Idaho
Idaho tobacco settlement secures millions in funds, rather than spending years to litigate payments • Idaho Capital Sun
![Idaho tobacco settlement secures millions in funds, rather than spending years to litigate payments • Idaho Capital Sun Idaho tobacco settlement secures millions in funds, rather than spending years to litigate payments • Idaho Capital Sun](https://idahocapitalsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cigarette-packs-tobacco-tax.jpg)
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador reached a new settlement with tobacco companies to immediately get a big chunk of disputed funds, but it will leave millions on the table.
That’s instead of duking it out in litigation that can last over a decade.
Idaho’s settlement — reached in March — resolved years of complicated litigation, and it’s similar to ones 38 other states and territories reached, the Idaho Office of the Attorney General says.
Those are long-running cases over disputed payments by cigarette manufacturers, stemming from a quirk in a massive 1998 settlement. That earlier deal, called the Master Settlement Agreement, requires a handful of the largest cigarette manufacturers to pay states billions of dollars annually.
Instead of risking arbitration panels potentially denying Idaho full access to around $58 million in disputed payments by major cigarette manufacturers, Idaho’s new deal settles for $37 million — and an even higher share of future disputed funds.
“This settlement avoids decades of expensive litigation and eliminates risk that could threaten millions of dollars of Idaho’s annual … payment” from the original 1998 settlement, Labrador said in an April news release. “I’m committed to ensuring that the tobacco companies meet their obligations to Idaho under the (Master Settlement Agreement) without delay or uncertainty.”
As a result, Idaho is expecting a more “even payment stream year to year” from the settlement, Deputy Attorney General John Olson told a panel of lawmakers last week in a presentation before the Joint Millennium Fund Committee. The committee recommends how Idaho should spend its tobacco settlement funds.
Idaho lawmakers are gearing up to dole out more of the tobacco settlement funds toward youth drug prevention efforts, Boise State Public Radio reported. Over the years, Idaho lawmakers have directed the funds toward a range of issues, including toward public health districts, substance abuse treatment, the Idaho Meth Project and more, according to reports by the Idaho State Treasurer.
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New settlement resolves decades of litigation over disputed tobacco company payments
In 1998, Idaho and states across the U.S. reached the landmark Master Settlement Agreement meant to reduce smoking.
The settlement set up decades of payments by tobacco companies to states. But some of those payments went into disputed accounts that states would have to arbitrate to access.
That stems from the “non-participating manufacturer adjustment,” one of several adjustments in the 1998 master settlement agreement, Olson told lawmakers last week.
Each year, tobacco companies claim that the adjustment applies to reduce their payments to states, Olson explained, pooling about $3 million to $5 million of Idaho’s tobacco settlement payments into the disputed fund annually.
Idaho has spent years litigating to access those funds. Just this year, Idaho was litigating to access disputed funds from 2005, Olson said.
Whether Idaho would win in arbitration depended on if it could convince an arbitration panel of judges that Idaho “diligently” enforced the terms of its law passed in accordance with the 1998 settlement.
James Simeri, the chief of the attorney general’s office’s Consumer Protection Division, which handles the litigation, told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview that the settlement eliminated the risk of losing disputed funds. And it means Idaho will receive payments now, rather than waiting a decade or longer for litigation over individual years’ payments to resolve, he said.
“The attorney general’s looking out for the people of Idaho,” Simeri said. “And getting most of the money, but not all the money, but eliminating the risk of losing the money — seems desirable on the whole, in the circumstances, given the risks.”
And the office had to pay attorneys and staff for the litigation, he added.
Why Idaho reached the new tobacco settlement
This year, Idaho is getting around $74 million in tobacco settlement funds. That includes the up-front payments for past disputed funds that the new settlement secured, along with Idaho’s $23.3 million payment originating from the 1998 settlement this year, Olson told lawmakers.
When Idaho reached the new settlement, around $58 million was in its disputed payments account from funds withheld through 2020, Simeri told the Sun in an email.
The new settlement also sets Idaho up to receive 75% of future disputed payments from 2015 through 2031, according to a February letter by Labrador, outlining the new settlement.
In the past, Idaho has won in arbitration. But the Attorney General’s Office says future success isn’t guaranteed, referencing a recent loss for the state of Washington.
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If Idaho lost its arbitration for those disputed funds, it could lose access to those funds — and maybe even lose more, through a reallocation provision in the settlement, Simeri told the Sun.
“It’s less than you could have gotten with a total victory. But if you compare it to a total defeat, it’s a lot more,” Simeri told the Sun in an interview.
Whether settling over the disputed funds is beneficial “is in the eyes of the beholder,” Brett DeLange, former chief of the Idaho Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, told the Sun in an interview.
He thinks some states are essentially saying: “‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’ … That having a lesser amount now is better than waiting so long to get the full amount.”
And he praised Olson and David Young — two Idaho deputy attorneys general on the tobacco settlement litigation — as “outstanding lawyers.”
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Idaho
Air Idaho Rescue celebrates 5 years of service in Salmon – East Idaho News
![Air Idaho Rescue celebrates 5 years of service in Salmon – East Idaho News Air Idaho Rescue celebrates 5 years of service in Salmon – East Idaho News](https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.eastidahonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/air-idaho-helicopter.jpg)
The following is a news release and photo from Air Idaho Rescue.
SALMON – The Salmon community joined the Air Idaho Rescue crew for a special gathering at the Salmon City Park on Thursday to mark the base’s fifth anniversary.
Guests included representatives from Steele Memorial Hospital, Challis Area Health Center, Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office, Lemhi County EMS, Salmon Search and Rescue, Lemhi County Fire Protection District, and Lemhi County Probation.
“Five years ago, we sat down and looked at a map and said, ‘Where can we do the most good?’ Salmon was one of those areas where we thought we could help the most people, and it has definitely been proven that our services are needed,” said Mike Jenkins, area manager for the Air Idaho Rescue program. “We really appreciate the partnerships we have built and the way you’ve welcomed us into your community.”
Among the many guests who spoke at the celebration was Lemhi County Sheriff Steve Penner, who talked about Air Idaho Rescue’s role in the EMS community and the impact the program has had on the emergency care residents receive.
RELATED | I flew with Air Idaho Rescue for a day. Here’s what I learned.
“They have really acclimated well and became part of the first responder family and are part of the community,” said Penner. “But more importantly, there have been a few times when their (fast) response time really benefitted the outcome of the patient, if not saved their life, and that is what it is all about.”
CEO of Challis Area Health Center Steve Rembelski remarked on the program’s value to the people of Lemhi County given the remote nature of the area and the distance to higher levels of medical care.
“When we talk about time sensitive emergencies, minutes truly make a difference,” said Rembelski. “Prior to Air Idaho being in Salmon, it could take up to an hour and thirty minutes to get an aircraft to our facility, and I have truly seen patients on their knees praying for every minute.”
Though the crews always put safety first, Rembelski says they are skilled, kind and compassionate.
RELATED | Air Idaho Rescue prepares for upcoming tourist season with re-opening of emergency medical base
About 40 guests enjoyed a casual lunch while getting an up-close look at a helicopter that flew in from West Yellowstone. The aircraft serving Salmon was out on a call.
Family members of former patients expressed their appreciation, and Lenny Skunberg and Ilona McCarty, who lease the hangar and crew quarters, shared their gratitude for the program.
Not only are residents thankful to have Air Idaho Rescue in their backyard, but the crew is grateful to be part of such a warm and welcoming community and is proud to offer the highest level of emergency air medical care.
RELATED | Air Idaho Rescue now carrying whole blood on every flight
“Our clinicians really are amazing at their jobs,” said Alex Waldron, a pilot with Air Idaho Rescue. “They love to do it … and it is awesome to watch someone that is so good at their job. I’m lucky to work here, and the community is lucky to have the nurses and the medics working for Air Idaho here.”
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Idaho
Idaho Capitol briefly evacuated after bomb threat about presidential election
A threatening email about the presidential election sparked an alarming message sent by an Idaho Capitol building alert system that told Capitol employees to evacuate immediately.
Some Capitol workers received an alert that instructed them to leave the Boise building at 9:05 a.m. Monday, according to state police.
“Capitol Security: EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A TEST,” said the alert, which was shared with the Idaho Statesman. “THIS IS NOT A TEST. An emergency has occurred in the Capitol. DO NOT RETURN until you have received the All Clear Alert.”
State police spokesperson Aaron Snell said the Capitol received an email Monday that said a group would place a bomb at the Capitol building if Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t win the November presidential election. Snell said the threat wasn’t immediate. Idaho State Police cleared the building within the hour.
“Unfortunately, it was taken as a direct, immediate threat,” Snell told the Statesman by phone.
Idaho State Police did not send the alert and troopers were working with Capitol administration to get more information on who sent the alert and why it was issued, Snell said.
The Statehouse’s administration office did not provide the Statesman with additional information.
Snell said the email seemed “generic” and similar to a previous bomb threat received by the Capitol earlier this month. That threat turned out to have been sent to addresses in multiple states on Aug. 15. Idaho State Police deemed the place safe after no devices were found.
“While these types of calls aren’t specifically tracked, they have increased,” Snell wrote in an email to the Statesman following the first threat. “Typically, ISP responds to three to four incidents a year. While every incident is treated as a real threat, to date, nothing suspicious has been located.”
Idaho
Micron project plods along in Central NY, but in Idaho they’re pouring concrete
![Micron project plods along in Central NY, but in Idaho they’re pouring concrete Micron project plods along in Central NY, but in Idaho they’re pouring concrete](https://www.syracuse.com/resizer/v2/4YE54FY7HZAO7MHSSYQ4TW5FXY.jpg?auth=aa6b54d2e9e0e1832c7af9db51b23cd9dd3c2d82a0d943cf9154f88a0f76e27e&width=1280&quality=90)
Syracuse, N.Y. — While Micron Technology has slogged along for nearly two years with environmental studies and permits for its planned complex in northern Onondaga County, the company is already pouring concrete in Idaho.
Micron is building a three-story, 4-million-square-foot fabrication plant, or fab, next to its headquarters in Boise. The company plans to build up to four similar-sized plants in the town of Clay.
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