A Legislative Update from the Desk of Marian Keith, Legislative Analyst for the Bonneville County Democratic Party Central Committee –
February 9, 2015 –
According to the Idaho State Legislature website, the House State Affairs Committee, currently made up of 13 Republicans and 4 Democrats, handle statewide policy issues such as election, abortion, electric utility deregulation, and now apparently gun law issues. Why these issues are overseen by the same committee is a little unsettling, but I guess that’s a discussion for another day.
On Feb 5, 2015, the Committee voted to introduce two bills. The first is an abortion bill requiring in-person counseling and an exam before medications are prescribed. This bill would essentially prohibit the use of telemedicine only in women’s health care. If you are unfamiliar with the term telemedicine, it is the process of sharing information electronically, in accordance with HIIPA and with the patient’s consent, about a patient’s medical condition and possible medical procedures between two health care facilities. It’s used every day across the nation, especially for understaffed and underfunded rural clinics. This bill is just another attempt to limit health care for women and chip away at a woman’s reproductive rights.
The other bill introduced would allow Idaho citizens to carry a concealed gun without a permit or any training. The vote was predictably along party lines. It was dubbed the “Constitutional Carry” bill. I sincerely doubt this is what our fore fathers had in mind, but the Republicans do love wrapping everything in their interpretation of the Constitution.
On the Public Instruction front, despite the fact that Idaho continues to remain at the bottom of almost every ranking from spending per pupil to teachers pay, our State Superintendent Sherri Ybarra decided to spend an entire 17 minutes discussing her ideas on how to fix these problems, which are funded by roughly 50% of Idaho’s General Fund ($1.4 Billon). As a point of reference, it probably took most of you about less than 5 minutes to read this article. If our state education continues at this current pace, it will probably take your grandchildren and great-grandchildren much, much longer.
On a more inspiring note, Senator Cheri Buckner-Webb continues to encourage proponents of “Add the Four Words” to continue their fight for equality after the Idaho House State affairs Committee voted to keep HB2 in committee. Adding the word(s)” sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act is important for us all. LGBT groups, along with all minorities and women, are fighting for the same equal rights our Revolutionary forefathers fought to win. This is not an Us and Them situation; just an Us. Please continue to join us at noon on Wednesdays on the Broadway Bridge to continue to keep the public aware of this issue.
Marian J Keith