100 Days and Counting
After the Legislature had to recess due to a COVID outbreak, we've been back for two weeks and not much has changed. The Legislature continues to prioritize inserting itself into the Governor's decision-making during an emergency. The House and Senate are still in gridlock over the K-12, early learning, and higher education budget bills, all being held hostage due to misinformation spread by the far-right. We still haven't seen a bill that would provide property tax relief. Bills on wolves, guns, and abortion took up much of our time in the Senate.
As this session continues on, many legislators continue to pander to a far-right minority and a special interest group's scorecard, rather than focusing on addressing the real issues that matter to the majority of working Idahoans. Because many moderates don't vote in primary elections, however, even some middle-ground Republican legislators cater to the extremes out of fear they will lose their seat. Leadership is doing the right thing no matter what, but that is not always how decisions are made in our Capitol.
Even though it's the end of the session and you're likely as tired of the Legislature as I am, I want to remind you about the importance of writing and calling legislators. I'm getting lots of emails and phone calls, mostly from a loud minority of people who do not want education to be funded, don't believe COVID is a serious issue, etc. Legislators read their emails and listen to their voicemails regularly, and they are influenced by what they hear and read.
You can review bills being considered on the Legislature's website under the Senate and House reading calendars and committee agendas, as well as emails and phone numbers of Idaho's Senators and Representatives. You should email and call all legislators, not just those in your district - remember that they are supposed to be serving all Idahoans! Put all emails in the bcc line, and in the subject line, write clearly what you are asking them to do (e.g., "Vote no on H0380"). In the body of your email, tell them who you are and your story, as well as why you believe the issue or bill is important. In the signature line, make sure to write your full name, the city you live in, and your district.
I hope to hear from more moderate, everyday Idahoans - I know you're out there! Your activism will help ensure a vocal minority doesn't dictate our policies.
Limiting the Governor's powers to respond to an emergency continues to be the top priority for the majority.
As we pass the 100th day of the legislative session, it's clear that the Legislature is not the appropriate body to efficiently respond to Idaho's needs, especially not during an emergency. The Senate upheld the Governor's veto of S1136 by just one vote - a bill that would have restricted the Governor's powers to act during an emergency. I voted to uphold his veto because I believe the office of the Governor - rather than 105 legislators - should have leeway to act during an emergency. H0135 would also limit the Governor's powers during an emergency, and it has been vetoed as well. The House overrode the veto and it's now headed to the Senate.
Misinformation about "critical race theory" is preventing the passage of education budgets.
A far-right special interest group spread misinformation and fear about critical race theory being taught in schools, causing the House to fail to pass three critical education budgets. Thousands of Idahoans and hundreds of businesses have asked us to pass this funding, which is much-needed for Idaho's education system and economy.
Amazingly, the House defeated the $1.1 billion budget for K-12 teacher salaries. Debate once again centered around concerns about social justice being taught in public schools, even though there is little evidence that support legislators' claims that teachers are using an “ultra-liberal curriculum” to “indoctrinate” kids.
The House killed a compromise higher education budget after much debate about social justice curricula. The compromise budget cut approximately $400,000 from Boise State. It's expected that the next budget will cut even more money from our universities. Idaho’s public higher education institutions will not be raising in-state undergrad tuition for the school year, making these cuts even more problematic.
The early learning grant (S1193) barely passed the Senate by one vote, and it's headed to the House next. The grant would provide six million dollars in critical early learning funding, but has struggled to survive due to concerns pre-K educators are advancing a social justice agenda in Idaho. This funding is much needed for parents (who are spending $300/month on childcare), kids (who fall far behind in literacy without pre-K education), and businesses (who lose almost $500 million per year in revenue due to childcare related challenges) in Idaho.
After hours of debate, the House passed H0377, a bill focused on "non-discrimination in public schools," on a party line vote. The bill disallows school spending that forces students to adhere to the tenets of critical race theory. This bill would not protect us from racism or sexism; instead, it will prevent our teachers from sharing accurate information about our country and world. The bill is being heard in tomorrow's Senate Education Committee at 1:30pm and you can sign up to testify here.
The House passed a new lopsided income tax bill.
H0332 would have provided little to no relief for low and moderate income Idahoans, with the largest cuts going to the top bracket. This bill was placed in the amending order in the Senate, and the Democratic caucus had proposed amendments on the bill to:
Put surplus moneys to the Wayfair Fund instead of ongoing income tax relief, to be used for property tax relief;
Increase the grocery tax credit for everyone from $100 to $190 per person, at a lower cost of H0332;
Increase the grocery tax credit from $100 to $220 one-time, to use surplus funding and provide everyone with equal relief; and
Increase the homeowner's exemption from $100K to $150K, and re-implement the indexing of property tax increases to home values.
Unfortunately, those amendments will not be heard. Instead of allowing the amendments to be voted on, the supermajority passed a new bill, H0380, out of the House. This way, the bill can avoid the amending order entirely. H0380 is even less fair than H0332, eliminating the top and bottom tax brackets so that extremely low income families will pay more, and extremely wealthy families will pay less in taxes. It will cost our state hundreds of millions of dollars per year on an ongoing basis, at a time when critical needs like education and infrastructure are underfunded by the state and passed on to residents in other ways, like through property tax.
We're still waiting for a bill on property tax relief.
We're waiting to see a rumored bill on property tax relief, which is a big priority for most Idahoans, who continue to pay more in property taxes each year as home values skyrocket. Democrats proposed bills that would have provided residential property tax relief by increasing the homeowner's exemption and re-implementing indexing, as well as a bill that would have expanded the circuit breaker to more low-income Idahoans. Those bills were not given a hearing. It sounds as though another Republican-led property tax bill has also been stalled.
Bills on wolves, guns, and abortions were all heard last week. I voted against all three.
The Senate passed legislation that could lead to the near elimination of wolves in Idaho, allowing hunters, private contractors, and out-of-state agencies to kill up to 90% of Idaho's wolf population. The bill stems from complaints from Idaho's agriculture industry, which has suffered losses due to wolves killing some sheep and cows. The bill puts no limits on the means that can be used to hunt wolves, allows hunters to kill as many wolves as they can find, and allows for wolf hunting year-round on private land. I voted against this bill in committee and on the floor. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were not consulted in the drafting of the bill, and it could open Idaho up to litigation or federal wolf management if they do not agree with this approach.
The Senate passed a bill on guns, out of fears the Biden administration will pass executive orders that limit access to firearms. The bill adds to 2014 legislation that disallowed Idaho government from enforcing federal actions that infringe on Idahoans’ Second Amendment rights. The addition disallows Idaho government entities from using any state resources to enforce federal gun control laws. Idaho doesn't have an issue with access to guns - in fact, it's extremely easy to purchase firearms of any kind - and the Biden administration has passed minimal gun reforms so far which states will be required to enforce. This bill is also based on misinformation and fear and filled with legal questions.
The Senate voted on a slightly revised version of the six-week abortion ban, which would prevent women from getting abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy, when most women don't even know they're pregnant. This one is now headed to the Governor's office, and will also be challenged in court. HB220 is coming up on the Senate's agenda, which denies public funds to entities or physicians that provide abortions, even though no public funding currently goes towards safe and legal abortions as it is.
The Governor signed the bill that limits ballot initiatives in Idaho.
I am disappointed in Governor Little for signing S1110, which will make it nearly impossible to get a citizen’s initiative on the ballot, as it would up the requirements from needing signatures from 18 of Idaho’s legislative districts to all 35, giving any one district veto power over an initiative.
After Governor Little signed S1110 into law, Reclaim Idaho, the group behind Idaho's Medicaid Expansion ballot initiative in 2018, announced that they will be filing a lawsuit against the state. Reclaim says the law takes away Idahoans' right to a citizen ballot initiative, which is enshrined in Idaho's constitution. In 2019, Governor Little vetoed similar bills on the grounds that they were unconstitutional and might have unintended consequences.
Thousands of Idahoans spoke out in opposition to this bill, but Republicans still passed it overwhelmingly. It's a stark reminder of the disconnect between the Legislature's actions and what Idahoans really want us to work on.
Let's hope the real issues can be addressed by our Legislature soon and that we'll pack up and go home. Feel free reach out to me with any thoughts, questions, or concerns in the meantime.
