After a record-long legislative session in 2021, our state legislators have been called back into work for
the second half of Idaho’s 66th legislative session. Here is a recap of what
has been on the docket so far, along
with some things to look out for in
the months to come.
All Day Kindergarten
All eyes and ears are honing in
on the subject of education. Statements given from Idaho Governor
Brad Little, in his most recent State
of the State address, emphasize this
interest in education and specifically discuss the implementation of allday public kindergarten. The state
of Idaho is only providing enough
funding to its public institutions to
host half-day kindergarten, and the
decision to move to a more full-day
schedule for the state’s youngest
learners is seemingly bipartisan.
However, we see more of a party divide here in the state when it
comes to how one goes about picking
up the bill for the implementation of
the full-day kindergarten schedule.
According to state officials, Idaho is
projecting a $1.6 billion surplus as
we tread into the end of the fiscal
year this June. Officials in the minority Democratic party have really
pushed the idea of using this projected surplus to fund education initiatives, including the full-day schedule
for kindergarten.
The majority Republican party has
not stated all too clearly how they
would plan on paying for this schedule change, but the stress on local
taxpayers and the strained support
for schools through local district levies have been brought up as an argument to support the use of the state’s
budget surplus to supplement education efforts.
According to a report done by Idaho ED News back on Jan. 7, an overwhelming majority of Idaho’s 115
public schools “regularly rely on
supplemental levies” for things as
pivotal and high priority as staffing
in these institutions.
Ultimately, the decision to have
this education initiative and others alongside it pushed through the
legislature successfully is a projection that remains bipartisan, but the
manner in which it is paid for is what
will await the final decision.
LGBTQ+ Legislation
Something else that continues to
pique the interest on both sides of
the aisle here in the state is the introduction of the “Add the Words” bill.
House Bill 440 highlights the goals of
“Add the Words, Idaho”, an LGBTQ+
advocacy group and Political Action
Committee (PAC) that aims to add
the words “sexual orientation” and
“gender identity” to the state’s existing human rights declaration. This
PAC emphasizes the need for the
rights of LGBTQ+ people to be explicitly stated, and in turn upheld, by
the state of Idaho’s human rights act.
Back in 2020, Sen. Maryanne
Jordan (D) introduced an “Add the
Words” bill as a personal bill directly to her fellow Senators, rather
than bringing it to the floor through
means of committee approval first.
At the time, this was the 14th attempt
to propose the “Add the Words” bill
to the Idaho state legislative body.
In this current session, House Bill
440 was brought to the House floor
by Rep. John McCrostie (D) also as a
personal bill. McCrostie’s bill marks
the 16th attempt by our state leadership to “add the words” to our state’s
civil rights declaration.
Idaho Capital Sun reports that retired Senate President, “Pro Tem”
Brent Hill (R) has stated this amendment would not protect fellow Idahoans from exercising their sincerely
held religious beliefs. Other members of the Republican supermajority that grips the Idaho legislature
seem to follow suit with this explanation and refuse to add the words.
Redistricting
Another hot topic in the Idaho legislature is the voting district structure that we have now, and how likely
it is to change. Following the census
in 2020, redistricting, the drawing of
new state legislative districts, is expected to occur. Redistricting can be
used for political gain by any party in
our political system through means
of gerrymandering. The most recognizable example we see most often
is when any majority party creates
odd shaped districts designed to
disperse the votes of their opposition
and increase the likelihood of maintaining power in following elections.
According to article 3, section 2 of
the Idaho state Constitution “Whenever there is reason to reapportion
the legislature or to provide for new
congressional district boundaries in
the state, or both, because of a new
federal census or because of a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, a commission for reapportionment shall be formed on order of the
secretary of state. The commission
shall be composed of six members.
The leaders of the two largest political parties of each house of the
legislature shall each designate one
member and the state chairmen of
the two largest political parties, determined by the vote cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election,shall each designate one member.”
The 2022 commission hasnot yet been assembled. You can visit https://legislature.idaho.gov/redistricting/ for more information.
Senate Turnover
Idaho has a great influx of ourcurrent legislative body that eitheraims to retire from office or to offerup their seats to others as they moveup to higher, more competitive positions. In a telephone interview conducted by The Spokesman-Review,Political science professor JaclynKettler from Boise State University,who regularly weighs in on the legislative process within her local arena of politics, had something to sayabout the future of our legislativebody. “There is a possibility thereis a fair amount (of) turnover in theSenate after elections, and even inthe House, where you have some districts with multiple incumbents likely to run against each other,” Kettlerstates when asked about the changes that this election season will likelybring for the state of Idaho.
The Bengal staff will follow the Idaho state legislative session closelyand will report on important news,initiatives, and updates on all thatthe docket has to offer the Idaho citizenry.
If you are interested in submittingan opinion piece that highlights yourfeelings, concerns, advocacy, etc. forthings going on in the Idaho legislature, you are more than welcome toreach out via email roude.usinull@feihcgb by our contact portal on the Bengal news site.