessfully pushed a bill to limit the use of full body scanners at public airports in Idaho in 2010.

Hart says he is looking into the problem, but isn’t certain if the bill he crafts will mirror the Texas legislation.  “Whether it will be like the Texas bill, I don’t know,” he explained.

Hart could likely count on support from his seatmate and political ally, Rep. Vito Barbieri, a Republican from Dalton Gardens.  Barbieri, co-author of a bill to prevent certain parts of the 2010 federal health reform bill from being implemented in Idaho, told IdahoReporter.com Wednesday that he would support a Texas-like bill if the details are right.  “I would, of course, want to see the details,” Barbieri said.

Barbieri said the TSA is perfect evidence of a federal government agency that has run amok.  “The TSA is a prime example of the federal government intruding needlessly,” he said.  “The way they have set this bureaucracy up is mind-boggling.”

Perry added the bill to a list of legislation Texas lawmakers will address in an upcoming special session.  The first version of the legislation was scrapped after U.S. attorney John Murphy sent a letter to state lawmakers saying that the legislation would criminalize a practice mandated by federal regulations.

Murphy also warned that the state had no authority to essentially cancel out the pat down process and threatened that “TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of the passengers and crew.”

Hart wants to examine if TSA really has the authority to conduct pat down searches.  “I don’t know if they have that authority,” he said.  But, even if the agency does have the ability to pat down travelers, Hart said, the Constitution and the Fourth Amendment may prohibit it.  “I think pat downs for everybody or scans of their naked bodies are unreasonable searches and not allowed by the Fourth Amendment.  I prefer that we follow the Constitution.”

Barbieri said he wouldn’t back down if the Idaho Legislature was threatened by TSA over an anti-pat down bill.  “I would follow through with the state sovereignty issue on behalf of the citizens of Idaho,” he stated.

If Gem State lawmakers decide to follow Texas, it wouldn’t be the first time the Idaho Legislature has pursued a measure to clamp down on TSA pre-flight screening methods.

The bill Hart brought in 2010 would have banned full body scanners from airports and some other public buildings.  Hart told his colleagues in the House that the science behind the machines, which provide a picture of a traveler essentially without clothes, is spotty and that they might pose a cancer risk.

Hart’s legislation would have used the state’s police power to prohibit the machines from being installed or used in public airports or city, county, or state buildings.

The measure passed the Idaho House on a 58-9 vote, enjoying bipartisan support from legislators.  It died, however, when it failed to receive a hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee.

Hart’s bill may not have mattered anyway, or so said Idaho deputy attorney general James Carlson.   In a legal opinion about the measure, Carlson wrote that even if the Senate and the governor had gone along with the plan, the law would have been preempted by federal regulation.

Carlson’s legal opinion didn’t stop Hart from pushing the bill.  The Athol Republican gained bill approval from a House committee 11 days after receiving the legal opinion.

In a surprise move Thursday, as the Legislature finished its business for the year, Palmer was selected as chair of the committee.  House Speaker Lawewence Denney, R-Midvale, announced the change after lawmakers finished voting on bills for the year.  Palmer replaces Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, in the job.

This is not the first leadership change for the panel this year. Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, originally held the vice  chairman post, but he resigned in a deal to end ethics investigations into his dealings with the Idaho State Tax Commission.  Palmer was tapped to fill that post. Rep. Julie Ellsworth, R-Boise, will serve as vice chairman.

Denney did not expound on why the change was made.  Smith was not on the House floor Thursday.  He was seen carrying moving boxes out of the Capitol Wednesday.

Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, was replaced as chairman of the House Agricultural Committee.  He will be replaced by Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Soda Springs.

The bill passed on a 66-3 vote, and now heads to the Idaho Senate for consideration.  Reps. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, and Phil Hart, R-Hayden, were the lawmakers who voted against the bill, though none of them explained their opposition during debate on the legislation.

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Erik Simpson, R-Idaho Falls, told IdahoReporter.com that the bill stems from an incident in his home district from a few years ago in which two sex offenders attended a school play without informing school officials.  Simpson said that there was a security guard at the event, but the official was unaware of the presence of the sex offenders on school property.

Simpson told colleagues that it is sometimes difficult for school officials to know when those required to register as sex offenders are on school property, especially if their students have different last names.

During the committee hearing on the bill, Simpson said the plan would also be mutually beneficial for schools and sex offenders.  Officials would have the ability to know sex offenders associated with students in schools, while offenders would be able to be easily informed of district policy changes on security or access issues.

The bill would make it a misdemeanor if sex offenders fail to check in with school officials prior to their first visit of a school year. Even sex offenders who enter school grounds solely to drop off students would be required to notify the district.

Sex offenders who live around schools but do not visit grounds would not be required to notify officials.  Offenders are already prohibited from living closer than 500 feet to schools.

Through state code, school districts are allowed to craft their own policies regarding sex offenders on grounds.  Districts may even completely prohibit sex offenders from visiting schools. If passed by the Legislature, the bill will do nothing to change that ability.

Representatives approved four of the six reform measure that came before them Tuesday on the House floor.

The first to gain approval was House Bill 95, sponsored by Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Eagle, which would require that voters approve giving urban renewal agencies the power to act.  Agencies could be formed, Moyle said, but could not perform work until a majority of voters give their consent to do so.

Moyle’s plan would also take agency authorization life from 24 to 20 years and prevent agricultural land from being included without the express consent of the owner.

House Bill 95 passed 68-0.

House Bill 96, also sponsored by Moyle, would allow certain government taxing districts – schools, fire departments, and certain highway agencies – to opt out of urban renewal agencies at the beginning of the project.  Funding formulas are fairly complex for urban renewal, but it can be summed up like this: when voters approve property tax increases for a school or highway district, urban renewal agencies across the state get a piece of the pie and more money.

Moyle said that if more government leaders are involved in the urban renewal process, the more accountability that will bring to the agencies.

But Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, argued that greater involvement by more government leaders would only mean more pork for projects.  Perry cautioned that highway districts and school districts would ask for certain pet projects and would threaten to opt out of district creation if wishes weren’t granted.

Rep. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, said that requiring other leaders to become involved would increase knowledge of urban renewal and shed more light on it for voters.  “Everyone is going to have to get more educated about this,” said Guthrie.

The measure passed on a 43-27 vote tally.

House Bill 97, sponsored by Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls, would mandate that urban renewal agencies outline all projects for the public prior to starting them, determine termination dates, and return all unused money to taxing districts located therein after a project has completed.

Nonini said he likes the idea of urban renewal, but that more oversight by the general public is necessary.  “It will restore voters’ confidence in urban renewal,” said Nonini.

Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, said that requiring agencies to set forth specific plans would decrease their ability to change and adapt to marketplace conditions as time goes by.

House Bill 97 passed on a tally of 43-26

The final measure approved by legislators was House Bill 110, sponsored by Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens.  The measure would require districts hold public hearings prior to starting project work.

The bill passed 67-0.

The two measures that failed dealt with voting in urban renewal agencies.  The first measure, House Bill 99, would have mandated a county-wide vote to approve any bonds taken out for projects.  The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, explained that the requirement would be in line with what other taxing districts are required to do by state law.

Smith objected to the county-wide requirement, saying that individual cities should have their say.  The Twin Falls Republican cited Kuna, a small town south of Boise but still in the same county, as one example of a city that could be irreparably harmed by the county-wide vote requirement.

Because Kuna is in the same county as Boise – Ada County – Smith explained that Boise voters would decide the fate of Kuna’s urban renewal plans.    “This is an onerous requirement that will do great damage and probably just flat shut down those kinds of projects that your cities are telling you are so wonderful,” said Smith. “It’s just not a good idea.”

The measure failed on a 20-49 count.

The other bill failing on the House floor was Coeur d’Alene Republican Rep. Kathy Sims’ bill to implement oversight boards into urban renewal agencies.  Boards would have been elected on a county-wide vote and districts could decide if they wanted three- or five-member panels.  Smith stood in opposition to Sims’ bill, again saying that a county-wide vote should not determine the fate of a city issue.

The bill failed on a 27-43 count.

The approved measures now head to the Idaho Senate.   There are a few more urban renewal bills floating around the Capitol, including one calling for total repeal of the law authorizing urban renewal.  That bill should receive a hearing this week.

Note: Erik Makrush, lobbyist with the Idaho Freedom Foundation, played an active role in crafting several of the urban renewal bills. IdahoReporter.com is published by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

Shewmaker, who is active in Idahoans for Liberty, an interest group based in the Treasure Valley,  argued before lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee that  the measure was simply a plan to crowd competitors out of sheriffs’ races.  “It sounds like a special interest bill to me,” said Shewmaker.  “Elections of the sheriff is the citizens’ business.”

The bill died after two tie votes failed to push the measure to the House floor.

The bill was pushed by Idaho Sheriff’s Association lobbyist Michael Kane, who proposed that the restrictions imposed by his plan would be for the good of Gem State counties.  “It’s not because they [the association] want to make it more difficult to run,” Kane explained.  “We have experienced a change in the world.”

The bill would have required that anyone who runs for sheriff either be POST-certified or gain certification within one year of election.  Kane said that citizens interested in running for the job could self-fund for training – at a cost of $8,000 – or have the county pay the bill if the election is won.

But that training, typically six to eight weeks in length, could have negatively affected more rural counties will fewer deputies.

Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, said had concerns about a sheriff being off the job for the prolonged amount of time.  “I’m a little worried this might be too big of a burden on rural counties,” said Hart.

If any elected sheriff could not complete training within a year of being elected, he would have to vacate his post.  Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, said that if that occurs, Republican or Democratic central committees would submit names to county officials for replacements, an unwanted scenario.  “That’s spooky too,” Nielsen pointed out.  “That can be a real problem.”

But Kane cautioned lawmakers that taxpayers could be harmed if a sheriff is not adequately prepared for the post.  “The people, as taxpayers, are going to be the ones who suffer when the county is sued,” said Kane, adding that modern sheriffs must understand law, management, finances, and a myriad of other topics to perform the job.

But voter and local rights won the day. Shewmaker said that election of sheriffs is a local issue.  “This is county business,” she argued.  “Let counties decide.”  Shewmaker is not totally closed off to the idea, but says only a citizen-led effort would convince her to support the idea.  “I’d like to see citizens call for this and initiate this action,” she concluded.

Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, said that voters should have the ability to make poor choices.  “I think the people have rights,” Burgyone explained.  “We have to respect the right of the people to be wrong because that is their right.”

Nielsen echoed Burgyone’s notion.  “This bill troubles the dickens out of me,” said Nielsen.  “I think this should be left up to the people.”

A handful of legislators were wary of letting anyone perform the task.  “The job is just much more complicated than it used to be,” said Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum.  Rep. Mack Shirley, R-Rexburg, joined that chorus, saying the measure would be for the good of the public.  “I think there’s a safety issue here,” said Shirley.  Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, said she was “shocked” at the small amount of requirements for a sheriff’s post.

Candidates for sheriff now must be at least 21 years of age, be a U.S. resident, and must have lived in the county for at least one year prior to be sworn in.

“The possibility of reform has not been so great since … the 1960s,” Beers said, exhorting those present to mobilize to beat back wolves, and federal intervention, at the event sponsored in part by the Idaho Freedom Foundation. “The environment is right for challenging the E.S.A.” ESA (Endangered Species Act).”

The energy to challenge federal tyranny is at a peak, he said, but added that the forces conspiring to deny state control are well-entrenched – the government is infiltrated with people bent on personal advancement, and money. Beers said the takeover began in the late 1960s, a time of “free love, drugs, and a lot of turbulence.”

“They’ve got their own staff in there,” he said, referring to those who reached high positions by playing along. That gang now “feels a commitment to change the way you live,” Beers said.

Per his reputation, Beers didn’t hold back Wednesday; he heartily ripped into government officials, environmentalists, and the notion that wolves are not a big problem. Part of his mission is to get across “the raw truth of wolves, the havoc they wreak.”
 Graphic posters set up around the room drove home the point. “Wolves will eat their prey alive; or worse eat a portion of the animal and leave it to suffer,” read one caption to a photo of a disembowed elk. Another photo showed a dog with its head chewed off. “How would you feel if this was your best friend?” the caption read.
”Every summer they’re grabbing kids in the backyard and dragging them back to their dens,” Beers told the crowd.

Beers provided a history of wolves around the world, and in the Americas, including the era of reintroduction in the United States, which started small in northern Minnesota but has since spread. Way back when in northern Europe, wolves, as they do now here, did “just what they do today, killing people, killing dogs, killing sheep …”
 Beers said places like Africa are “not as evolved” as Europe because Africans have failed to achieve dominion over the beasts native to their land — in contrast to Russia, where helicopter gunships have used wolf packs for target practice.

Beers called for an end to federal control, and a nullification of the Endangered Species Act. His message resonated with many in the crowd, and the half-dozen members of the Idaho Legislature on hand.

Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, said he supports efforts aimed at gaining state control over wolves, and everything else.

“Anything that can allow local control is a possibility,” he said. 
But, Barbieri said,  such efforts do not mean he wants to see a dissolution of the United States, as some Democrats have charged.

“Autonomy does not mean disintegration,” he said.

Boise resident Mike McCollough, 60, got fired up by the talk and vowed to spread the word. ”I’m sick of it … losing our rights as citizens,” he said.

Gary Gill, a 67-year-old cattle rancher from Owyhee County, said he hasn’t lost any animals to wolves, but he knows people who have, and he fears the same happening to his herd.

Like Barbieri, Reps. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, and Phil Hart, R-Athol, said they would support formal actions to pry the state from federal clutches. 
Hart told IdahoReporter.com that he plans to introduce legislation calling for a declaration of support for Gov. Butch Otter, and new laws that would make civil fines possible for those who investigate, arrest, or prosecute someone who kills a wolf in Idaho. A similar bill died in committee last week, amid concerns that the move would hurt wolf-management negotiations.

“I very much appreciate where Gov. Otter has taken us. I’d like to see the Legislature back him up,” Hart said.

Perry, co-owner of a Boise gun shop, said hunting is hurting in the Gem State; the opportunities to take elk are dwindling, she said. 
Indeed, the population of elk has plunged from 16,000 to 2,000 in the Lolo zone of north Idaho, according to the state Fish and Game Department. The federal government has preliminarily granted the state’s request to hold a hunt for 60 wolves in that area.

Brian Kelly, the United States Fish and Wildlife Idaho supervisor, told a Montana newspaper that “wolves are a factor” in the elk decline. ”They’ve tried more liberal hunting seasons on other predators like black bears and mountain lions. They’ve tried habitat improvements, changes in the hunting framework for elk – and they’re still not seeing a response,” he said.

Perry said Idaho and neighboring states should team up to thwart federal control, to nullify endangered species regulations.

The nullification notion got a boost Wednesday when Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said that he was ready to order state game officials to kill off entire wolf packs in defiance of federal protections under the Endangered Species Act, according to Rueters.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Schweitzer said he was his duty “to protect their property and to continue to enjoy Montana’s cherished wildlife heritage and traditions.”

Schweitzer said he acted out of an urgent need to assist ranchers and sportsmen left unable to control wolves, according to Rueters.

“If there is a dang wolf in your corral attacking your pregnant cow, shoot that wolf. And if its pals are in the corral, shoot them, too,” Schweitzer said. “I cannot continue to ignore the crying need for workable wolf management while Montana waits, and waits, and waits,” the governor wrote in his letter.

Note: IdahoReporter.com is published by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

House Bill 95 is sponsored by Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Eagle, but is also the product of the Meridian Development Corporation, an urban renewal entity in Meridian.  Moyle’s bill, one of the two approved for the amending order, would allow voters to decide if an agency can be created, a power now reserved only for cities and counties.

The measure would also shorten the length of renewal project authorizations from 24 years to 20 years. The bill will be slightly altered to correct code references when it is brought up in the amending order.

House Bill 96, also sponsored by Moyle, would allow some governmental entities – like school, highway, and fire districts – to opt out of urban renewal districts at their creation.  Once districts are created, however, those entities must remain in them through the duration of the authorization.

Advocates for the plan say opting-out of districts will allow those governmental entities to keep more of their own money.  Opponents argued that it would be unfair to let them opt-out because they would likely see some increased benefits from urban renewal projects.

Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Posts Falls, sponsored House Bill 97, which he says will bring greater public oversight and scrutiny into urban renewal projects.  The measure would require districts to clearly outline project objectives and plans prior to beginning work.  The bill would also require renewal agencies to return unused money to governmental entities within district boundaries when projects are completed.

Erik Makrush, a lobbyist with the Idaho Freedom Foundation, told lawmakers that increased transparency is always appreciated.  “I think this is critical for good government,” said Makrush.

House Bill 99 was sponsored by Rep. Phil Hart, R-Hayden.  The measure would require districts to gain a two-third vote of citizens in counties prior to taking out public bonds.  Hart said the requirement is similar to what is outlined in the Idaho Constitution for school districts, jails, and other governmental entities.

This is the second bill that will be sent to the amending order for language-tightening.

Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene, sponsored House Bill 114, which would implement an elected five-member oversight board for renewal agencies.  Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, objected to the specific number of members on the board, arguing that smaller districts should be able to have a three-member panel.  Luker also disagreed with the measure because it would require members to be elected on a county-wide basis, though they would only have authority within specific cities.

His colleagues didn’t agree and sent the measure to the House floor despite his protest.

Those objecting to urban renewal bills argued that additional elections would mean greater costs to cities and counties.  Bill sponsors said that because Idaho has consolidated elections, – meaning cities and counties can only hold elections on certain dates – urban renewal elections could coincide with other contests, thereby preventing extra expending of money.

Finally, Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, brought House Bill 110 to require that districts hold public hearings over potential project plans.  Like Nonini’s bill, Barbieri said, more transparency and public scrutiny is necessary to regulate districts.  The measure passed without much discussion and now heads to the House floor.

Note: Idaho Freedom Foundation lobbyist Erik Makrush testified in favor of all reform bills.  Makrush was also actively involved in crafting the legislation.  IdahoReporter.com is published by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, proposed a bill Tuesday in the House State Affairs Committee that would essentially shut citizens out from the ethics complaint process in more ways than one.

Denney’s bill, which comes shortly after two citizen complaints were filed against two members of the House, would prohibit that practice in the future.  The speaker told committee members that ethics complaints are solely for the use of House members, and not the general public.  ”These are the internal rules of the House,” said Denney.

The measure would also close off initial ethics hearings to the general public.  Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, had two formal ethics complaints filed against him in the past year and all the hearing were open for all to see.  That would change under Denney’s plan, which says that ethics committees would first need to meet to determine if the ethics complaints are with merit.  If they are not, the closed-door committee would dismiss them; if they are, Denney said, the ethics committee would then hold open hearings on complaints.

The bill would also define what could be constituted as an actual ethics violation.  The bill primarily states that only abuse or serious neglect of legislative duties would represent an ethics violation, though Denney noted that other serious crimes could rise to a level what would necessitate an ethics hearing.

Not all members of the committee were satisfied with the wording of the bill.  Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, opposed the measure, and said that the legislation should explicitly cover all actions by House members.  “I don’t want to limit this to just our duties, I want to limit it to our conduct,” said King.

Committee members fast-tracked the bill by sending it straight to the House without a second committee hearing.  “There is no need to come back to this committee because it does not involve the public,” said Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, maker of the motion to fast-track the measure.  “It’s an internal matter.”

The House Ethics Committee, which met last week to discuss the second of Hart’s ethics complaints, also dismissed two complaints filed by citizens.  One was brought by lobbyist Larry Spencer against Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, after he filed the second ethics complaint against Hart.

The other citizen complaint came from Howard Griffiths, the man who opposed Hart in November’s general election. Griffith’s complaint was against Hart.

Committee members said both complaints were without merit.

The Idaho House will vote on the measure in upcoming days. It needs a two-third vote to pass and does not need approval from the Senate or a signature by the governor.