Otter: Not yet ready for special session on child support

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter says he will take action to address the potential collapse of Idaho's child support system, but he's not yet ready to call lawmakers back for a special session.

The governor told reporters Thursday that he's also not ready to detail the path he expects to take to address the failure of the bill.

"I'm not prepared to stand up here today and say I'm going to call a special session," Otter said. "It's going to be a very deliberative and engaging process with all stakeholders."

A House panel killed the plan to bring the state into compliance with federal child support rules after those testifying raised concerns that Idaho could be bound to Sharia law under the compact.

The federal government has warned Idaho it will pull all federal funding and child support enforcement tools from the state in 60 days; Idaho Health and Welfare officials say that will effectively dismantle the child support system.

The governor — who says he would give the Legislature an "incomplete" grade for the session — says the only way to fix the issue is for the bill to be passed into law.

"This is not something you can do with an executive order," Otter said. "It has to go into statute and it has to be verbatim."

But House Speaker Scott Bedke says he doesn't yet know if enough lawmakers would vote to pass the bill as it currently stands. He says he is exploring additional language added by other states to address concerns over state sovereignty and foreign court orders.

The bill had passed the Senate unanimously.

Idaho Health and Welfare Director Rick Armstrong says that he plans to send a letter to 155,000 Idaho families who will be affected if the problem isn't resolved.

"These people will need to make significant adjustments in their daily lives if we are unable to transfer this money to their households," he said.

Otter went on to praise lawmakers for their plan to increase the education budget by 7.4 percent to raise teacher pay to $37,000 over the next five years. He says lawmakers earned an 'A' grade on the education front, adding that if he would give a higher grade if possible.

But Otter gave lawmakers a "B-minus or C-plus" on a last-minute $95 million transportation funding compromise that was hammered out in the session's final hours.

"It wouldn't be hard to give that an incomplete," he said. "I think the Legislature finished up the work on transportation for this year as a beginning toward filling those eventual needs."

The plan addresses roughly one-third of the state's $262 million funding shortfall it has faced to maintain its roads and bridges since 2010.

Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder says next year's session will likely focus on tax relief and adjustments. This year, the Senate killed a House-endorsed plan to eliminate the grocery tax and lower income taxes on high-income earners late in the session.

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