WOW! Week 10 is over and the 2023 Legislative Session is coming to an end faster than the warm warmer, I’m afraid. Things are moving very quickly! Most days, you will find the legislators on the floor for both a morning and afternoon session. There are some days that they don’t even have time for a quick snack between their committee meetings and their floor sessions. They are running from committee, to floor, to committee, and then right back to the floor again. This next week will be very interesting, to say the least.
I have H 293 first and used the picture from it’s final House floor voting to show just how split we are in the House. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT IS HAPPENING! I ALWAYS SAY THAT WE SHOULD NEVER JUDGE SOMEONE BY ONE VOTE, AND THIS IS TRUE. HOWEVER, WHEN A SESSION OF VOTING TENDS TO LOOK LIKE THIS ON MORE THEN ONE OR TWO OR THREE OCCASIONS…WE SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION. MY CONCERN IS NOT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR VOTE, IT’S ABOUT A PATTERN OF VOTES.
You know the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”? We are at the – Fool me TEN TIMES mark. We should be watching the patterns and ignoring the R and the D.
H 293 sponsored by Representative Alfieri would have amended and added to existing law to provide for the State Board of Education member elections. It was passed out of House State Affairs but failed on the House floor by ONE VOTE. LEGISLATORS WERE MAKING CALLS AND WHIPPING VOTES UNTIL THE MACHINE WAS LOCKED!
Rules Suspended: Ayes 70 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 0, read in full as required – FAILED – 34-35-1
AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Cannon, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Ehardt, Gallagher, Hawkins, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Mendive, Mitchell, Monks, Palmer, Pickett, Price, Redman, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Wisniewski, Young, Mr. Speaker
NAYS – Berch, Bundy, Burns, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias(Woodings), McCann, Mickelsen, Miller, Nash, Necochea, Nelsen, Petzke, Raybould, Raymond, Roberts, Rubel, Sauter, Weber, Wheeler, Wroten, Yamamoto
Absent – Healey
Filed in Office of the Chief Clerk
H 289 Representative Clow’s ESA fails in House Education Committee. Representative Mendive make a motion to move it with a do pass recommendation, however Garner quickly makes a substitute motion to hold it in committee. Garner is known for his motions to hold good legislation and quick motions for do pass recommendations on legislation for his friends. The substitute motive to hold in committee passed 9-7 with the “House Ed 9” of Yamamoto, McCann, Lanting, Garner, Nelsen, Sauter, Berch, Galaviz, and Mathias voting to hold the legislation. Hawkins, Clow, Price, Wisniewski, Mendive, Ehardt, and Hill voted to keep the legislation alive and give all the people in Idaho a chance to have their representatives vote on the legislation. I encourage you to go to the video download for March 14th and look at 1:42 mark until the end. It takes a little bit of time to download, but it’s worth your time. The following is the link to all of the House Education Agendas and Video downloads: House Education Link for Agendas & Video Downloads Just scroll down and find the date of the meeting you are looking to watch, download that day, and then you can watch all or part of the committee meeting.
RS 30629C1/H 339 sponsored by Representative McCann provides for an advisory question to be placed on the ballot before the voters regarding the diversion of public tax dollars for certain private schools. This ends up being returned to the sponsor to make some changes. She returns later in the week with those changes to reintroduce the RS and it passes out of committee. There will most likely be a hearing in House Education this upcoming week. I encourage you to go to the video download for March 14th (it’s the same video as Clow’s ESA above) and look at the 17 minute mark, 28 minute mark, 40 minute mark, 1:03 mark. The following is the link to all of the House Education Agendas and Video downloads: House Education Link for Agendas & Video Downloads
Garner motions for a do pass recommendations. Representative Hawkins asked if government money was going to private higher education? McCann stressed that this bill draft would stress K-12 education. She ensured the committee that there wasn’t any higher education language in the bill. Yamamoto interrupted the Q & A. In my opinion, it was because she knows the answer to the question and would prefer the answer not be heard by the public and/or the committee. LET’S BE VERY CLEAR…GOVERNMENT MONEY IS GOING TO HIGHER EDUCATION & OTHER K-12 PRIVATE EDUCATION IN IDAHO (BK, for example).
My issue is not with the fact the Yamamoto is in charge. My issue is not that she can choose how to run her committee. MY ISSUE IS THAT SHE CHOOSES TO SILENCE SOME, SPEAK FOR SOME, ALLOW SOME TO SPEAK, ALLOW SOME TO MAKE SURE QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED THOROUGHLY, AND ALLOWS FALSE INFORMATION TO REMAIN UNANSWERED AT TIMES. There is not a fair process, but instead a very skewed unfair legislative process for WE THE PEOPLE in that committee. And when I addressed her with my concerns, in a very kind, professional manner…I was told, “The problem is YOU, it’s all about YOU, YOU, YOU!” I replied to her, “No! And if you think that’s the problem, you don’t know me very well! The problem is the process.” I attempted to explain to her how she silences me and others in our community. Unfortunately, when we are dealing with a legislator that isn’t willing to listen to WE THE PEOPLE, all we can do is continue to work together to stand for what’s right and fight (peacefully) for children.
McCann, Sauter, and Nelsen: These 3 RSs were originally all in H 226, but they reworked it and split it into 3 bill drafts. They made it very clear that these bills were to address NIC. They spoke to the fact that the value of that land was over $100 million due to it being on the lake. Representative Clow was concerned that they were looking at the worst possible solutions. There is A LOT of interruptions throughout this discussion. A gentleman in the audience that was there with Representative McCann, Nelsen, and Sauter was stating that this accreditation “issue” has NEVER happened or been an issue anywhere in the UNITED STATES. He was somewhat mocking Representative Price’s question when she asked if this had happened in Idaho before.
RS 30636/H 315 Adds to existing law to provide for assumption of a community college’s property by the Board of Examiners when the college ceases operation or has its accreditation revoked. This legislation was introduced to specifically address NIC and is currently being held at the desk.
RS 30641/ H320 Amends existing law to provide that a levy for a community college may not be made if the college’s accreditation has been revoked and is not restored within two years. This legislation was introduced to specifically address NIC, the RS was passed out of House ED (12-4), and is currently being held at the desk.
RS 30637/H 321 Adds to existing law to provide for emergency governing authority over a community college when the college’s accreditation is threatened or revoked. This legislation was brought forward to address specifically NIC. It was introduced on March 15th in House Education (12-4) and is currently being held at the desk.
***Rep. Nelsen went off on what appeared to be 2 of his House Ed Committee members and the Chair didn’t say a word about it until almost 3 minutes later when one of those members that was verbally attacked questioned her. This is what Nelsen had to say, “If some of this RS tramples on a few people’s sensitivities, uh, my comment would be, uh, maybe they ought to consider the students a little more instead of politics. That’s a little emotional, but, uh, that’s why a lot of us do this. Thank you.” And he walks from the stand where he was testifying back to his committee seat.
Needless to say, House Ed Committee wasn’t the same after that. The level of disrespect in that committee almongst committee members and towards the public is like nothing I’ve ever seen. It will go down in history…!
S 1161 sponsored by Senator Lori Den Hartog amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding the Empowering Parents Program and to provide for tuition grants. It was introduced March 10th, passed out oh the Senate Education Committee March 15th, and passed by the Senate (Rules Suspended) 19-15-1. AYES – Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke, Carlson, Den Hartog, Foreman, Grow, Harris, Herndon, Lakey, Lenney, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Ricks, Toews, Trakel, VanOrden, Winder, Zuiderveld and NAYS – Adams, Burtenshaw, Cook, Guthrie, Hartgen, Just, Lee, Lent, Rabe, Ruchti, Schroeder, Semmelroth, Taylor, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow and Absent and excused – Hart.
It was sent to the House and is currently being held at the desk.
S 1100aa Amendment Engrossment 1 sponsored by Representative Hill adds to existing law to establish privacy and safety standards in public schools. It was introduced February 13th in Senate Education and reported out of committee with a do pass recommendation on the 24th. February 28th, it was referred to 14th Order for amendment. On March 7th, it was then placed in the Committee of the Whole. March 9th, it was passed on the Senate floor 28-7-0.
AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke, Burtenshaw, Cook, Den Hartog, Dunn(Carlson), Foreman, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Hartgen, Herndon, Lakey, Lee, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Ricks, Schroeder, Toews, Trakel, VanOrden, Winder, Zuiderveld and NAYS – Just, Rabe, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Taylor, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow.
H 311 sponsored by Representative Petzke amends existing law to allow legislative appropriations for upper divisions in community college districts. It was introduced March 13th in House Education and passed March 15th out of House Education. March 16th it passed the House floor (Rules Suspended) 68-0-2
AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Berch, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Burns, Cannon, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Galaviz, Gallagher, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias(Woodings), McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Mitchell, Monks, Necochea, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Roberts, Rubel, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – None and Absent – Miller, Nash
H 309 sponsored by Representative Lanting amends existing law to provide that no in-person student instruction shall take place on certain election days. Introduced March 13th in House Education and received and hearing and passed out of committee March 15th with a vote of 14-2 (Price and Hawkins voting against it). This hearing in House Education was interesting. There was quite a lot of testifying done by a committee member. She was speaking for her family member. There was also a committee member that said, ” Kids are safer in school than they are at home.” The bill passed on the House floor (Rules Suspended) 37-32-1. AYES – Allgood, Berch, Bundy, Burns, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(13), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Hill, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias(Woodings), McCann, Mickelsen, Nash, Nelsen, Petzke, Pickett, Raybould, Raymond, Roberts, Rubel, Sauter, Weber, Wheeler, Wroten, Yamamoto and NAYS – Alfieri, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Cannon, Crane(12), Dixon(1), Ehardt, Gallagher, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Mendive, Mitchell, Monks, Necochea, Palmer, Price, Redman, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Wisniewski, Young, Mr. Speaker and Absent – Miller. It should receive a hearing in Senate Education this upcoming week.
H 313 sponsored by Representative McCann adds to existing law to require the provision of feminine hygiene products. It was introduced March 13th in House Education and then received a hearing in the same committee on March 16th. The purpose of this legislation is for all public schools and public charter schools to require feminine hygiene products, free of charge, to all female students in sixth through twelfth grades. The total cost is $735,400, which consists of $435,000 for product dispensers and $300,400 for products, calculated at $3.50 per student for 85,825 female students. The cost will be covered by an increase in discretionary funding. Who has their checkbook? How about liability? What if just one girl ends up with toxicity from one tampon? Will the tax payers be liable?
Representative McCann brought up “Aunt Flow“. This concerned some legislators due to the influence the organization may have on the legislation. You can click on the link above to research the page but the following is a small quote from that website, “Language is Important: Many period products on the market still use gendered language which can alienate transgender and non-binary people. That’s why we refer to all pads and tampons as ‘period products,’ rather than ‘feminine hygiene products,’ in hopes of creating more inclusive and kinder spaces. Our dispensers also have braille, English, Spanish, French and iconography showing tampons and pads clearly on the front of the dispenser. It’s a small, but meaningful step to help make the world better for people with periods.” H 313 is concerning to me as the presentations seemed to push a larger agenda.
H 314 sponsored by Representative Jaron Crane and Senator Cindy Carlson amends and adds to existing law to prohibit certain materials from being promoted, given, or made available to a minor by a school or public library and to provide a cause of action. It was introduced and received a hearing this week in House State Affairs. Representative Holtzclaw motioned to send it to the floor with a do pass recommendation and then Representative Gannon made a substitute motion to hold it in committee. The substitute motion failed 2-11. The original motion to send to the floor with a do pass recommendation passed 11-2 along party lines. We expected to see this on the House floor early this upcoming week.
H 220 sponsored by Representative Shepherd adds to existing law to require cash be accepted for entry fees to school athletic events. It was reported out of House Education Committee with a do pass recommendation February 28th and passed the House floor March 2nd, 59-9-2. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Cannon, Cheatum, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Gallagher, Gannon, Garner, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley(Crawford), Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Berch, Burns, Chew, Galaviz, Mathias, Nash, Necochea, Roberts, Rubel
Absent – Crane(13), Green. In Senate Education, Senator Herndon motioned to pass to the floor with a do pass recommendation, it was seconded by Senator Carlson, and passed 7-2 on party lines.
H 281 Representative Erikson and Senator VanOrden THIS BILL LEGISLATES PRIVATE SCHOOLS!!!! It passed the House (Rules Suspended) 45-22-3. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Berch, Blanksma, Bundy, Burns, Cannon, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Cornilles, Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Healey, Horman, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias, McCann, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Nash, Necochea, Nelsen, Petzke, Pickett, Raybould, Raymond, Roberts, Rubel, Sauter, Weber, Wheeler, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young and NAYS – Andrus, Barbieri, Boyle, Crane(12), Dixon(1), Gallagher, Hawkins, Hill, Holtzclaw, Kingsley, Lambert, Mendive, Monks, Palmer, Price, Redman, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Wisniewski, Mr. Speaker and Absent – Crane(13), Furniss, Vander Woude.
Then it was presented in Senate Education this week. There were quite a lot of questions regarding the involvement of private schools. Senator Nichols asked about parental consent and questioned why it hadn’t been brought into the this legislation. She continued to express her concerns with the difference between notification and consent. Nichols also emphasized that they were talking about “people’s children.” Erickson wasn’t sure that he was following what Nichols was asking and where she was going with her concerns and Semmelroth interrupts them asking for the State Department of Education to speak to the issue. Nichols took her time back and gracefully continued with her questions. It was brilliant! Nichols goes on to ask, “Is there a way to put informed consent into this policy?” Senator Herndon motions to move to the 14th Order to Amend to remove private schools. Nichols seconds the motion and speaks to informed consent needing to be added into the policy. Senator Toews speaks to being on the same page and the importance of parents signing off on this policy. “Critical legislation but parental consent and removing private schools is very important”, he adds. Senator Lori Den Hartog added that H 163 might be able to cover this issue for parental consent. She wasn’t sure, but she was going to look into it. She isn’t too worried about private schools being included. The vote was unanimous to send H 281 to the 14th Order.
H 269 sponsored by Representative McCann and Senator Lent adds to existing law to establish career exploration courses. It received a do pass from House Education March 6th and passed the House floor March 9th with a vote of 45-20-5. AYES – Allgood, Berch, Blanksma, Bundy, Burns, Cannon, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias, McCann, Mickelsen, Miller, Nash, Nelsen, Petzke, Pickett, Raybould, Raymond, Roberts, Rubel, Sauter, Weber, Wheeler, Wroten, Yamamoto, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Alfieri, Andrus, Barbieri, Boyle, Crane(13), Dixon(1), Gallagher, Hawkins, Kingsley, Lambert, Mendive, Mitchell, Monks, Palmer, Price, Redman, Scott, Shepherd, Tanner, Wisniewski and Absent – Furniss, Necochea, Skaug, Vander Woude, Young. Senator Lent presented in Senate Education March 16th. He said they had been working on it for 3 years. Line 12 could change shall to may and line 27 reword the “contributing members of society” section. Senator Lenney had a question about First Steps from the State Board of Education. The bill passed out of committee and is headed to the Senate floor.
H 228 sponsored by Representative Ehardt amends existing law to revise definitions. It was first introduced in House Education February 27th and passed out of committee with a do pass recommendation March 7th. It passed the House (Rules Suspended) March 8th with a vote of 57-11-2. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Cannon, Cheatum, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Gallagher, Garner, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Berch, Burns, Chew, Galaviz, Gannon, Green, Mathias, Nash, Necochea, Roberts, Rubel and Absent – Crane(13), Vander Woude. It was received by the Senate on March 9th but didn’t received a hearing until March 16th when it passed out of Senate Education with a do pass recommendation (6-1, Ward-Engelking against). It is currently on the 3rd Reading Calendar on the Senate floor waiting for a vote.
H 113 sponsored by Representative Boyle amends existing law regarding certain procedures for charter and virtual schools. Introduced in House Education February 9th and passed out of committee March 7th. WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR THINGS TO MOVE IN THIS COMMITTEE, YOU ASK? GOOD QUESTION! This bill passed on the House floor (Rules Suspended) 69-0-1. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Berch, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Burns, Cannon, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Galaviz, Gallagher, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nash, Necochea, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Roberts, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – None
It was presented in Senate Education this week and reported out of committee with a unanimous do pass recommendation. It should receive a vote on the Senate floor this upcoming week.
H 267 sponsored by Representative Boyle adds to existing law to establish the Career Ready Students Program and the added Cost Funding Support Program. This bill passed the House (Rules Suspended) 53-15-2. AYES – Allgood, Andrus, Berch, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Burns, Cannon, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias, McCann, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Nash, Necochea, Nelsen, Petzke, Pickett, Raybould, Raymond, Roberts, Rubel, Sauter, Shepherd, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young and NAYS – Alfieri, Barbieri, Dixon(1), Gallagher, Hawkins, Lambert, Mendive, Monks, Price, Redman, Scott, Skaug, Tanner, Wisniewski, Mr. Speaker and Absent – Furniss, Palmer. It was then reported out of committee with a do pass recommendation (5-3). It should receive a vote on the Senate floor this upcoming week.
H 298 sponsored by Representative Jaron Crane amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise a provision regarding interstate trafficking in prostitution, to provide for the crime of receiving proceeds of illegal sexual activity, and to provide for human trafficking victim protection. It was reported out of Judiciary, Rules & Administration with a recommendation to place on General Orders.
H 292 sponsored by Representative Monks amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to create property tax relief by creating the School District Facilities Fund and the Homeowner Property Tax Relief Account, both of which are funded by state moneys. It was reported out of Revenue & Taxation with a do pass recommendation and passed on the House floor (Rules Suspended) 63-7-0. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Berch, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Burns, Cannon, Cheatum, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Gallagher, Garner, Green, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Roberts, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Chew, Galaviz, Gannon, Mathias, Nash, Necochea, Rubel
It was referred to the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee where it was reported out of committee with a do pass recommendation.
VICTORY!!! H 124 sponsored by Representative Tina Lambert amends existing law to revise provisions regarding accepted voter identification at the polls. It was introduced February 13th, passed through House State Affairs February 16th, and passed through the House February 20th. PASSED – 59-11-0
AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Cannon, Cheatum, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Gallagher, Garner, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Berch, Burns, Chew, Galaviz, Gannon, Green, Mathias, Nash, Necochea, Roberts, Rubel.
By February 28th it had passed out of Senate State Affairs and on March 9th, it passed the Senate 28-7-0.
AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke, Burtenshaw, Cook, Den Hartog, Dunn(Carlson), Foreman, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Hartgen, Herndon, Lakey, Lee, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Ricks, Schroeder, Toews, Trakel, VanOrden, Winder, Zuiderveld and NAYS – Just, Rabe, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Taylor, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow
On March 15, 2023 H 124 was delivered to the Governor at 12:25 p.m. On March 16th, H 124 was reported signed by Governor on March 15, 2023.
H 066aaS Amendment Engrossed 1 sponsored by Representative Scott adds to existing law to provide that reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect falsely is a misdemeanor. Passed out Judiciary, Rules & Administration and passed the House 56-12-2. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Bundy, Cheatum, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Gallagher, Garner, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, McCann, Mendive, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Berch, Burns, Cannon, Chew, Galaviz, Gannon, Green, Mathias, Nash, Necochea, Roberts, Rubel and Absent – Boyle, Mickelsen. It passed the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee and then went to the Senate floor where it was referred to 14th Order for amendment. It was amended and passed the Senate 34-0-1. AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke, Burtenshaw, Cook, Den Hartog, Dunn(Carlson), Foreman, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Hartgen, Herndon, Just, Lakey, Lee, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Schroeder, Semmelroth, Taylor, Toews, Trakel, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Winder, Wintrow, Zuiderveld and NAYS – None and Absent and excused – Ruchti.
It was returned to the House and went through the process of returning to the House floor where the amended Senate version passed (Rules Suspended) 67-1-2. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Berch, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Cannon, Cheatum, Chew, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Galaviz, Gallagher, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, Mathias(Woodings), McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Mitchell, Monks, Necochea, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Roberts, Rubel, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Burns and Absent –Miller, Nash.
H 022aaS Amendment Engrossment 1 sponsored by Representative Skaug adds to existing law to provide for the withholding of sales and use tax from city and county governments in certain instances. Passed out of House Revenue & Taxation in January and then passed on the House floor 53-13-4. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Cannon, Cheatum, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Gallagher, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Manwaring, Mendive, Mickelsen(Coletti), Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Redman, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Berch, Burns, Chew, Galaviz, Gannon, Green, Lanting, Mathias, Nash, Necochea, Nelsen, Roberts, Rubel and Absent – Clow, Garner, McCann, Raymond.
It was sent to Senate Local Government & Taxation where it was reported out of committee and sent to the 14th Order for amendment. On March 9th, it was passed in the Senate 28-7-0. AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke, Burtenshaw, Cook, Den Hartog, Dunn(Carlson), Foreman, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Hartgen, Herndon, Lakey, Lee, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Ricks, Schroeder, Toews, Trakel, VanOrden, Winder, Zuiderveld and NAYS – Just, Rabe, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Taylor, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow. It was then sent back to the House where it went through the process of returning to the House floor for a vote on the amended bill. The bill passed the House (Rules Suspended) 56-13-1. AYES – Alfieri, Allgood, Andrus, Barbieri, Blanksma, Boyle, Bundy, Cannon, Cheatum, Clow, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dixon(1), Dixon(24), Durrant, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Furniss, Gallagher, Garner, Handy, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kingsley, Lambert, Lanting, Manwaring, Mendive, Mickelsen, Mitchell, Monks, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Skaug, Tanner, Vander Woude, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Wroten, Yamamoto, Young, Mr. Speaker and NAYS – Berch, Burns, Chew, Galaviz, Gannon, Green, Mathias(Woodings), McCann, Nash, Necochea, Nelsen, Roberts, Rubel and Absent – Miller.
LAST, BUT NOT LEAST…FRIDAY IN HOUSE EDUCATION BROUGHT BACK THE PROPOSED RULES!
We were successful in getting them to reject Docket 08-0111-2201 (just the portion involving the Western Governors University) AND Dockets 08-0204-2201 AND Docket 08-0301-2201. The docket highlighted in orange was the worst of the worst and they rejected the whole docket! WIN, WIN! The process is to now put together a concurrent resolution rejecting those rules. It takes both the House and the Senate to reject the same rules OR THEY BECOME LAW. SUPER, DUPER DANGEROUS! As you can imagine, this will be my primary focus next week. I may need some help and encouragement for some of you to make sure we keep this garbage out of our schools. If you’re interested in listening to some of this committee meeting it was Friday the 17th in House Education. House Education Link for Agendas & Video Downloads They did approve omitting “his” and “her”. Representative Clow said he remembered 1973 when he worked for Bank of America and had to omit all of the his words. It didn’t phase him at all. Very disappointing and I stressed that I believed there is an agenda behind their “Red Tape Reduction Act”. They assured me there was no intent. You don’t know me very well if you think I believe that. There most definitely is intent and the intent is GENDER NEUTRALITY.
Lanting made it clear that he hates pronoun police, etc, etc. It SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED BY THE CHAIR but to no surprise, it wasn’t. Berch was all upset over the politics around the one word “equity”. It amazes me how some days they really want words to matter and then other days they are quite bothered by the fact that words matter. Anyway, the worst of the worst docket was completely rejected by a 12-4 vote. Those that were for rejecting the rules were McCann, Clow, Mendive, Ehardt, Price, Wisniewski, Garner, Hawkins, Hill, Sauter, Yamamoto, Nelsen. Those against rejecting those rules were Lanting and the 3 Democrats.
Here are a few examples of what was in that docket:
The equitable selection process for charter schools.
Omitting parents in 3 sections and making us legal guardian.
Other person with legal authority to make decisions
Inserting the use of “gender” which is NOT in Idaho code.
Students “identified” as… You gotta love data collection. Who is doing the identifying? Once a child is identified, can they ever be unidentified?
REMINDERS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK:
- Pray for all of our leaders and their families.
- My new phrase – “Your enemy is not my enemy.” I learned this from a very wise friend.
- Seek TRUTH! Please do not believe what you see or hear in social media or on TV. Communication is key!
Relationships are important! You never know where someone has come from, what they have gone through, or what they are facing…BE KIND. - Prayer is at 11 AM on Thursday on the west side, Garden level of the Capitol. Capitol Clarity is at noon.
- Calvary Chapel AWARE Conference Biblical Citizenship & Liberty for Idaho is April 2, 2023 from 1-5PM @ Sawtooth Middle School in Meridian
- Idaho GOP Events website hosts the information for Lincoln Days across the state.
- ADMINISTRATIVE RULES -VERY IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW!
- Idaho Session – A great site for following the 2023 Legislative Session
- Legislation by Number
- Legislation by Topic
- Senate Link
- House Link
- Testifying before Committees
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!!