a man standing in front of a window with the words senator james Ruchti

Legislative Round-Up: February 12

Hello <<First Name>>,

It’s been an incredibly busy and chaotic time at the Capitol. Here’s what’s happening:

The House is Blowing Up

It has been a historic week in the Idaho Legislature. This is only Mike Moyle’s second legislative session as Speaker of the House. He has led with chaos and disruption. This week it resulted in a vote of confidence being taken by the House. While the results may appear to show he had the confidence of the body, a vote would not have been needed if that was true. The House Republicans then voted to remove Majority Leader Megan Blanksma from her position. This reflects the turmoil within House majority leadership.

These actions come on the heels of JFAC (the Legislature’s joint committee which sets the State’s budgets) going through its own unprecedented turmoil and chaos. We’ll follow up with more information about these events in the next newsletter as we gain a better understanding of the fallout.

Keep in mind, this chaos comes at a cost. We aren’t getting our work done here. The craziness keeps us from focusing on setting budgets and solving the real problems of Idaho families.

Topics On My Mind

Changing Policy by Definition

This legislative session has proven to be a battle over definitions in our laws and has the potential to cause dangerous outcomes. Let me show you the prime examples that have been introduced in the legislature this session.

SB 1220: Domestic Terrorist Definition Change

First, there is SB 1220 which aims to change the definition of “domestic terrorist” in Idaho law so it only includes those perpetrators with ties to a foreign entity. By making this change, those who commit terrorist acts who are homegrown threats – like Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynski or the Aryan Nations – cannot be charged with domestic terrorism under Idaho law. While they can still be charged under federal law, Idaho law would no longer consider them to be terrorists simply because their use of violence to change public policy is not connected to a foreign entity.

The sponsor’s intent was actually to protect free speech rights in situations where somebody attending a school board or city council meeting gets a little out of hand. The bill is intended to prevent that person from being charged with terrorism by an overzealous prosecutor and being labeled a terrorist.

The sponsor has a valid concern and is a good legislator; however, the statutory language being changed by SB 1220 is the Idaho anti-terrorism statute passed in the 1990s in response to the Aryan Nations’ bombings and violent activities. Attorney General Jim Jones (now retired Idaho Supreme Court Justice) worked with activists and business interests in north Idaho, who were tired of the white supremacy movement giving their communities a bad name and threatening their safety, to get Idaho’s anti-terrorism statute passed. They were successful.

There is great risk in changing the definition of domestic terrorist and such a change sends the wrong message to those who have hateful messages to spread. Therefore, I do not support this bill and have voted no on it, and I am proud of that vote. However, it has passed from the Senate to the House and has the potential to pass there as well. Please let House members know you oppose this bill.

HB 400: Embryo to Preborn Child Definition Change

Next, there is HB 400. This bill proposes changing the word embryo to preborn child throughout Idaho law. This has serious consequences for reproductive rights and healthcare. As reported by the Idaho Capital Sun, “Several people who testified told legislators they were concerned that passing the bill into law defining an embryo or fetus as a preborn child could open the door to wrongful death lawsuits or manslaughter charges for women who experience miscarriages or medical providers who discard non-viable embryos.” Luckily, the committee members realized the potential danger for people in this situation and voted to hold the bill in committee. However, it is very likely that we will see other attempts to make similar changes that will make it more difficult for people in our state to get abortions, even in the most dire of circumstances.

I am committed to restoring healthcare choices to the people of Idaho so that women can take care of their health and healthcare workers can do their jobs. Therefore, I oppose this bill.

HB 421: Sex Definition Change

Finally, there is HB 421. This bill proposes changing the legal definition of “sex” as “an individual’s biological sex, either male or female” and making gender a synonym of sex. There is no scientific, medical or other academic basis for this change. This change in definitions also erases trans and intersex people, a group that is already marginalized.

This bill also proposes creating legal definitions of boy, father, girl, and mother. This is concerning as it may cause issues for same-sex parents as it could potentially leave room for discriminatory practices.

What is even more concerning is that of the 15 people who came to testify to the committee for this bill, all of them opposed it and the committee still voted to send the bill to the House floor. The change this bill proposes is neither medically nor scientifically accurate, and it will create hostile environments for some of the most marginalized people in our communities. If this bill reaches the Idaho Senate, I will vote no on it.

Hot-Button Issue

SB 1229: Removing All Exceptions to Idaho’s Abortion Law

SB 1229 wants to remove all exceptions to Idaho’s abortion law, even in cases of rape and incest. Under this bill, the only acceptable case for an abortion is if the death of the mother is certain. Last year, I was on the committee in which this bill was originally introduced, and I led the charge to stop this bill. This year, Senator Dan Foreman (R-Viola) introduced this as a personal bill, so it skipped the committee process this time. Even though personal bills rarely pass, a bill with such an extreme proposal is dangerous.

The current Idaho draconian abortion ban is highly unpopular with Idahoans. The Idaho Capital Sun reports that the Ninth Annual Idaho Public Policy Survey by Boise State University found that “33% of Idahoans said they favored keeping Idaho’s abortion law as is, while 58% of Idahoans favor changing the existing law” and “[o]f the Idahoans who favored changes, 24% percent wanted to expand exceptions to include the health of the mother and non-viable pregnancies, 19% favored no restrictions to abortion access, and 14% favored allowing abortion until 22 or 24 weeks, which is often considered the time range when a fetus can survive outside of the womb, but banning it after that time frame.” These extreme bills are not what Idahoans want.

Source: Boise State University (Jan. 2024)

However, I believe these radical policies being proposed are a direct result of the Idaho GOP's extreme leanings. In 2022, the Idaho GOP added the language of this bill to their party platform. In 2023, we saw the first attempt to pass this bill. In 2024, and onwards, we should expect to see the majority party attempt more and more radical policies as a result of their extreme agenda.

I will continue to fight for women’s reproductive rights and laws that acknowledge the inherent complications of pregnancy. Our laws ignore the fact that any mother can have a complicated pregnancy, and any pregnancy can get complicated at any time.

SB 1240: Militia Bill

SB 1240 eliminates Idaho’s prohibition against militias organizing and marching under arms in our communities. You may remember this bill from last year. It was appropriately rejected by the Legislature then, but is making another appearance. I voted no on it last year and will again.

Many may remember the Aryan Nations used to terrorize north Idaho in the 1980’s and 1990’s from their compound in Hayden Lake. Their ultimate goal was to spread their message of hate and recruit followers. Violence, bombings and threats of physical harm were their currency. They even paraded through downtown Coeur d’Alene in 1998, waving their Nazi flags and spreading their message.

Now imagine showing up to your community’s 4th of July parade this summer only to be confronted with a parade entry full of white nationalists marching in military formation, in uniform, waving Nazi flags and chanting hate messages toward your friends and neighbors. I suspect some in your community would counterprotest or even confront those white nationalists using their own free speech rights. Now imagine adding weapons to the mix. It is a recipe for violence and ready-made for national media to cover.

This is too dangerous of a bill to pass and I hope that it will be stopped in the Senate. I will vote no when the time comes.

A Personal Note

Proud of Pocatello

Thus far, we have had 277 students in District 29 submit applications to Idaho Launch. As you may recall, this program is one championed by Governor Little which I supported that provides up to $8,000.00 in grants for graduating high school seniors, beginning this year, to use for in-demand career post-high school education. You can see in the graph below the variety of programs they are pursuing to become qualified for much-needed careers. I am so proud of the students in District 29 for striving to improve themselves through training and education.

Source: Idaho Launch

I’m proud of Pocatello and Idaho, and I was extra proud to see that Pocatello had a 90% high school graduation rate and that Idaho SAT scores have been increasing since 2019. I am especially proud of Highland High School’s students, who are on my mind every day, as they have conquered immense challenges as a student body.

This also reminds me of the need to fund our public schools. According to the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, voucher systems could cost the state up to $360 million annually and it is helpful to realize what that money could buy for Idaho’s public schools.

Source: Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy (Jan. 10, 2024)

As you can see, the amount of money that a voucher program would cost could help us improve our special education, solve the teacher shortage, fund the school bus systems, repair our failing school facilities, and provide access to computers for every student in the state.

I will continue to fight against voucher systems and make sure that our public schools are funded so that our students can have a quality education. I'm proud of the hundreds of community members who have contacted me about the issues in the legislature. These are our neighbors, librarians, lawyers, judges, school board members, chamber of commerce members, homeschoolers, and more who support the work I'm doing in Boise. I am honored to represent my hometown.