Idaho Dems Urge Legislature to Postpone January Session

Now I'm sure there's things we love about our Idaho government, and we probably don't agree on all those "things," but I feel that one thing we could ALL agree on is the idea that the Legislature should push back their session and meet over video instead of at the Capital is asinine. The Legislature has had to deal with a lot over the past year, they're still in hot water over not meeting back in June, not to mention the lack of legislation that happened when the Governor finally called a special session in August. Our senators have repeatedly told us that they couldn't really do anything to combat the Governor's overstepping in the special session because it wasn't specifically laid out on the Governor's agenda, and the appeasement they kept trying to tell us was "We'll have a lot to discuss in the January session."

Oh yes there is a lot to discuss in the January session including the end to this Idaho emergency order madness, stopping the Governor's ability to lord over all the lands with no checks and balances, completely overhauling Statue 39, Chapter 4 and the Public Health Districts, and Medicare spending, to name a few.

There are some, however, that don't want to meet on time in January due to the fear of "being exposed to a highly dangerous environment." House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, and Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, made the request in a letter to the Republican majority on Tuesday. "The state’s business can be conducted more thoroughly and thoughtfully later, at a time when we aren’t racing to shorten proceedings due to unprecedented health threats,” the Dems said. “Postponing the session would afford the people of Idaho a much more meaningful opportunity to have a voice in the proceedings of their government.”

That's a really nice excuse to try and get around the Idaho Constitution, especially when Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin's Covid committee suggested workarounds to keep the Legislature safe when they return, including a disinfectant cube everyone has to walk through to get into the Capital building. Unfortunately, workarounds were too much for some and it was implied by the media that the cubes were unsafe and hazardous to a person's health. But advocating for quarantine and NOT building up a person's immune system is safe and NOT hazardous to a person's health. Uh huh, ok.

Here's what you can do to help.

You Contact Warriors have a great opportunity to write to your Idaho Representatives and Senators, not just in your district but throughout the entire state of Idaho, to stress the importance of meeting in person, on time, at the Capital. Emails, phone calls, and physical letters do the trick. The Legislature is supposed to be back in session in only a matter of weeks, so this needs to be done posthaste. The Legislature.Idaho.gov website has been updated to include all those new members that were just elected to office in November. I'm sorry I don't have one all-up list of everyone, it's separated into Senators and Representatives. If you would like to put emphasis on your specific reps but don't know who they are, there's a crappy search page on the Idaho.gov website that can sort of help. There's also another map function on the County Elections page of whatever county in which you reside.

Below is a sample email - it's VERY basic - that you can modify to fit your personality and purpose.

Dear Senator (or Rep.) XXXXX

I understand that there are those who want to postpone the January Legislative session for a few months until such time precautions can be put in place, like a vaccination. I wanted to let you know that under no circumstances should this idea even be entertained; it's up to you to bring forward our giant list of complaints, exacerbated by the past year, to the Legislative body on time as per the Idaho Constitution. Please know that I appreciate you and all you do for our state; it's time to get back into session and start working towards a better Idaho.

I'm happy to speak with you more about my list of complaints at your earliest convenience.

Respectfully,
Erin Barnard
Kootenai County, District 4