News analysis; Legislature undergoes big change

BOISE Besides the shortage of Democrats, there will be a lot of changes in the next Idaho Legislature.

The changes promise to be massive, in part because there will be 17 new members, three former legislators back after absences up to 18 years and two House members moving to the Senate.

Democrats will have to live with the results of their dismal performance in the 1994 election for at least the next two years. With just 21 Democrats and 84 Republicans in the Legislature, that means the minority party will be entitled to fewer seats on committees.

It will be especially important on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, now made up of 14 Republicans and six Democrats. Since four-fifths of the legislators are GOP, Democrats could get as few as four seats on the all-powerful budget panel.

Seats on JFAC usually are highly desired by legislators, because it is very rare for the whole legislature to reverse a spending decision by the 20-member committee.

Rep. Kathleen Gurnsey, R-Boise, starting her 11th term in the Legislature, is expected to keep her position as co-chairman, as is Sen. Atwell Parry, R-Melba, who will serve his eighth term.

Sen. Joyce McRoberts of Twin Falls is giving up her job as majority floor leader to seek a job on the budget committee, and will try for chairman of State Affairs in the two-day organizing session that begins Thursday.

That will clear the way for Sen. Sheila Sorensen of Boise to move into a leadership position.

That also could allow staunch conservative Stan Hawkins of Ucon to become chairman of the Health and Welfare Committee Sorensen headed the last two sessions if he wants to give up his seat on the budget committee.

Sen. Mark Ricks of Rexburg, chairman of Senate State Affairs, retired. Rep. Pam Ahrens of Boise, head of the House State Affairs panel, won re-election without opposition, but is expected to resign to become a member of the administration of Gov.-Elect Phil Batt.

That means the people who have headed two of the Legislature's key committees for years will be gone, leading to considerable reshuffling.

Rep. Bill Deal of Nampa has been vice chairman of State Affairs and is likely to succeed Ahrens. He's also a close personal friend of the new governor, and it was Batt who got Deal to run for the Legislature in the first place. It isn't likely that there will be much disagreement between the new administration and the House committee that handles touchy political issues.

But all that assumes it will be "business as usual" in the Legislature, with seniority governing committee assignments.

Batt promised changes in the way state government operates when he defeated Democratic Attorney General Larry EchoHawk in the general election.

That could carry over to the Legislature.