Source: http://www.sco.idaho.gov/web/sbe/sbeweb.nsf/pages/scm05122009.htm
Timestamp: 2018-12-15 18:40:29
Document Index: 627629025

Matched Legal Cases: ['§67', '§72', '§31', '§31', '§67', '§67', '§67']

Minutes for 05/12/2009
May 12, 2009 – 1:30 p.m.
The following members were present: Wayne Hammon, Division of Financial Management; Chuck Goodenough, Deputy Secretary of State; Steve Olsen, Deputy Attorney General, and Brandon Woolf, Office of the State Controller, as assisting secretary to the subcommittee.
Also present by invitation were: Mary Halverson, Bureau of Homeland Security; Mark McClaine, Bureau of Homeland Security; Lloyd Knight, Department of Agriculture; Brian Oakey, Department of Agriculture; Kelly Nielsen, Department of Agriculture; Mark Poppler, Tax Commission; Clay Smith, Office of the Attorney General; Laura Steffler, Office of the State Treasurer; Katie Lamm, Department of Labor; Joni Booth, Department of Labor; John McAllister, Department of Labor; Ike Kimball, Department of Health and Welfare; David Fulkerson, Division of Financial Management; and Debbie Wonch, Office of the State Controller.
Approval of official minutes for the meeting of the Subcommittee to the Board of Examiners on April 14, 2009.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to approve item 1 and place it on the consent agenda. Mr. Goodenough seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
Request for recognition of assignment pursuant to Idaho Code §67-1027 from J&S Properties L.C. to RCG Inc.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to approve item 2 and place it on the consent agenda. Mr. Goodenough seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
2009-00046
$5,512.27
Drug Lab in private residence 5/5/2009
2009-00006
$11,936.45
Chlorine leak at water treatment plant 5/5/2009
2009-00062
$7,910.59
Mercury spill at Riggins City Hall 5/5/2009
$25,359.31
Discussion: Mr. Olsen asked if they will likely recover money from the chlorine leak incident.
Mr. McClaine answered that yes, the fire chief said it has been approved to pay. The payment should take place in June. It was the city’s fault, due to an employee mishap.
Ms. Halverson explained that they are billing the county sheriff’s department for the mercury spill clean up. They caused the spill on their property and they are responsible for it.
Resolution: Mr. Olsen moved to approve item 3 and place it on the consent agenda. Mr. Hammon seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
Request for approval pursuant to Idaho Code §72-928 of payment of worker’s compensation claims for members of the Idaho National Guard, resulting while the soldier was on duty in the amount of $2,487.21 for an ongoing claim.
Resolution: Mr. Goodenough moved to approve item 4 and place it on the consent agenda. Mr. Hammon seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
5. Department of Health and Welfare
a. Request that $66,094,390 be transferred from the General Fund to the Cooperative Welfare Fund #0220 during the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2009.
b. In addition, it is requested that $66,675.00 be transferred from the Drug Court, Mental Health Court & Family Court Services Fund #0340 to the Cooperative Welfare Fund #0220 during the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2009.
Discussion: Mr. Kimball explained that they were before the board last month in April regarding a similar transfer, and since that time some of their appropriation bills were not introduced yet. Some FY2010 bills affected the FY2009 bills and so this is a revision of April’s request. This time the request is about $50 million less than a typical quarter, which is a result of some of the federal stimulus money.
Mr. Hammon noted that the Department has done an excellent job of sorting their budget and accounting for the federal money.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to approve item 5 and place it on the consent agenda. Mr. Olsen seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
Request pursuant to Idaho code 67-1210 and Idaho Code 67-3524 to approve the State Treasurer’s annual investment fee to be charged to state agencies for FY2010. It is requested the fee be increased from .015% of the average daily balance to .022% due to the decreasing average daily balance of the investment pool.
Discussion: Ms. Steffler explained that each year they calculate the fee that their office needs to charge in order to cover expenses related to investing the idle cash for the state. The general fund balances have been going down a bit, and so they need to increase their fee in order to collect the amount to cover appropriations for FY2010.
Mr. Hammon said that it is just as much to invest less money than it is to invest more money.
Ms. Steffler said that the fees they charge are much lower in comparison to the average private industry if you were to invest in a mutual fund.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to approve item 6 and place it on the consent agenda. Mr. Goodenough seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
Request for approval according to Idaho code 44-2601-2605 the payment for attorney’s fees in the amount of $75,000 in the case of Pocatello Education Association v. Heideman.
Discussion: Mr. Hammon asked where the $75,000 is coming from.
Mr. Olsen commented that there has been much discussion in the Attorney General’s Office regarding this issue and it is not resolved on how to pay this. He noted that it is a great deal coming down from $131,000 to $75,000 in fees. From the Attorney General’s Office’s prospective, this issue was a legislative created issue and one that the legislature should pay for. But the Board of Examiners does not have the ability to direct anyone to pay. A year ago when an issue like this happened, payment came from the Constitutional Defense Fund, so there is some thought that they might also be a source of this payment.
Mr. Hammon asked if there was a deadline for the settlement payment.
Mr. Smith answered that there was not a deadline, but they are expecting prompt payment.
Mr. Hammon said that as long as the Council believes that the issue falls within the purpose, then they can spend the money on it. The Council is comprised of the Governor, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore, and the Attorney General. He said that the Board of Examiners has the authority to approve the claim, but not the ability to direct who pays the claim. The Constitutional Defense Fund would have to approve the payment of the claim through their fund.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved send item 7 to the regular agenda. Mr. Goodenough seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
8. Ada County Sheriff’s Office
Request for approval pursuant to Idaho Code §31-2219, and Idaho Code §31-3203, for prisoners sentenced to ISCI and transported by the Ada County Sheriff upon a Judgment of Conviction or a Return on a Board Warrant for June 1, 2007 though May 31, 2008.
Mileage at $.40 per mile -- $4,807.32
TOTAL OF CLAIM: $10,136.28
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to approve item 8 and place it on the consent agenda. Mr. Goodenough seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
a. Request pursuant to Idaho Code 72-1348 to use up to an additional $500,000 Penalty and Interest monies for asbestos abatement related costs and completion of the remodel of the Industrial Administration Building. The Department also requests up to $75,000 P&I monies annually for State match required for Serve Idaho’s federal grants, as well as approval to use up to $24,000 annually for payment of membership dues for the Idaho Department of Labor to the National Association of Workforce Agencies.
b. Request approval for payment of overtime worked by two Department staff, Tony Hartz and Katie Lamm in relation to the abatement project. It is also requested to remove Katie’s vacation leave cap.
Discussion: Mr. McAllister noted that in the mid 1980s Labor had a big asbestos abatement project going on on the 3rd and 4th floors and rebuilt the whole area. It was understood that all the asbestos had been taken out. Only recently, when the Department was changing the carpet, did they discover that not all of the asbestos from years back had been removed. It is not expected to cost beyond $500,000. Normally the Penalty and Interest Fund money is used for facilities around the state as well as operating expenses. There are $4 million dollars in the fund right now. The Department is also negotiating fees from the contractors. The contractors had anticipated their original project lasting a certain amount of time, but since the asbestos has to be cleaned up first, the contractors’ ending date has had to be pushed back. It is estimated that the project will be completed by December. Originally they figured it would be done in June.
Mr. Olsen commented that the statute says these monies can be used for any lawful purpose. The asbestos abatement project would be lawful and the department would be entitled to do that.
Mr. Hammon said that regarding to part b, 310 overtime hours is a lot of time for two employees.
Mr. McAllister explained that the cause of that is that most of the work has to be done over the weekends when employees are not present.
Ms. Lamm commented that in order to be less disruptive to staff during the day with loud noises, etc. most of the work is done while employees are not there. A Labor employee is usually present at all times while the building is being worked on.
Mr. Hammon asked if there was an opportunity to adjust their schedule, and if these two employees had to be present from 9-5 plus nights and weekends.
Mr. McAllister answered that they could make some adjustments, but it might not be significant.
Mr. Hammon asked why they are getting close to the vacation cap.
Mr. McAllister said there is a lot going on around the state right now and Ms. Lamm is in charge of all 28 building facilities. He said they could try to lessen the employee’s hours, but it would be risky because they have had problems with vendors in the past. He explained that they will be done in December, and hopefully sooner. Ms. Lamm’s assistant with the facilities is Mr. Hartz.
Mr. Olsen said that on one hand it seems that if the Department has the revenue to do this, then they should be able to go ahead and fund the work. There are other agencies that do not have the money Labor does.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to approve items 9 a. and b. and put it on the regular agenda. Mr. Olsen seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.
It was suggested to the Department that they look into how much it would cost to hire a project manager to help Ms. Lamm for the next few months.
Request approval pursuant to Idaho Code 22-1912 for Emergency Purchasing Authorization regarding the accidental introduction of various aquatic nuisance species in the following areas:
Contracted Inspection & Decontamination Services; $1,272,000
Outreach & Education Campaign; $150, 000
Statewide Billboard Campaign; $78,000
State-owned Decontamination Equipment; $30,000
Discussion: Mr. Knight explained that last year during the legislative session they created an invasive species fund for problems such as this. The department has been working very hard in the last month getting all of the implementation pieces in place. Most of their efforts have been focused lately on two invasive species, the Quagga Mussel and the Zebra Mussel because of the spread these species have had in waterways throughout the West. They are trying to get the programming in place for this summer’s boating season. During this year’s session, HB213 put in place an additional invasive species boat sticker that will generate funds for the invasive species fund. They are expecting revenue from the sticker to be around $1.5 million, and have already begun selling them. The Department of Parks and Recreation distributes the sticker to registered boaters. The sticker is also required for out of state boats that come into Idaho, as well as non-motorized watercraft. Part of this effort was to figure out what to do with the monies deposited into the fund. In addition, they have significant concerns about boats that come in from out of state that could be carrying the mussel. Mr. Knight said the Department wants to step up the decontamination efforts this season. They have outlined 12 locations throughout the state where they want to highlight inspection efforts to boats entering the state. Three decontamination stations will be there in areas that have high traffic boating areas. The outreach campaign will be much like the Idaho Weeds Awareness campaign. It would be a statewide campaign involving radio, television, billboards, and materials to educate the public about what invasive species are, especially the danger the mussels impose, and how to watch for them. There will also be 16 high visibility billboard locations through the summer, letting people know who are entering the state what the requirements are for inspection and purchasing the sticker in order to boat in Idaho waters. Additional items include 36 pieces of highway signage on roads entering the state, 180 boat ramp signs, and monitoring efforts. The total requested would be roughly $1.8 million. The sticker revenue is approximately $1.5 million. Mr. Knight noted that part of this request would be considered to be one time expenses. The highway and boat ramp signage would be one time expenses, and the outreach campaign would probably be one time. The most uncertain piece in subsequent years would be the inspection and decontamination of watercraft coming into the state. This particular request is only for one year, and the department will reevaluate after this season.
Mr. Oakey said it is important to note that HB213 which requires the invasive sticker is the first of its kind for non-motorized boat users, and so there is no registration system in place to quantify how much potential income can be received in addition to the out of state boaters. It could be more than $1.5 million or it could be less. He said the department’s strategy in using a contractor for some of these equipment items was that the state then would not have any cost associated with purchasing, maintaining, and storing this equipment.
Mr. Nielsen noted that the Great Lakes area is the place with the biggest infestation right now, and it is working its way this direction very quickly. Right now the mussels can be found close to the Idaho border in Utah.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to place item 10 on the regular agenda. Mr. Goodenough seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
11. Tax Commission
Request approval pursuant to Idaho Code 63-3067(2) for an additional $15 million which is needed to meet the June 15 interest date.
Discussion: Mr. Poppler said that the revenues were poorer than they expected and the average tax refund was higher than they had hoped.
Resolution: Mr. Hammon moved to approve item 11 and put it on the consent agenda. Mr. Goodenough seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
12. Office of the Attorney General
a. Notification that Mary V. York and Sheila D. Jones with the firm of Holland & Hart, LLP, have been appointed pursuant to Idaho Code §67-1409 as special deputy attorneys general for the purpose of representing the State of Idaho in the matter of Idaho Transportation Department, Karcher Road Interchange Project.
b. Notification that John A. Bailey, Jr. of the firm of Racine, Olson, Nye, Budge & Bailey, Chtd., has been appointed pursuant to Idaho Code §67-1409 as a special deputy attorney general for the purpose of representing the State of Idaho in the matter of Payseno v. Pocatello Women’s Corr. Ctr.
c. Notification that Peter C. Erbland of the firm of Paine Hamblen, LLP, has been appointed pursuant to Idaho Code §67-1409 as a special deputy attorney general for the purpose of representing the State of Idaho in the matter of Caufield v. State of Idaho.
13. State Insurance Fund
a.	Estimate of the State Insurance Fund expenses to be paid by sight drafts for the month of March, 2009.
Funds Expended in March, 2009
$12,088,416.18
2,142,883.88
549,940.76
$14,781,240.82
b. Estimate of the Petroleum Clean Water Trust Fund expenses to be paid by sight draft for the month of March, 2009.
Funds Expended in March, 2009:
76,093.51
57,873.39
84,047.24
$218,014.14
Page last updated on 07/09/2009 08:39:15 AM