ICIE Legislative Activities - ICIE's Saturday Summary 2/14/09

The Saturday Summary is a weekly roundup of some of ICIE’s activities in and around the Idaho Legislature. Staffing limits mean we can’t cover every meeting. If there’s an item of interest to you at an upcoming meeting of one of the environment or agriculture committees, let us know and we’ll try to cover it. Agendas are available at www.state.id.us. Click on “Legislative” and click on “Calendars and agendas.”

The House Resources and Conservation Committee, 2-11-09
The House Resources and Conservation Committee met on Wednesday to discuss a number of resolutions. Among which: a request to expand the duties of an interim committee to study the impacts of state policy initiatives designed to protect the value of working ranches, farms and forest land for other uses, which passed. Another resolution would have provided funding from license fees for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to administer a survey of hunters and fishermen regarding their views on the management practices of the department. This resolution, and a similar one following it were sent back to the bills’ sponsor for reworking.

House Environment, Energy & Technology Committee, 2-12-09
Rich Rayhill of Ridgeline Energy presented the committee with information on the New Energy Economy, focusing on his company’s development in wind energy. He noted that the Snake River Plain provides ideal wind conditions as the winds gain strength as they hit the mountains that boarder the plain, that wind energy is a factor of rotor diameter (a windmill rotor in 1981 was 10m, today it is 127 m), and that problems with birds have been alleviated by changes in machinery and intelligent placement. Rayhill further noted that wind can provide baseload energy need according to a recent study by Stanford. Representative Eskridge noted that this committee has demonstrated its willingness to get behind the wind energy, doing everything in their power to create incentives equivalent to other states that attract such industries.
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