Bill description: HB 499 seeks additional federal funding for a home visitation program.

Rating: -2

Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

HB 499 instructs the state to spend additional money from the state's general fund and to seek additional federal funding for a home visitation program known as "parents as teachers." This program's existence is already troubling because it pushes parents (particularly those who are impoverished) to tolerate the state's intrusions into their lives and homes. 

(-1)

Does it violate the principles of federalism by increasing federal authority, yielding to federal blandishments, or incorporating changeable federal laws into Idaho statutes or rules? Examples include citing federal code without noting as it is written on a certain date, using state resources to enforce federal law, and refusing to support and uphold the Tenth Amendment. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the principles of federalism?

HB 499 instructs the state to seek additional federal funding for a home visitation program known as "parents as teachers" in order to target Medicaid participants for the program. The use of federal funds under an expanded form of Medicaid puts the state further under the control of the federal government and the strings always associated with federal funding. 

(-1)