Time is Flying
The pace is picking up as March Madness approaches, and it's hard to believe that we are already half-way through the session. JFAC is beginning to set budgets for Fiscal Year 2018, so we know the end of the session is in sight.
We also said goodbye to our veteran pages this week (pictured below), and welcomed a new group of pages to help us out at the Capitol during the next 6 weeks.
Science Standards
curriculum standards only after rejecting five key paragraphs relating to biodiversity, human impact and climate change. This rejection of the climate change standards requires concurrence by the Senate Education Committee. The Senate Education Committee is expected to take up this issue on Thursday. If the Senate affirms the House's action then individual school districts could choose to use the climate change curriculum standards in the classroom, but they would not be required to do so. I do not believe the Legislature should set a precedent of putting politics ahead of science in reviewing state curriculum standards prepared by scientists and professional educators.
If you would like to help us keep climate change science in Idaho's curriculum, you may consider contacting the other members of the
Student
Engagement
Two high school students from the Boise School District organized a rally on the Capitol steps in response to the recent confirmation of federal Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. The several hundred students who attended chanted "education is our right," and stated that they were in support of public education. The organizers of the group said that they wanted to be clear that the rally was "not against [their] teachers or the Boise School District." 
Article V Constitutional Convention
You may have heard rumblings about the need to convene a national Article V Constitutional Convention (sometimes called a "Con Con") with the purpose of passing a balanced budget amendment. While I think a balanced budget amendment merits consideration, in a Constitutional Convention the scope would not be limited to one subject. Once the convention convened, everything in The Constitution would be fair game for amendment and/or deletion. This is one of the things that keeps me up at night. Our Constitution allows for revision by means of a convention of states, which happens only when 34 states (2/3) agree to meet. There are currently 28 states that have passed resolutions calling for a convention, and Idaho is under pressure to follow suit. I do not favor a Constitutional Convention as the risks are too great.
Fireworks Bill
House State Affairs Committee refused to introduce legislation banning the sale of illegal aerial fireworks in Idaho. It is currently illegal to use aerial fireworks in Idaho, but they can still be sold to customers who sign an affidavit promising to only use them outside of the state. This legislation came in response to the serious fire near Table Rock last summer. The fire was caused by illegal aerial fireworks, and burned a home and thousands of acres.
