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.
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