Attendees included: Gov. Brad Little, State Reps. Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise), James Ruchti (D-Pocatello), Lauren Necochea (D-Boise), Ned Burns (D-Bellevue), Sally Toone (D-Gooding), Sue Chew (D-Boise), John McCrostie (D-Garden City) and Sens. President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder (R-Boise), Minority Leader Michelle Stennett (D-Ketchum), Eva Nye (D-Pocatello), Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise), Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise), Carrie Semmelroth (D-Boise), Jim Guthrie (R-McCammon), Abby Lee (R-Fruitland), Mark Harris (R-Soda Springs) and C. Scott Grow (R-Eagle).

Kevin Satterlee, Idaho State University president, opened the ceremony praising Nye’s generosity and dedication to the University. “Over the last few years he called me so many times and said, ‘Kevin, what do you need? How can I help you? How can I help the students?’”

Nye’s law partner, Randy Budge said his absence will be missed among Idaho’s legal circles.

“Without a question,” Budge said, “the legal community lost one of its most able and noble attorneys. He will be missed. Mark loved the law. And he loved being a lawyer.”

Sen. Stennett said her friend was committed to his cause, community and constituents.

“In the Senate, Mark was a quiet, thoughtful colleague most times,” she said, “until he would get fired up about education or fighting for local governments, or misrepresentation with the law.”

She added that his style was to work with others to benefit the people of Idaho

“Although Mark was a longtime supporter of progressive issues in Idaho,” she said, “ he was known for befriending his Republican colleagues at the Idaho Capitol and working across the aisle on legislation. They truly cared about him, checking in to help if he needed a hand.”

She continued: “I adored his dry, wicked sense of humor, his mischievousness, his kindness, his compassion. Mark was fiercely proud, intensely private, and incredibly loyal. He was respected by our caucus and an excellent member of our team. He had old-fashioned, refined manners, but he could surprise you with occasional irreverence.”

“It has been a gift to serve with both Senators Nye, Mark and Eva,” Stennett said. “I am sure he is finding immense humor, pride, and pleasure being surrounded by all of us honoring his memory today. May we keep a piece of this special man in our hearts always.”

Nye passed away on July 16 at age 76. His wife Eva was appointed to his Senate seat by Gov. Brad Little.

Born in New York in 1945 but raised in Pocatello, Nye graduated from Harvard on a scholarship and earned a law degree from the University of Idaho in Moscow. After moving back to Pocatello, he spent his life serving the community he loved.

Nye was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 2014 where he served one term. In 2016 he was elected to the Senate where he served three terms. Nye announced his retirement from the Senate prior to his passing.

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For more information and interview requests, contact:
Derek Farr, Communications Director for the Idaho House and Senate Democrats
(208) 315-7715 or derek@idahodlcc.org 

Rep. Sally Toone

The Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee met Thursday to adopt a revenue assessment. The committee’s recommendation was then accepted Friday by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) for budgeting purposes. 

The Republican legislators on EORAC voted to adopt the governor’s forecast, which was lower than almost every committee member’s, as well as the various modeled projections from experts. House Democratic Caucus Chair Sally Toone made a substitute motion to adopt a realistic revenue estimate: the average of projections from EORAC members and experts. Her motion failed on a near party line vote with Democrats supporting it.

For Fiscal Year 2023, EORAC adopted a revenue estimate of $5.464 billion, even though the committee’s average projection was $5.515 billion. Since JFAC adopted the recommendation

Rep. Lauren Necochea

Friday, there will be $51 million less available for budgeting during the current Legislative Session. The State Tax Commission projects revenue at $5.693 billion for that year. If the committee had adopted the Tax Commission projection, the legislature could have put an additional $229 million to use to meet the needs of Idaho communities. 

For this current year, the governor’s forecast adopted by the committee is just 3.6% growth, while the Tax Commission predicts 7.2%.

“Idahoans deserve transparency and honest math when it comes to our budget. We know GOP politicians like to take credit when revenues come in above projections, as they are doing now with the so-called ‘surplus.’ But that’s just celebrating bad math,” said Toone, a former math teacher. 

Sen. Mark Nye

“When we politicize and lowball the revenue estimate, we take opportunities off the table. Boosting property tax assistance for seniors is just one critical priority that the governor excluded from his budget. We can more easily identify dollars to reduce property taxes if we use an accurate revenue estimate that balances what the Tax Commission, other experts, and the members of this committee project,” said Rep. Lauren Necochea, the assistant House Democratic leader. “An artificially low revenue estimate places unnecessary limitations on what we can accomplish for Idahoans.”

EORAC also accepted a lowball revenue last year, which contributed to the current gap between actual and projected revenues. The GOP is touting it as a “surplus” even as basic responsibilities go unmet. For example, inadequate state funding for schools translates to schools needing supplemental levies just to maintain basic operations.

“We’ve been putting off fixing our ‘roof,’ and now, we have the money to do it and more,” Sen. Mark Nye said. “Our deferred maintenance alone approaches nearly one half of the so-called surplus. We have to take care of what we built — and this is after we take care of our kids.”

Tom Luna, the new Idaho GOP Chairman, recently previewed his plan for attacking Democratic candidates this election year:

Step One: Harp nonstop on a report generated for the City of Boise by a nonpartisan team of volunteers, and falsely attribute it to Idaho Democrats, who in fact never wrote, endorsed, or implemented it. The report compiled some citizens’ suggestions, and is not and never has been Democratic policy or platform.

Step Two: Call Democratic legislators “socialists,” ignoring the fact that we are not only capitalists who embrace the importance of businesses large and small, but many of us are business owners ourselves.

Step Three: Hope that voters will settle for name-calling and distortion, and won’t probe into actual positions or records.

This brazen misdirection by the GOP Chairman belies a fear that if Idaho voters really understand Democrats’ positions and the GOP’s dismal single-party governance record, the Republican super-majority would be in jeopardy.

Voters deserve to know where Democrats actually stand. Here is our legislative agenda, plain and simple:

• A Strong Economy. Idaho has lost business opportunities due to inadequate infrastructure, an insufficiently skilled workforce, and a lack of affordable housing. We want to correct these deficiencies.  Let’s be honest—there’s a lot of crony capitalism in this state masquerading as real capitalism.  We’ll do a lot better without a one-party government whose focus is on well-connected insiders rather than making sure everyone has economic opportunity.
• The success of our communities starts with our schools. Teacher pay must be sufficient to recruit and retain quality educators. Lack of funding shouldn’t force schools into four-day weeks and sub-par education programs. Education should be adequately funded by the state as mandated by our Constitution – property taxpayers shouldn’t have to pass levies to keep schools operational.We should be generating a skilled workforce that draws high-wage employers to Idaho, not underfunding higher education, forcing tuition hikes that make a degree unaffordable.
• Fair Taxes. We oppose the GOP’s giant tax cuts and exemptions to those at the top that leave the rest of us with overblown property taxes and underfunded schools and infrastructure. The 2018 Republican income tax cut cost the state over $200 Million annually in revenue, gave over $5,000 a year in cuts to the wealthiest, but only $12 a year to earners in the bottom 20%, while leaving schools underfunded and giving nothing to those needing it most.  The indexed homeowner exemption should be restored and we must increase property tax assistance for seniors and veterans. Millions of dollars a year in internet sales taxes are currently held hostage by the majority party’s infighting. These funds should be used to fund education, repair infrastructure and reduce property taxes. And the legislature should examine the $2.5 billion a year in lost revenue from sales tax exemptions.
• Public Lands. Democrats always fight to protect public lands and your right to access and use them, as well as your right to enjoy clean air and clean water.
• Strong families. Idahoans should not have to work three jobs to support a family. We support gradual increases to the minimum wage and affordable, safe childcare.
• Public Safety. We support our first responders.  We back adequate funding for training and equipment, including ensuring proper standards for use of force.
• Idaho has 187 structurally deficient bridges, and 898 bridges that are past their expected structural life. You deserve roads and bridges that are strong enough for the needs of business and your family’s safety.
• Health Care. We support affordable, quality health care, so we and 61% of Idahoans who agreed with us made Medicaid expansion a reality.

Idaho Democrats are fighting for a more balanced legislature that addresses constituents’ needs.  After thousands of conversations with voters, we have found broad public support for our platform as described above, and the GOP is rightly concerned that a debate on real issues will not play out to their advantage.

In 90 days, you’ll have the chance to correct the harmful imbalance in our legislature. We hope that you’ll join us in paving a better road for Idaho’s future.

“I am committed to fighting for Pocatello in the Idaho legislature.” Sen. Nye said. “I have worked to advocate for my district in the statehouse for years, and I am excited and prepared to continue that commitment. Idahoans are still waiting for solutions on things like quality healthcare and affordable housing, I am also seeing these concerns in my districts.”

“We have accomplished a lot since I started my career in the legislature, but we have a long way to go. Our children and grandchildren deserve the best quality of life, and that starts with action at the legislative level.”

The Governor’s budget recommends more money for Opportunity Scholarships which we applaud. The purpose of these Opportunity Scholarships is to “remove barriers to higher education and prepare college/university graduates to enter the workforce.” An increase in available scholarship money will likely increase student attendance at Idaho colleges and universities.

This influx of students (which is never a bad thing) will force Idaho colleges and universities to serve more students with less money. State support for colleges and universities has dropped drastically over the years, creating a culture of thinking outside the box. Currently, colleges and universities are being asked to cut their budgets. Our educational institutions are looking at a 1% holdback for this year, 2% cut next year and 50% reduction in occupancy costs altogether. Coupling this knowledge with the recent tuition freeze and the mandatory budget cuts, Idaho colleges and universities are facing very tough choices in the near future. Not to neglect our fledgling community college in Eastern Idaho, only a few years old, needs faculty to meet the demands of an increasing student population.

On-campus libraries will be cutting their hours and reducing subscriptions to articles, periodicals, and journals which are an invaluable research resource. Student union buildings will also reduce their hours. Some worthwhile programs and classes will be at risk. However, the biggest cuts will be to the people who make the schools run: personnel. Each university’s plan includes large personnel cuts meaning fewer faculty and staff to guide those first-generation students, who need more support, mental health counseling, mentoring, and other services. In addition, first-generation students are the largest recipients of the Opportunity Scholarship.

Education is intrinsically the business of people. A teacher can make a student fall in love with learning. A guidance counselor can help a student make it through a tough class. An advisor can ensure a student graduates on time. When we cut personnel, we cut services our students desperately need and put their educational success at risk.

When we invest in our students, we create a competitive workforce that can contribute to our thriving economy and make Idaho a great place to live. At this point everyone knows how important workforce development is to Idaho businesses and economy. While we want to honor the Governor’s directive, we feel these cuts to higher education are too severe. Under the current budget proposal, we would effectively cripple our education system. In a time of growth and prosperity, we have the opportunity to set the narrative for the future. Our goal is to restore some of these cuts. We think Governor Little would agree this is a worthwhile investment. An investment in education is an investment in our children, grandchildren and our state.

Senator Nye expressed his appreciation to FFA for choosing him as the Senator in the Idaho legislature to receive the award.

“I am deeply honored that FFA recognized my work and support of agriculture in the Idaho legislature over the years.” Sen. Nye explained. “Over 300 students participating in FFA across the state came to Boise to celebrate the importance of agriculture in Idaho. Meeting with the FFA students has renewed my confidence in Idaho’s future.”

“Agriculture is one of the most important cornerstones of our state’s success and we often forget that, whenever we eat a meal, we owe a debt of gratitude to our farmers.”

Shortly after the Governor’s speech, House Democratic Leader Representative Ilana Rubel/(D-Boise) and Senate Democratic Leader Senator Michelle Stennett/(D-Ketchum) gave the Democratic response to the State of the State.

District 29 legislators echoed the sentiments of the Democratic response and felt strongly that the issues were relevant to their district. Representative Chris Abernathy/(D-Pocatello) expressed agreement with concerns raised around Medicaid Expansion funding.

“Funding Medicaid Expansion at the state level helps to protect public services offered at the city and county levels while also protecting against an uninsured gap population.” Rep. Abernathy said. “Providing quality, affordable healthcare for Idahoans without disrupting essential public services is a vital part of my pledge to those I represent and something I will continue to support in the upcoming legislative session.”

Senator Mark Nye /(D-Pocatello) echoed the education goals that were discussed during the Democratic address.

“In part, the Democratic address highlighted many of the concerns District 29 has with Idaho’s education system.” Sen. Nye explained. “Funding for schools is severely inadequate which results in gaps in the quality of education we are providing to our students. Investing in schools is investing in our children and the future of Idaho and yet, funding remains scarce. We must go into this legislative session with a mindset of improving our education system in Idaho.”

House Democratic Caucus Chair, Representative Elaine Smith/(D- Pocatello), agreed with Sen. Nye’s assessment on education.

“Due to lack of resources in education budgets across the state, we are seeing multiple negative impacts to our education system. Educators are going to other states for more competitive wages, classrooms are packed to the brim, and there is an overall lack of investment in early learning. One of the first things that we need to do during the legislative session is review the Governor’s K-12 Education Task Force recommendations and figure out creative ways to implement them. Education solutions like all-day kindergarten give Idaho students a running start to their educational career.”