Saturday, March 28, 2009

Legislature Fails to Protect Kids

Senate Bill 1112, aka the Daycare Licensing bill, was held in House Health & Welfare Committee on Thursday, despite having cleared the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and then having received overwhelming support in the Senate on a 30-5 vote. This action by the House Committee may very well mean that the effort to put in place minimum protections for the children and families who use daycare facilities in this state will once again fail to garner enough support, for the fourth year in a row.

I testified at the Committee hearing on Thursday, offering the voice of a business owner who would be subject to such regulations. Of course, because our school is operating in Boise city limits, we are subject to municipal code, which already requires us to do what this legislation would require of operators in places where such ordinances do not exist.

Opponents of the bill argue that it represents excessive government regulation and could hurt businesses owners. Nonsense, I say.

I argued that for those daycare operators who do the right thing to ensure the safety and health of children, this bill actually offers a level-playing field so that we don't have to compete against unscrupulous operators who disregard the health and safety of our children. It's convenient to think that the marketplace sorts these things out, but it doesn't. Parents can't always know if a teacher is a convicted sex offender. Parents can't know if fire alarms have been properly installed and tested. Parents can't necessarily know if facility owners are observing strict standards of hygiene and cleanliness when it comes to food preparation and diaper changing.

If I owned a restaurant, I wouldn't want to have to compete against other establishments that deliberately cut corners when it came to refrigerating food, disinfecting countertops, washing dishes, etc. It would be unreasonable for consumers ("the market") to make those sorts of determinations as they simply aren't transparent elements of that business. That's why we have health inspectors.

Many professions (barbers, podiatrists, scrap dealers, landscape architects, and many more--see Title 54 of Idaho code) have come to the Legislature to ask to be governed by a Board, regulated, certified, or licensed, sometimes at significant costs to themselves. Why? Because it gives honest and ethical practitioners legitimacy and validation and weeds out the bad apples so that market forces can then function appropriately. For that reason, SB1112 is a pro-business bill.

Of course, on a certain level, it pains me to have to reduce the argument to dollars and cents when it comes to talking about protecting children, though I took that tack because I know that the majority of the Legislature is worried, above all else, on how legislation will financially impact business owners.

We have 67 pages of regulations for the operator of an assisted living facility. What does it say about us that we have virtually no regulations for places where so many of our children spend their days?

I'm disheartened, and even angry, that the Committee took the position it did. I'm hearing that House leadership pressured committee members to kill it.

For the life of me, I can't see how this issue does anything but tarnish the Republicans who oppose this legislation. It's one thing to say you're anti-regulation, but when you take it to the extreme of failing to protect kids from sexual predators--perhaps because you fundamentally believe that dropping your kids at daycare represents a moral failing anyway--you put yourself squarely at odds with the wishes of the majority of Idahoans.

Monday, March 9, 2009

They'd be right at home in Idaho

I was recently invited to a conference entitled, "Global Warming: Was it Ever Really a Crisis?" It actually kicked off Sunday in New York City. The sponsoring organization, the Heartland Institute, even offered to pay my way, as an elected offical. According to the invitation postcard, "Tens of thousands of scientists now say the media and environmental advocacy groups have it all wrong, that global warming is not a crisis."

The Heartland Institute claims to be a non-partisan think tank based in Chicago. In a related story, Faux News claims, "We report, you decide." Interestingly enough, their web site seems to suggest that institute members include Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and....Crispus Attucks?

For several years, Idaho's Legislature has also denied that global warming is occurring and that it poses a threat to our way of life. It makes trying to address the problem more challenging when many won't even acknowledge there is a problem.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

A crawl to the finish

Sharon Fisher's latest dispatch for New West offers insights into what's currently happening at the Statehouse. With the budget on hold (due to complications caused by federal stimulus money), legislators are finding the opportunity to advance divisive social legislation that will do nothing to address the grave struggles of Idahoans and not surprisingly don't seem very well thought out. The public should be continuously reminded over the coming weeks that for each extra day that the Legislature remains in session, the taxpayers fork over $30,000.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Daycare Licensing Clears Initial Hurdles

A bill that seeks to bring minimal licensing standards to daycare facilities that have less than 13 children will finally get a vote this year on the floor of the Senate. The bill (SB1112) that's been revised and refined by sponsors Rep. George Sayler (D-Coeur d'Alene) and Sen Tim Corder (R-Mountain Home) has made it further than all previous attempts over the last five years.

On Wednesday, the Senate Health & Welfare Committee voted to send the bill to the 14th (amending) order. The hearing room was packed and more people wanted to testify than were allowed to. I was one of the people who had signed up to give testimony but never had the chance. Chairman Lodge simply decided at a certain point that there would no further need to hear anyone else who might be supporting the bill.

There was much discussion about the fact that parents need to take responsibility for making sure a daycare facility is healthy and safe. I very much wanted to refute that argument. It simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny. I'm hoping, that if it makes it to the House, I'll be able to give my testimony to the House Health & Welfare Committee.

The wife of former Bill Sali staffer Wayne Hoffman testified as a former daycare operator, claiming that licensing would be financially devastating, particularly given that she was making minimum wage as a daycare owner. I'm sympathetic--my wife Veronica and I know how difficult it is to make money in this business. We've been in the business for three years and admittedly have questioned the value of having Veronica work so hard for less than ample financial rewards. But, if someone can't afford to spend roughly $200/year to certify that their facility is safe for children, then that person simply shouldn't be in the business to begin with, as far as I'm concerned. And if I play by the rules, I don't want to have to compete against facilities that cut corners and endanger children.

Today, the Senate passed friendly amendments to the bill, satisfying some of the concerns of committee members, including Senator John McGee. Now the bill will have to pass the full Senate. Then it's off to the House, where I fear it faces even tougher challenges. Stay tuned.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Idaho Can't Lock 'Em Up Fast Enough


The Pew Center for the States released a sobering new report today, "1 in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections," against the backdrop of state fiscal crises and the desperate need to trim budgets. Idaho, long accustomed to dubious distinctions when compared to its 49 peers, captured the #2 slot for its high numbers of citizens in the corrections system.

From the report's intro, in explaining how corrections now consumes 1 of every 15 discretionary dollars: "The rapid rise in corrections spending wasn't fate or even the natural consequence of spikes in crime. It was the result of state policy choices that sent more people to prison and kept them there for longer."

Our correctional control rate, which includes those in jail or prison and on probation or parole, is 1 in 18, the second highest in the country, just behind Georgia. Our rate of growth since 1982 on this front is a staggering 633%--no other state even comes close.

I've yet to read the report in its entirety, but it's clear that other states, in recognizing that higher incarceration rates doesn't equate to lower crime rates, have adopted more creative, community based approaches to dealing with offenders.

And the cautionary exhortation is worth noting here in Idaho: "Rather than trying to weather the economic storm with short-term cost saving measures, policy leaders should see this as a chance to retool their sentencing and corrections."