Idaho bill would ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates. This time, it’s supported by Senate GOP
After several tries by lawmakers, Idaho looks set to bar businesses from requiring employees and patrons to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with some exceptions, as early as this month.
Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said it’s the most difficult legislation he’s sponsored in his six terms. It seeks to “thread the needle” between employee and employer interests, Winder said during the floor debate.
“We tried to recognize that there are legitimate business interests that need to be protected, but there are also legitimate personal interests that need to be protected,” he said.
The bill prohibits employers from requiring their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. It allows exceptions for health care businesses, including assisted living and nursing home businesses, employers who require travel to foreign countries with COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and businesses required by the federal government to impose the mandate.
The bill also establishes that business patrons, including concert attendees, could not be denied entry based on vaccine status. The proposed law contains an emergency clause and would take effect immediately after the governor signs it.
The prohibitions only apply to the coronavirus and no other disease. The bill also contains a sunset clause that would terminate the prohibitions one year after the end of a COVID-19 emergency declaration. Gov. Brad Little announced Idaho’s coronavirus state of emergency will end next month.
The Idaho Legislature cleared the bill Friday, after the House supported it in a 45-23 vote. It heads to the governor’s desk for signing.
IACI remains quiet on Winder’s bill
The proposal comes after repeated attempts by the Idaho Legislature to prevent businesses from requiring vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic.
While business advocates have opposed the previous attempts, some of the state’s largest employers remained neutral or silent on Winder’s bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, and Rep. Ben Adams, R-Nampa.
The Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI), which represents hundreds of businesses — including Blue Cross of Idaho, St. Luke’s Health Center, Idaho Power and Simplot — is neutral on the bill, according to the trade association’s legislative scorecard.
Neutrality is a shift from last year, when the lobbying group strongly urged Idaho legislators to stay away as they sought to counter President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandates for large employers. During a three-day November session, the Idaho House passed seven bills that opposed COVID-19 rules. The Senate didn’t consider any of them.
Last month, the House passed legislation criminalizing employers who require vaccines or ask employees about their coronavirus vaccination status. That bill, which IACI opposed, stalled in the Senate.
Micron Technology, a Boise-based microchip manufacturer that requires its employees to be vaccinated, also did not take a stance on Winder’s bill, other than to ask for more time to implement changes. Micron lobbyist Jason Kreizenbeck told a Senate committee last week that he had not been given the authority to testify on the bill, except to say the company “would prefer an enactment day of May 1.”
At least one employer remains opposed to regulations on vaccine mandates. Leaders at Ball Ventures, a commercial real estate firm based in Idaho Falls, are concerned about the potential for negative impacts on at-will employment status, said Liza Leonard, director of public affairs. At-will status grants employers the ability to fire employees without notice and without cause.
“The Legislature should not be considering a bill that further expands regulation on employers on how they operate their businesses,” Leonard said during a committee hearing last week.
Ian Max Stevenson contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story was updated 11:42 a.m. on March 18 after the House vote.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 1:35 PM.
