Capitol Letters | The Idaho Legislature Report
By Ryan Suppe, State Politics Reporter
House lawmakers are seeking to tighten rules for “personal bills.”
Typically, personal bills are introduced in a committee, with an understanding between its author and House leadership that it won’t advance. But last year, a far-right lawmaker tried repeatedly to call his personal bills directly to the House floor during debate, bypassing the committee process.
Former Rep. Ron Nate, a Republican from Rexburg, introduced a personal bill that would repeal the state’s grocery tax. An untold number of times, he unsuccessfully tried to pull his bill out of the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration by the full House.
A new bill attempts to stop similar stunts in the future. It would block “informational bills” — a semantic change from “personal bills” — from being called to the House floor, and it would limit how many informational bills can be introduced.
“The charade that happened last session was wrong and was misleading to the public,” said Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, a co-sponsor. “Government is confusing for individuals already, and it’s my desire to make this a more transparent and easy to understand process.”
The House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday voted to introduce the legislation, with an amendment setting the cap on informational bills at three instead of two, as the original proposal called for.
Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, and Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, who has been an outspoken critic of committee chairs’ power to block bills, opposed the rule changes.
“I’m just curious on why we would take away our ability to bring up ideas,” Scott said.
Co-sponsor Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, who defeated Nate in last year’s GOP primary, said the bill wouldn’t change the normal committee process for standard legislation.
Because it’s a rule change that only affects the House, the bill now heads directly to the full House for consideration.
Clarification to election audits proposed
A new bill, introduced Tuesday, would clarify that ballots are hand-counted during post-election audits.
Last year, the Legislature passed a law, sponsored by the secretary of state’s office, requiring audits of statewide elections. Audits last year verified the results of the primary and general elections.
Chelsea Carattini, spokesperson for new Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, told the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday that audits already are conducted by hand-count.
But Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, said she recently learned from a constituent that hand-counting isn’t explicit in the law, and her bill would correct that.
“That audit ... has been well received and has been a great way to help all of our constituents, as well as those who participate in the electoral process, feel reassured that our machine counts are accurate,” Young told the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
The committee unanimously voted to introduce Young’s bill, which will be printed and returned to the committee for a hearing.
Little appoints new agriculture director
Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday announced his new appointment to lead the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, following director Celia Gould’s retirement.
Little appointed Chanel Tewalt, a 15-year veteran of the Department of Agriculture and deputy director since 2021. Gould, the department’s first female director, retired after 16 years in the role.
“I have a deep admiration for the industry and for the hard-working people who make it possible,” Tewalt said in a news release. “I also understand how important it is for ISDA’s work to be implemented with transparency, consistency, and balance.”
Abortion proposal on Wednesday’s agenda
Many committees are off to a slow start this week, with one exception. House State Affairs will meet again at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
There’s one proposal on the agenda, the “No Funds for Abortion Act,” from Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa. Proposed legislation isn’t public until it’s introduced by a committee. Skaug declined to comment until after a hearing for the bill.
House State Affairs meets in room EW40 at the Capitol, and their meetings are streamed online by Idaho in Session, here.
GOP chairwoman: Governor’s education proposals ‘benefit unions’
Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon yesterday slammed Gov. Brad Little’s education spending proposals.
The Republican governor on Monday proposed big boosts in teacher pay, part of a 16% overall increase in K-12 spending, along with scholarships to benefit in-state students going on to Idaho colleges.
In a news release, Moon said the “vast increase in spending without increased accountability metrics” is “deeply disappointing.”
“Much like the failed remote schooling policies pursued during the COVID-19 pandemic, the policies that Governor Little is advocating exist to benefit unions, not to educate students,” she said.
The former Stanley lawmaker did not run for reelection last year, and instead unsuccessfully ran for secretary of state, before winning the top spot in the Idaho GOP.
Moon did not attend September’s special session, when the Legislature overwhelmingly approved Little’s proposal to boost education funding by $410 million. Her fill-in, Rob Beiswenger, opposed Little’s bill.
Catch up on last session
Last year, in 81 days of the legislative session, the Statesman wrote at least 84 in-depth stories and 54 Capitol Letters newsletters, covering more than 40 pieces of legislation.
Lost track of high-profile bills? We got that covered. Find out where they landed at the end of last year’s regular legislative session here.
Capitol opinion: School vouchers
By Scott McIntosh, Opinion Editor
The debate over school vouchers this legislative session very well could be “the most important debate we have had since statehood,” predicts Rod Gramer, executive director of Idaho Business for Education.
So what’s the experience been of other states that have already approved school vouchers, such as Indiana?
Not great, according to Chris Lagoni, executive director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association, who detailed his state’s history with school vouchers during a Monday legislative preview hosted by Idaho Business for Education.
Read the full column here from Statesman opinion editor Scott McIntosh.
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This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Capitol Letters | The Idaho Legislature Report."
