|
This section of the newsletter gets longer as the end of the session approaches. This is when bills are taken hostage and pile up – and they are often the most impactful and controversial pieces of legislation. It’s also when the Governor starts to weigh in by signing bills into law or vetoing them.
Elections
Make future citizen-driven ballot initiatives virtually impossible (S1110 – signed into law by the Governor). This bill effectively nullifies your constitutional right to put an initiative on the November ballot. It raises the current requirement from 6% of registered voters signing petitions in 18 legislative districts to 6% of registered voters in every one of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts for an initiative to be placed on the ballot. If 34 of the districts meet the signature threshold but one doesn’t, that one district prevents all citizens from voting on the issue. If this had been the law in 2018, Medicaid Expansion would never have gotten on the ballot and would not be the law in Idaho today.
The legislature hates voters telling them what to do – and they want to make sure you can never again use ballot initiatives to put a check on their power. I voted against this bill, which is already being challenged in court. It will ultimately be up to the Idaho State Supreme Court to decide if this law is constitutional.
Voter identification requirements (H344 – passed the House, in the Senate). This voter suppression bill solves a problem that doesn’t exist. It places unnecessary restrictions on voter identification that will make it more difficult for eligible citizens to vote, especially college students and residents of tribal lands. I voted against this bill, which flies in the face of zero evidence of voter fraud or any failure of existing county election processes to identify and correct voter error or misconduct.
Post-election audits of absentee ballots (H349 – passed the House, stalled in the Senate). This bill imposes yet another unnecessary burden on the election process in the face of absolutely no evidence of voter fraud in Idaho. I voted against this fearmongering piece of political grandstanding.
Require city elections to be held on even-numbered years (S1111a – passed the Senate, amended in the House, sent back to the Senate). This bill is also a solution in search of a problem. After a century or so of local elections being on odd-numbered years without any problem, all of a sudden this bill shows up. In fact, it creates a problem for voters by loading all levels of local elections onto the same ballot for President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Controller, State Treasurer, State Senators, State Representatives, and several other elected positions. This is voter overload. Conducting local elections on odd-numbered years allows voters to focus on those positions that are closer to them than state and national positions. I voted against this unnecessary and disruptive bill.
Constitutional powers
Usurp the Governor’s constitutional authority to declare and manage emergencies (S1136 and H135 –vetoed by the Governor. The Senate sustained the veto of S1136. The House overrode the veto of H135, which was sent to the Senate to sustain or override). These bills injects 105 legislators into decision-making and emergency management processes that require quick and decisive action. These bills limit the Governor’s ability to respond to any future emergencies – regardless of their nature, magnitude or consequences to life, limb or property. These bills are a knee-jerk reaction by legislators who did not like the way the Governor handled a once-in-a-century pandemic. I voted to sustain the Governor’s veto of H135 (the House did not get to vote on S1136 after the Senate sustained the veto for that bill).
Constitutional amendment to allow the Idaho Legislature to call itself into special session (SJR102 – passed the House and Senate. This will appear on the November ballot for adoption by the public). This bill is the gateway to a year-round legislature. It enables abuse of the legislative process for pure political purposes and is yet another reaction to the pandemic by a legislature that is, quite frankly, drunk with power. I voted against this resolution in support of the American principle of co-equal branches of government. I recommend voting against this amendment in November.
Amend the state constitution to make it nearly impossible to legalize medical cannabis in Idaho (HJR4 – failed in the House). This proposed constitutional amendment would have required two-thirds of both the House and Senate to legalize any future use of any psychoactive medication (including medical cannabis) in Idaho. History shows that this two-thirds requirement would virtually assure zero chance of any such approval in the foreseeable future. While a majority of House members (42) voted in favor of this resolution, it takes a two-thirds majority of members (47) to approve placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. I voted against this resolution. It would have prevented secure, controlled dispensing of medical cannabis in small prescribed doses in the future.
Education
Defund public education and universities if certain content or actions take place in any classroom (H377 – passed the House, in the Senate). This bill is titled “Dignity and Nondiscrimination in Public Education.” Everyone supports that – and I absolutely oppose discrimination. But there are two fatal flaws in this bill with consequences that have nothing to do with the bill’s title – which is why I voted against it.
The first flaw is that the bill prohibits “critical race theory” without defining it. It mentions several vague concepts that are also undefined. This vague language is open to broad interpretation, which facilitates the second flaw: Any parent, student, or third-party organization can sue to stop funding any school, university, and their faculty for discussing anything “prohibited” in any classroom that offends them. This serves to intimidate public education institutions from discussing anything that does not conform to the beliefs or fears of any individual or group, be they progressive or conservative.
Even worse, this bill is being used as legislative blackmail. Majority party leadership has indicated that this bill must pass before they will allow the budgets for teacher salaries and university funding to pass. I refuse to support this perversion of the legislative process.
Limit Idaho universities and colleges to control activities pertaining to speech on campus (H364 – passed the House, in the Senate). This bill, laughably titled “Protecting Critical Thinking in Higher Education Act” and likely written by out-of-state interests, has absolutely nothing to do with critical thinking. It is peppered with vague and ill-defined terminology that lets anyone say nearly anything they want, when they want and where they want on a college campus, including attempts to harass other students who may hold different viewpoints – all under the guise of “free speech.” Combine this with current state law that allows both concealed and open carry of firearms on campus and you have a recipe for volatility. In addition, the college must pay for any campus security should a group want to bring an inflammatory speaker to campus, and the university must pay a penalty of at least $5,000 should a court uphold that their right to free speech (as vaguely defined by this law) was violated – and they have up to a year after the date of the alleged incident to press charges! This threat of legal intimidation will result in either universities settling complaints with taxpayer dollars to avoid going to court, or using taxpayer dollars for legal fees to defend themselves in court. I voted against this horrendous bill which is not about critical thinking or free speech, but rather statutory intimidation of Idaho colleges and universities.
Eliminate the August elections for school bonds and levies - again (S1061a – amended in the House, died in the Senate). This is an example of how sneaky some legislators can be. Back on February 15, the House passed a bill (H106) that eliminated the August election date from the annual election calendar, creating a hardship for school districts who need to put emergency bonds or levies before the public. The Senate killed H106 in committee. Later, the Senate passed S1061, a good bill that cleaned up several aspects election law (that also retained the August election date). When it was sent to the House, a hostile amendment was added at the last minute to get rid of the August election. The hope was that legislators wouldn’t notice the change in the rush to vote on it. I voted against this bill only because of the hostile amendment. It passed the House, but the Senate caught the deception and killed their own bill due to the hostile House amendment.
Require parental permission for student participation in any public school club (H329 – passed the House, stalled in the Senate). This completely unnecessary bill would require every single school in every single school district to have every single parent submit a signed permission slip for every single child to participate in every single club approved by that school. This bill was prompted by vague references to some unspecified student group activity at an unnamed school that may or may not have been a school club or just a group of students meeting on school grounds to share common interests. To solve this mysterious “problem”, this bill creates a bureaucratic nightmare of paperwork for every school. Worse, this bill shows a complete lack of trust in local school administrators. I voted against this piece of nonsense that once again inserts the heavy hand of the legislature into our local schools.
Workforce readiness and career technical education diploma (S1039 – passed the House and Senate, sent to the Governor). This bill creates a new Workplace Readiness Diploma. It enables school districts to provide an additional designation for graduates who have successfully completed a career technical education program and demonstrated proficiency in identified areas. I voted for this good bill that helps fill an unmet need among the student population.
Taxation/funding
Use the state’s budget surplus to fund a huge tax cut (H380 – passed the House, in the Senate). This is a slightly modified version of H332, which takes over $380 million from the general fund, money the state desperately needs for education, transportation and vital services, and spends it on a tax break that provides the greatest benefit for wealthy Idahoans who need it the least. If this surplus was invested in public education, school districts could retire expiring bonds and levies and avoid increasing your property taxes with new ones. I voted against this bill, which is based on a belief that state government should do as little as possible and push the cost of its responsibilities onto you through increased local taxes and fees, reduced levels of service, or both.
Transportation funding (H362 – passed the House, in the Senate). This is yet another funding bill that shifts money away from education and other services to pay for $80 million in much needed investments in transportation and infrastructure. In addition, this bill borrows money to pay for portions of this while the state enjoys the largest budget surplus in its history. Just a portion of the tax cut bill (H380) that drains $380 million from the state surplus could cover the cost of this bill. I voted against this bill, which short-changes education and ultimately raises your property taxes.
Other
Revise provisions regarding standards for Medicaid supplement policies (S1143 – passed the Senate and House, sent to the Governor for signature). This bill eliminates an insurance practice called “dead pooling” where people get trapped in an insurance policy where rates continually go up (called “adverse selection”). It allows individual healthcare policy holders to change their Medicare Supplement plan each year without going through an underwriting process, making them eligible to purchase new policies on a guaranteed issue basis. In addition it allows for community rating and prohibits issue age rating. I voted for this important consumer protection bill.
Protect renter fees (S1088 – passed the Senate, failed in the House). This bill would have provided more transparency in the rental process by having landlords detail any fees in a lease agreement and provide 30-day notice to renters before being charged. I voted for this valuable consumer protection legislation that struck a reasonable balance between the rights of landlords and the rights of tenants.
Prohibit local government from regulating tobacco and vaping products (H363 – passed the House, in the Senate). This again was a tough bill for me to decide. I voted for an earlier version of this bill (S1087) that raised the minimum age for purchasing tobacco and vaping products to 21 (in alignment with federal law). While I believe the state should have a bias to not micro-manage local governments, some companies (e.g. convenience stores) conduct business in multiple cities. If each city imposes different restrictions, it can create a crazy-quilt of regulations that make consistency of business management difficult. However, by keeping the legal age within that of high school students, local governments may want to reasonably regulate the location of such businesses near schools (or other considerations). This would not have been an issue for me if the minimum age of 21 was maintained as in the original bill. I decided to vote against this bill to preserve local control.
Rape of a spouse (S1089 – signed into law by the Governor). This bill repeals exceptions to the criminal definition of rape based on the relationship of the parties. It defines rape the same regardless of who is involved and amends the state’s definition of rape to ensure that those legally married to persons aged 16 and 17 cannot be charged with statutory rape. I voted for this long overdue legislation.
Fetal heartbeat (H366 – passed House and Senate, sent to the Governor). This bill is an attempt to ban all legal, constitutionally protected rights to terminate a pregnancy. It turns doctors into criminals, permanently revokes their right to practice medicine and throws them in jail. Idaho has already done a thorough job of protecting the rights of the unborn, having enacted some of the most restrictive laws in the nation. This unnecessary bill will cost hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to defend in court. It will also require a woman to undergo an invasive transvaginal ultrasound against their will in order to detect a heartbeat during the early weeks of a pregnancy – when many woman may not even know they’re pregnant (including victims of incest or sexual assault). I voted against this bill, which is an issue that will ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court, not a majority of 105 legislators in Idaho.
|
