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ACTION: SEND EMAILS TO VOICE YOUR OPINION

TL;DR

  • Panhandle Health meetings on Thursday, 1/28, where the board will decide if the region-wide mask mandate will continue.
  • Idaho Legislature has multiple bills sitting, waiting to continue through to be passed. I've pulled out a few regarding the emergency, and one trying to add to Idaho's definitions of civil rights.
  • President Trump's impeachment articles are sitting in the Senate and our Senators Risch and Crapo need to be reminded that they work for Idaho people.

Panhandle Health

The next Panhandle Health board meeting is coming up this Thursday, January 28, at 12:30pm. One of the items on the agenda this time is Mask Mandate Discussion (Possible Action). This is our time to *remind* the board about our opinions regarding masks; a quick reminder that our county sheriff has already announced that his staff will NOT be enforcing the unconstitutional mandates so this may be our chance to turn the hearts of most of the Panhandle Health board. Along with the announcement from our wonderful sheriff, there is at least one board member change between the last vote and this one: Walt Kirby did not run for reelection onto the Boundary County Commissioners Board, and with the change of commissioner, we will also get a change of Panhandle Health board member. Newly-elected Boundary County Commissioner Tim Bertling will be welcomed to the Panhandle Health board and we have high hopes that he is another conservative voice that will vote for our rights.

Here's what you can do:

  1. Email the Panhandle Board of Directors reminding them your thoughts on a mask mandate. Please remember to keep your email to at max 4 POLITE sentences letting them know how you feel to extend or rescind the mandate.
  2. Email the County Commissioners in all 5 represented districts so that THEY may email the Panhandle Health board reminding them they work for the people and need to hear our thoughts.
  3. Show up to the meeting on Thursday, January 28th, between 11:30-12pm to be there when the board members show up. You can also try to get into the meeting but with the gathering limit in place right now it could be a little more difficult. We do need people outside showing support with signs, voices, and chants throughout the meeting because we have seen in the past it really trips up those who are speaking and keeps the pressure on. We also need people to stay until after the directors leave, to either thank them or admonish them for their vote. I know that could be rough because there's a few more presentations between the mask mandate vote and the end of the meeting, so feel free to grab some coffee and come back so there's a crowd at the front door when the meeting is done.

One quick note, the City of Coeur d'Alene mask mandate that went into effect October 27th is set to drop off TOMORROW at 12am. Today is the LAST day that mandate is in effect for the City of CDA, the council met last week, did not discuss anything regarding the mandate, and they're in recess until February 1st. Because there was no extension, and no special meeting on the calendar to discuss it, the 90 day mandate limit is set to expire tonight. I'm hoping that information, along with Sheriff Norris' announcement, will pressure the board to vote the way we want them to.

Idaho State Legislature

There are multiple bills that are on it's way through the legislative process in our Idaho State Capital. Please note that I'm going to give you a few to focus on, although if you would like a more in-depth update of the rest of the bills publicly available right now I'd be happy to speak with you. We need everyone to email our representatives and senators because there's always a lot of back room discussions that don't show the public the pressure some leaders may be under to pass or kill bills. We want them to do what's right for The People of Idaho, no matter what those reps' actual opinions and how others outside their districts think. Rep. Chad Christiansen in District 32 is one of those that doesn't care about what anyone thinks, he's focused solely on the people of his district and LOUDLY standing up for people's rights. It's been really fun to watch on his Facebook page

YES on HJR1 - A proposed Constitutional amendment that will allow the legislature to call themselves back into session (with a 60% vote from each sides) without permission from the Governor. This bill has passed the House and now it's sitting in the Senate. The Senate is much more likely to vote based on how the Governor feels about a particular issue so this bill hasn't been given a Senate committee meeting yet. We need to email our Senators and let them know that we want them to PASS this bill. (If it passes in the Senate then We the People will get to vote on it in the 2022 general election because as an amendment to the Constitution, the people have the final say.) Here's a list of Senators with email addresses. I'm sorry that I don't have a list of email addresses to easily copy and paste, but I promise I'll get on that soon.

YES on HCR2 - Lifting the gathering limit that was put in place in the Governor's Covid emergency orders. This bill has passed the House and now it's sitting in the Senate. Again, the Senate is much more likely to vote based on how the Governor feels about a particular issue, and we know the Governor is scared that this resolution is moving too quickly which is why he's allowed the Idaho Board of Education change school event gatherings to 40% capacity. This bill, however, is not just about school gatherings, this is about ALL gatherings public or private. This is also a "Now and Later" type of bill, where we are asking for a small piece of something now to build up to the bigger piece later. This is just a small piece of legislation that chips away at ending the emergency - which is a bigger beast to tackle - so if we get this passed now it will build up to getting the End the Emergency legislation passed later. We need to email our Senators and let them know that we want them to PASS this bill. Here's a list of Senators with email addresses. Again, I'm sorry that I don't have a list of email addresses to easily copy and paste, but I promise I'll get on that soon. :)

NO on S1030 - Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of Idaho's list of protected civil rights. Idaho Democrat Senator Melissa Wintrow brought this bill to the table and it is now going to the Senate State Affairs committee for testimony. It is not on the committee agenda for today or tomorrow, so now is our chance to email all those in that committee and give them our thoughts. Personally, I will be emailing them about how although I love every person mental illness is not a qualification for being on the list of civil rights. Email the committee, linked above, and if you feel like it email the rest of the Senate telling them your thoughts.

US Senators Need to Vote NO to Trump Impeachment

The US House of Representatives voted yesterday to IMPEACH President Trump again with House Resolution 24, and now that bill is making its way to the US Senate. Our representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson voted against the impeachment, but that didn't stop the majority from passing that resolution through to the Senate. Now is the time to remind our senators that they are still representing the people in the state of Idaho, and they better be voting AGAINST impeachment. I don't have any faith in their backbones to stand up against DC pressures, but now's our chance to show them the real people in charge with Idaho pressures. Email them when you have a chance, again please make your email short AND sweet; the shorter and politer the emails the better.

Senator Mike Crapo
DC: (202) 224-6142
CDA: (208) 664-5490
Contact Form

Senator Jim Risch <----Represents us specifically.
DC: (202) 224-2752
CDA:  (208) 667-6130
Contact Form

 
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