The 2017 Legislative session opens today with Gov. Butch Otter giving his State of the State and Budget Address at noon.

Legislators will be listening, but they’ve already got their own goals and priorities for the new session, too. The Press checked in with local legislators to see what they think are the big issues on the horizon. Several legislators did not respond to interview requests. Here’s what those who are responsive to their constituents had to say.

SEN. BOB NONINI

DISTRICT 2

Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, said education will be his top priority during the 2017 legislative session. He will be serving on the Education Committee and is Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee.

Nonini said he wants to focus on adjusting the career ladder and paying teachers more this year. He also said he looks forward to addressing issues with the teacher evaluation system. Late last year an auditing company found that 99 percent of the state’s teacher evaluations were filled out incorrectly or incomplete.

He also said he wants to work on STEM-related issues in Idaho. He said two more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) schools are slated to open, in eastern Idaho and in Twin Falls.

During his travels, Nonini said he learned other school districts are interested in implementing a STEM system similar to the one in Kootenai County, where a secondary school focused on STEM-related subjects feeds into a nearby Career and Technical Education college.

“It’s nice that other parts of the state are utilizing as a model what we’ve done in northern Idaho with the good work of the local school district and North Idaho College,” he said.

On the transportation side of things, Nonini said he wants to address concerns that big, industry trucks are damaging roads.

Overall, the senator thinks education will be the biggest issue during this legislative session.

“I know the governor just announced he wants to start a task force for higher ed, similar to the one he put together a few years ago that came up with the career ladder and other ideas the legislature implemented in the K-12 arena,” Nonini said. “Education is the biggest part of the budget, and it’s the most important thing to prepare our students for the future workforce ... so education should always be at the top of the forefront.” — Bethany Blitz

REP. ERIC REDMAN

DISTRICT 2B

Idaho Rep. Eric Redman, R-Spirit Lake, said he plans to reach across the aisle and work with lawmaking colleagues in both parties to get things done during the upcoming legislative session.

“There are some really quality people down here, Republicans and Democrats,” Redman said Thursday evening from Boise. “We may have different viewpoints, but the goal is to work well with them and to pass good policy for our district and the state of Idaho.”

Redman serves on Commerce and Human Resources, Health and Welfare, and Local Government committees. He said he aims to keep Idaho’s government true to its state constitution while keeping foreign laws from overreaching state laws and the American Constitution.

“It’s ‘One nation under God,’” he said.

He said he would like to press for the Safe Families bill, which allows families with children to maintain custody of the children when families are going through challenges. That keeps Health and Welfare from taking kids when parents are dealing with short-term problems, he said.

“They might have an addiction, they might be going through rehab,” Redman said. “We want (the kids) to go into foster care as a last resort. There was a special interim committee on that. There will be some special changes to that, and I think they’ll work.”

Redman said topics of conversation and debate will most likely include transportation funding, which has a sunset coming up; education, which he thinks could use more funding for alternative programs like Kootenai Technical Education Campus; and the hot button issue of abortion.

“The voter initiative that’s going out on abortion, there may be some legislative bills coming up there, but I can’t say at this time,” he said.

Medicaid expansion will be off the table this go ’round, Redman said, even though lawmakers will keep working to configure a system to help those in the poverty level pay for medical care. — Devin Heilman

REP. LUKE MALEK

DISTRICT 4A

Rep. Luke Malek will begin his third term at the statehouse expecting issues such as health care and technology will be among the top priorities.

Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, will serve on the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, as well as the Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. An attorney, Malek was also appointed vice-chairman of the Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.

During a town hall meeting last Thursday at North Idaho College, Malek gave attendees a look at some of the big issues he expects will be addressed this legislative session. One of the first he mentioned involves placing an emphasis on technology and computer programming education and training.

That field, according to Malek, is poised to be a prominent job provider across the nation. Malek said the area of cyber-security in particular will see a great demand for well-trained employees.

“It’s a burgeoning effort we are going to have to take advantage of moving forward,” Malek said.

Health care, something Malek described as an area of great angst and uncertainty, will once again be a prominent issue discussed by elected officials. From the sheer amount of questions and comments Malek received on the topic from attendees, it was clear that the issue is also at the top of many residents’ lists as well.

The election of Donald Trump and Congress being firmly controlled by the Republican Party will create an opportunity for Idaho to pave its own way in health care, Malek said. It also creates a great deal of uncertainty, he added, because it is still largely unknown what will be done to the Affordable Care Act. — Keith Cousins

REP. PAUL AMADOR

DISTRICT 4B

First-time Rep. Paul Amador is about to get a crash course in the inner workings of the statehouse and expects to use his education background to help tackle one of the most pressing issues this session.  

Amador, R-Coeur d’Alene, will serve on the Education Committee, Agriculture Committee, and the Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee. He told The Press he’s excited to gain a better understanding of how things function in Boise.

One of the most pressing issues Amador believes will be addressed by legislators this session is education. In particular, Amador expects recent controversy surrounding teacher evaluations to be heavily discussed.

“I’m hopeful, and think we are on the right track to continue to support the teacher career ladder in Idaho,” Amador said. “We need to put a priority on retaining and hiring good educators across the state.”

Amador added that he and other legislators will also be paying close attention to the work of a just-announced Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education.

The state heads into the session, according to Amador, with a fairly strong economic outlook and healthy budget surplus. He expects there to be a considerable amount of time spent on determining just what will be done with that surplus. — Keith Cousins

SEN. MARY SOUZA

DISTRICT 4

Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, who will serve on the Joint Finance, Commerce and Health and Welfare committees, said she expects Idaho legislators will be keeping an eye on the national scene with new leadership at that level and how matters trickle down to the states from there.

“My guess is that Idaho will mirror our nation in the recent election with serious concerns about immigration and refugees, the need to boost our economy and encourage job creation, and perhaps the biggest one is improving how we get health care,” she said. “With all the changes at the national level, it should be a very interesting year in the Legislature.”

Souza said she’ll be following up on two school board election bills that she co-sponsored last year. One would change the dates of school board elections from odd years in May to the general election during even years with the intention of improving voter turnout. The other would allow all voters in school districts — not just those who live in the candidates’ zones — to vote for the candidates.

“It would be like what’s done for county commissioners,” Souza said.

Souza said the bill faced opposition last year, so lawmakers may consider allowing individual school boards to decide how the elections should function.

Souza, who has been a supporter of urban renewal reform, said she expects a quiet year on that front.

“There’s a feeling to give it a year to see how it’s all working and we’ll see if there are places that need attention,” she said.

Souza said interested lawmakers are looking into the possibility of legislation on gun safety classes in Idaho schools since the state now has permitless carry.

“It’s important for our kids to be educated on gun safety,” she said, adding that the classes would likely be basic courses teaching kids how to respect guns and awareness about the dangers and benefits.

Souza said her goals are to lower tax rates for businesses and individuals, reduce regulation to encourage job creation, and help position Idaho for health care funding from the federal government coming as block grants.

With the budget likely to have more funds than previous years, Souza said she’d like to see some held back for corporate tax relief to encourage businesses to move to Idaho. — Brian Walker

REP. PAULETTE JORDAN

DISTRICT 5A

Rep. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer, is going into the legislative session armed with several bills and a mission to find solutions.

She serves on the Natural Resources, State Affairs and Energy, and Environment and Technology committees.

Her goals are to recruit more teachers to work in rural areas with the incentive of student loan forgiveness; to stabilize student tuition, which she feels “is so out of whack” that it’s hurting university retention rates and causing big problems for students entering the workforce; to form a committee to oversee and manage Idaho’s tax exemptions, where she sees potential revenue for the state; and to push for a rural broadband bill that will provide better tech services to people in outlying communities.

“The issue has become, especially for Idaho, which is so vastly rural, that there are so many areas that have zero access to coverage,” Jordan said Friday between meetings in Boise. “That’s an issue when it comes to safety, protection, health care. We have a lot of people who want to take online courses or want to homeschool. We want to ensure their access to services like broadband.”

Another bill she is working on would not legalize but decriminalize marijuana. Jordan said Idaho sees a lot of crossover from neighboring states such as Washington where marijuana is legal, and Idaho is feeling the weight of that burden.

“The state lines are not physical walls,” she said. “It becomes a heavy cost on communities and families when you’re seeing people criminalized and people are being sent to prison because of marijuana ... It’s costly to the state. We’re seeing a lot more people sent through the system on low-offense drug charges.”

Jordan said topics of debate during the session will most likely include health care and how Idaho is going to help those in the Medicaid gap; concerns about Sharia Law and refugees entering the state; and education funding, a system which she feels “is broken.”

“I want to see better solutions that will impact more Idahoans rather than select groups,” she said. “We need to fix the system and provide solutions.” — Devin Heilman