Highlights from 02-05-2013

‘ATLAS SHRUGGED’

Goedde wants book to be required reading

The chairman of the Senate Education Committee wants to require Idaho high school students to read Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel before graduating.

GOP Sen. John Goedde of Coeur d’Alene is only half serious.

In a tongue-and-cheek moment during Tuesday's education committee meeting, Goedde introduced legislation to make the novel required reading and that students pass a test on it.

Goedde says the novel that’s become must-read material for libertarians could stimulate lively debate in high schools. He also credited the book for turning his son Brian Republican.

The committee agreed to introduce the bill. But Goedde says he has no intention of moving it along, saying he did it partially in jest and out of frustration over voters rejecting online course requirements last fall.

The Associated Press

STATE LAWYERS

Budget cuts force AG to hire outside help

The state spent $6.5 million last year to hire general outside legal counsel because budget cuts in the Attorney General’s office since 2009 left it with too few lawyers to handle the cases internally.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden told budget writers Tuesday that outside counsel costs $125 per hour, while the median salary for an attorney in his office is $35.73 an hour.

Wasden’s budget is about $1.5 million less than in 2009. For 2013, he’s asking for a 9 percent increase; the governor recommended 1.6 percent. Wasden wants state lawmakers to convene an interim committee to look at ways to return work to the agency that’s being farmed out.

Spokesman-Review

PRISON MEDICAL CARE

Board extends Corizon contract

The Idaho Board of Correction will extend the state's contract with prison medical care company Corizon for at least one year.

Board members made the decision Tuesday afternoon. Corizon's contract was set to expire this July, but the board has the option of up to two one-year extensions. Now the state will begin seeking proposals from other companies interested in providing medical and mental health care to Idaho's prisons starting in January 2014.

Corizon has a troubled past in Idaho: The Department of Correction fined the company more than $200,000 for failing to meet basic contract requirements. An expert appointed by the federal courts found last year that Corizon's medical care amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

Four companies have expressed interest in the contract.

The Associated Press

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT

Senator’s bill to ban felons from schools

A senator from the Magic Valley is pushing legislation to keep felons out of Idaho’s public schools.

The Senate Education Committee voted Tuesday to introduce a bill by Republican Sen. Lee Heider that would require school boards to deny enrollment to any convicted felon.

His bill would apply to pupils sentenced for a violent misdemeanor or felony or crimes that carry a year or more in prison.

The Associated Press

PUBLIC DEFENDERS

Appellate office asks for another lawyer

Idaho’s Appellate Public Defender's office is asking state budget writers for new money to hire an attorney to help balance a heavy workload.

State Appellate Public Defender Sara Thomas asked the finance committee Monday to boost her office’s staff from 15 to 16 attorneys with the help of a budget increase of nearly $70,000. Thomas said the workloads of attorneys at her office are double the national average.

Spokesman-Review

SEX OFFENDERS

House to debate fee for electronic registry

A House committee will introduce a bill to double the fees charged to sex offenders to help pay for a statewide electronic registry. The bill pushed by the Idaho Sheriff's Association was introduced Tuesday in the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.

The Associated Press