Here are our top do’s and don’ts for the upcoming Idaho legislative session

In just a couple of short weeks, the Idaho Legislature will be returning to the state Capitol. Here are our top do’s and don’ts for the upcoming session:

DO: Increase funding for public education. This is the most important and impactful investment the state government can make in Idaho’s future. Idaho is 51st in the nation in per pupil spending. Teacher salaries are actually declining in Idaho, while neighboring states’ are increasing. Many Idaho school districts are operating on supplemental levies, now totaling more than $200 million just to make ends meet. Some districts operate four days a week. Get Idaho out of the education funding basement and see what we can accomplish as a state.

DON’T: Cut spending for higher education, especially based on baseless claims and unfounded fears about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Tuition at Idaho’s colleges and universities is still a great bargain. Let’s keep it that way. Let’s help more Idaho students – men and women – attend college, get a degree and move into high-paying jobs that are going unfilled in Idaho right now.

DO: Reduce residential property taxes. Increase the homeowners exemption and index it. If it had continued to be indexed instead of capped in 2016, that exemption would be worth $174,000 today, instead of the legislatively set $125,000. Expand the circuit breaker program and make it easier to protect seniors, veterans and those with disabilities. Add the words “school districts” to the state code that lists the government agencies allowed to collect impact fees. That would offset the expense of bonds to build new schools. Adequately funding education will also reduce the need for supplemental levies, further reducing property taxes.

DON’T: Mess with local governments’ budgets and their ability to respond to growth. Efforts like further restricting budget increases and limiting taxes on new construction don’t address the root causes of increasing property taxes and in many cases make things worse.

DO: Approve funding for full-day kindergarten. Some schools have full-day kindergarten, some don’t, creating a separate and unequal system in Idaho. Full-day kindergarten is a good investment. Let’s keep up with other states so that Idaho can be competitive.

DON’T: Cut taxes again, especially when you have so many unfunded needs in the state. We need to spend more on public education. We need to fund all-day kindergarten. We have unmet transportation and infrastructure needs. Our prison system is failing. Meanwhile, Idaho has been cutting taxes for the past several years while basic services languish. Pay for basic services and get them up to par before you start cutting much-needed revenue.

DO: Fix our criminal justice system. Speaking of prisons, we have hundreds of Idaho prisoners being housed out of state. Staffing and pay issues were laid bare earlier this year by a riot at one of Idaho’s prisons. Meanwhile, Idaho is one of the most incarcerated states in the country, despite having some of the lowest crime rates. Work both ends of the problem by adequately funding our corrections system and reforming the front end of the system that ends up throwing and keeping so many people in prison.

DON’T: Mess with the citizen initiative process. “Ultimately, the effect of SB 1110 is to prevent a perceived, yet unsubstantiated fear of the ‘tyranny of the majority,’ by replacing it with an actual ‘tyranny of the minority,’ ” according to an Idaho Supreme Court ruling that shot down your latest attempt to restrict Idahoans from getting measures on the ballot. Haven’t you had enough scolding?

DO: Take safety precautions against COVID-19, especially as the omicron variant is spreading around the world. Masking, social distancing and providing accommodations for remote voting and testimony would help. It would also help avoid a costly recess, which happened last session and cost taxpayers at least $100,000 for what amounted to a paid two-week vacation for legislators.

DON’T: Interfere with private business decisions when it comes to workplace safety.

DO: Fix the child protective services system. At the very least, create an ombuds position to independently address complaints.

DON’T: Pass laws that will lead to yet another losing lawsuit for the state.

DO: Listen to the Attorney General’s Office when it gives you advice on not passing laws that will lead to yet another losing lawsuit.

DON’T: Hire an outside attorney just to give you unsound advice that you want to hear, which invariably leads to yet another losing lawsuit.

DO: Read the actual language of a bill before you vote.

DON’T: Just read the summary.

DO: Understand the impact of a bill before you vote. Truly listen to the people who come to testify before you.

DON’T: Just look at the Idaho Freedom Foundation score. Don’t give up your ability to think for yourself and represent your constituents by simply voting based on a special interest group’s distorted scoring system. Consider whether an organization seeking to influence you is truly an independent “think tank” or is merely a lobbying organization working on behalf of someone else who stands to gain financially from pending legislation.

DO: Practice civility. Even though this will be an election year, and there might be some ugly primary battles, please maintain decorum and respect.

DON’T: Enact legislation based on the “big lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

DO: Put policy over politics. Put the good of the entire state over your political aspirations. Propose bills and enact legislation that addresses real problems in our state.

DON’T: Propose bills that chase imaginary problems, such as transgender athletes or gun laws in Australia. Don’t pass bills that seek to score political points and appeal to a narrow segment of far-right voters who turn out for the closed Republican primary.

DO: Add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act.

DON’T: Add vaccine status as a protected class in Idaho. Refusing a vaccine is not an immutable trait. If you somehow find it easy to add those words, it should be just as easy to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Human Rights Act.

DO: Get rid of the religious exemption that allows parents to refuse medical treatment for their children.

DON’T: Use the trick you learned this year to go into recess to avoid adjourning.

DO: Adjourn early.