News

Legislative Update 1-17-2024

We try to provide some updates throughout the legislative session, especially on bills and issues that might need your special attention. It would be great if our legislators prioritized things like affordable housing, fixing the property tax issue they created in 2016, and generally trying to improve Idahoans’ lives. But unfortunately, many of them are bent on their culture war and doing their best to get around the fact that we voted for Medicaid expansion.

Let’s dive into the horrors that came out of the first week.

1. Anti-library bill HB384 (read it here: https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0384/). Similar to last year’s much-maligned bill, this one empowers one person to restrict what others in the community see. It gives libraries 30 days to remove the offending materials. Once again, the definitions of what is “objectionable” remain highly subjective. Basically, though, this is intended to open the door to ban books that even include the existence of LGBTQIA+ people.

The Idaho Falls Public Library already does a fantastic job of providing a restricted library card if parents want one, and does a good job of making sure material in libraries is kept in places designed to encourage age-appropriateness. Once again, this culture war issue is designed to distract us.

2. In related news, SB1221 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/S1221/) is meant to set up parent committees to “review” materials in school libraries. We’re keeping an eye on this one since it’s clear this is part of the effort to continue to get extremists elected to school boards so they can decide who makes up these parent committees.

If you weren’t convinced of the importance of school board elections, you should look back to the 2023 D91 trustee election for Zone 4. One vote meant victory for an extremist (https://www.eastidahonews.com/2023/11/an-election-recount-has-determined-who-won-in-a-district-91-school-board-race/). If we don’t start paying attention to local and state elections, we could find ourselves with more of this nonsense in the future.

3. We’ve got a fetal personhood bill, HB381 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0381/). Let’s be clear, changing fetus to “unborn child” is an attempt to potentially criminalize miscarriage. It would be super cool if our legislators cared as much about actual, living, breathing children as they do about the “unborn,” but here we are. They gleefully attempt to block healthcare, early childhood education, SNAP benefits, and other supports for live children.

Methodist Pastor Dave Barnhart had a great point to make about the “unborn” in that they are easy and convenient to advocate for. Check it out: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pastor-dave-barnhart-unborn/.

Anyway, Brittany Watts was able to avoid charges after a disgusting and long-fought battle (https://apnews.com/article/miscarriage-prosecution-ohio-brittany-watts-68145b3044b3cc61017b71a97f7cc036) but make no mistake, anti-choice extremists here in Idaho are taking steps to take Idaho in a direction where women can be jailed for just about anything related to pregnancy.

4. HB396 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2021/legislation/H0396/) is designed to prevent anyone from taking steps to require masks for public health reasons. Sure, we’ll spend our precious time and resources on this nonsense, but will fight tooth and nail to adequately fund Medicaid, even though, overwhelmingly, the people voted in favor of Medicaid expansion.

5. HJR001 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2021/legislation/HJR001/) is designed to repeal the Blaine Amendment to the Idaho Constitution (https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idconst/artix/sect5/). This amendment, which has been in place since before 1900 is designed to limit public funding for religious education. Of course, this is a step in the effort to fully implement school vouchers. Watch the Post Register for a related op-ed from Bonneville Dems state committeewoman Jan Brown.

In the meantime, you can get information about this proposal from the Idaho Capital Sun: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/01/30/senate-education-committee-votes-to-introduce-bill-to-repeal-idahos-blaine-amendment/

6. Be on the alert for the school voucher fight. They’ll call it “choice” and use other words to try and obscure their motives, but the bottom line is that it’s about weakening public education.

Check out my op-ed on the realities of vouchers, as we’ve seen in other states, on the Bonneville County Dems website:

7. Encourage legislators and others to support Governor Little’s $2 billion in funding proposal for schools. This is meant to update crumbling schools. https://www.propublica.org/article/idaho-governor-proposes-2-billion-school-building-funding

This is money not attached to property taxes. Indeed, our state constitution requires uniform PUBLIC school funding. We should be moving away from using property taxes for funding and just, well, fund schools.

Regardless, we’re the ONLY state in the country at this time that requires 2/3 of voters to approve school bonds. (see: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/map-how-much-voter-support-schools-need-to-fix-their-buildings-by-state/2023/10) It seems weird that between 58% and 62% of voters can consistently want to pass a school bond, but we can’t. Because in this case, a “no” vote counts for so much more than a “yes” vote. It’s preposterous.

8. This coming Saturday, the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights and Boise State University for the Idaho Healthy Communities Challenge will be in Idaho Falls. It will be at the Idaho Falls Activity Center on Skyline Drive at 2 pm Eastern.

9. Reclaim Idaho is still collecting signatures to get the Open Primaries initiative (https://openprimariesid.org/) on the ballot. You can sign at the IF Public Library, weather permitting, most Fridays and Saturdays from mid-morning to early afternoon.

However, we need to flag that No Labels is in town, using “nonpartisan primaries” language to get you to sign on to help them get their candidates on the ballot. Realize that these are not folks associated with the actual initiative. Here is some reading you can do on No Labels: