|
...But I Gotta Talk about Fight Club
and the misguided obsession with deregulation & DOGE
If you've ever seen the movie Fight Club, you know the first rule of Fight Club is that "you don't talk about Fight Club."
But I gotta talk about H16 as an example of the misguided obsession with deregulation that sacrifices quality and safety; H16 exempts "contests or exhibitions from licensing requirements when people are fighting to raise money for a charitable organization."
 You guessed it, Fight Club or a new form of the Roman Gladiator for charity was debated last week. Bash your heads in for charity with no safety measures, insurance, or guardrails, but we could have boasted that we deregulated something else! Why not, we just deregulated child care and pre-empted cities from doing so because the "free market" should figure things out. Give the kids some helmets and a sword!
This bill and so many others illustrate the absurdity of the session and a lack of true priorities in the legislature. This bill, passed the House with 62 votes until it finally met its demise in the Senate after wasting tax dollars to the tune of $70K per day!!! And remember H131, the bill that would have jeopardized the entire blood supply in Idaho before it was killed in my Senate Committee, passed the House with 53 votes!
H61 may feel like an absurd example of DOGE, because it is! It's absurd that in a civilized society we would actually create circumstances for a modern day coliseum.
 Thumbs down on this bill and all others that are mindlessly removing balanced regulations that protect consumers and provide safety for our communities. While Republicans tighten the screws on what you can read, who you can marry, what kind of medical care you get, they are deregulating the very things that should have a few rules.
But rules aren't the legislature's strong suit...keep reading and see...
#IDLEG @Fight Club 😊
|
|
|
The Bridge is Crumbling Under Our Feet
Committee Walk Out
What are the Rules?
|
|
Last week when I asked co-chair Horman a legitimate question about two conflicting motions on budgets, instead of answering the question, she responded:
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Well, the bridge is crumbling under our feet and figuring things out as we go without established and understandable rules is no way to run government. And the people suffer in the end.
|
|
|
As you may have seen reported recently, there has been some disagreement in JFAC about the committee's voting procedures and how we have been going about setting the budget. We have debated three different ways that voting should go and the committee co-chairs are now enacting their own rules for passing bills for their half of the committee. If you can't follow that, don't worry, most of us can't.
Last week, Sen Ward Engelking and I walked out of committee, because we felt the most prudent thing for Idaho voters would be to deny a quorum, and halt business from going forward. Otherwise, budgets for vital services would have gone unfunded with a block of Republicans voting against them in typical fashion. There are members of the committee who just come to vote no because they don't believe we should take federal funds or even expand services or pay employees what they're worth.
Well, I've got news for them:
- 43% of the state budget is federal funds, so without them, no more farm subsidies, water projects, health care support, research grants, public safety support, etc. In other words, we would be screwed (sorry for the frankness);
- Idaho is the fastest growing state in the nation, which means we have to respond to needs of a growing population (housing, schools, roads, water, health care, etc);
- We have a statutory responsibility to pay employees what they're worth! Otherwise, government will crash just like Elon Musk is crashing our economy.
JFAC is operating outside of all precedent and common sense voting rules, counting the hypothetical votes of absent members as ‘no’ votes. Rules provide predictability, transparency and fairness. To echo the words of Sen. (Kevin) Cook: the body owns the rules, and we have not voted on a set of rules as a body. Instead, a few people in leadership are making up rules as we go at the expense of Idaho voters.
I will continue to do all I can to advocate for vital services and infrastructure, but I'm worried about the institution of government itself, because only a few people are calling the shots and most Republicans are just going along with them out of fear of retribution by political party bosses. There are a couple of Republicans who are starting to stand up in JFAC, and I'm honored to work with them, and I'm hoping others will start to do so to not only save budgets of state agencies we rely on, but to better represent their own districts' needs.
Stay tuned.
|
|
|
|
I joined Melissa Davlin on IDAHO REPORTS to discuss the disfunction of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee.
|
|
|
New Attacks on Families without a Home
(S1141 and S1166)
|
|
|
My heart broke when I heard our unhoused neighbors described as "dirty, dangerous, and deadly" on the Senate Floor on Friday. S1141, sponsored by Codi Galloway, would criminalize public camping including anyone who may be living in their car or direct police to site car owners with any traces of pillows, blankets or other items that may indicate homelessness.
|
|
|
Boise City Police Chief testified against S1141 in committee reminding everyone that Boise already has a no camping ordinance, and they have enforced it. Boise City police have been working with community partners to find ways to prevent issues, including a bike team that is downtown and working with people to connect them to resources on a regular basis. Among the problems with this bill is that it engages the Attorney General if there are complaints that city police aren't doing enough. Once again, the legislature is empowering the AG to meddle into local affairs and create fear and grief where it isn't needed.
There are much better ways to help people than criminalize them, throw them in jail, and then make it harder for them to find a job. The leading causes of homelessness are the lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment, mental illness, substance use disorders, and domestic violence. There are 9,000 homeless children in our state according to the Department of Education, and these types of bills are harming children and families while continuing to spread fear and misinformation about people who find themselves without a home. What if someone is struggling and finds themselves living in a car with a child? Arrest the mom or dad and put the child in foster care?
Sen Galloway said that's "no way to live" referencing parents and kids in cars.
Question: So how is the state helping solve the housing crisis?
Answer: They're not. Republicans just CUT $15 million from the budget that would have gone to workforce housing so they could put it toward tax cuts for the rich.
*** In a legislature that prides itself on deregulation, you have to ask why we aren't deregulating shelter operations or making it easier to open and operate shelters?
S1166 is working its way to a Senate Committee next week and would prohibit any homeless shelter from being 300 feet from residential private property, an intentional attack on Interfaith Sanctuary's permit to build a 24/7 shelter on State Street with day services including job training, mentoring, substance use counseling, and more. If this bill passes, we have four shelters in D19 that wouldn't be able to expand because they are already within that limit of private property and residences: the Women's and Children's Alliance that houses women and children escaping domestic violence, City Lights that houses women and children, Interfaith Sanctuary that houses single women, single men and families, and the Boise Rescue Mission that houses single men. And don't forget, most homeless shelters were started by churches, which means those near residential areas can't house people in need.
S1166 was referred to Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee, and hasn't been given a hearing - yet! So, let's keep it that way. Write to the Committee Members using the link below and tell them to hold this bill in committee and stop making it harder to be homeless.
|
|
|
H243aa -- Childcare Deregulation
|
|
 Deregulation rears its ugly head again at the expense of children.
Instead of addressing the real issues behind the childcare shortage, like low wages for child care workers and lack of support for low income families, this legislature thinks deregulating them will make more childcare facilities magically appear.
Senator Guthrie used a great analogy in his debate stating, if we want more affordable housing, you don't just throw away all the building codes, sacrificing safety and quality. It doesn't work that way.
Responding to overwhelming pressure, the sponsor finally amended the bill to put staff-to-child ratios back in the bill adding one child per staff in each age bracket, but they still took out local control, undercutting Boise and 8 other cities with their own systems in place with quality standards that parents expect.
Children are our most precious beings and this legislature acts like they can just be warehoused or corralled during the day while parents earn a living. NO! Child development research is clear on brain development in the early stages of life; we need quality interactions where adults can interact with children and children can respond to stimuli to create brain synapses, not just mill around while someone looks over them like a guard on a cell block.
So, on July 1, all of Boise's childcare programs will be unlicensed and deregulated; with no additional resources provided in the bill, the Department of Health and Welfare will take over all centers and have to renew licenses for over 200 childcare facilities in our city alone. And since it's a misdemeanor to operate without a license, we risk some centers closing for fear of being cited. I don't know how the department is going to respond without more staff and resources. Right now, Boise investigates 800+ complaints each year and another 100 are referred from Health and Welfare because they haven't had the resources to do so.
Once again, the legislature's DOGE envy and mentality materializes and makes things worse not better.
|
|
|
Update on Medicaid Expansion
Misrepresentation about Costs Continues
|
|
The Legislature, on a party line vote, continued to ignore the will of the voters, and passed H345 which creates work requirements for the Medicaid Expansion population along with many more conditions that will ultimately jeopardize Expansion and cost taxpayers more.
From the time it was first introduced in the House, it took only 7 business days to get through the process and to the Governor's desk. In fact, they suspended the rules (because they can!) on the Senate floor and pulled the bill from second reading to hear it the day after being in committee. So, no press or people in the gallery to know what we were doing. Talk about greasing the wheel!
Even though most of the Expansion population is working, the legislature is requiring new work requirements which will increase costs due to the tracking software and staff that are needed to track these work requirements. These same type of laws have been enacted in other states. Georgia's "Pathways to Coverage" Medicaid work requirement program has cost taxpayers at least $26 million, with over 90% going towards administrative and consulting costs rather than healthcare, while enrolling a small fraction of potentially eligible individuals. Arkansas spent an estimated $26.1 million implementing its Medicaid work requirements. And each state has found that MANY people who are eligible were dropped due to administrative errors.
Additionally, this bill requires the department to start work on creating a Managed Care Model for all of the Medicaid programs, a gargantuan endeavor which will most certainly increase costs. We'll use tax dollars to hire a private company (an MCO) to manage the program. To get a feel for those increased administrative costs, the state is paying $50 million right now for the MCO that manages the Idaho Behavioral Health Plan. That's just a portion of Medicaid.
Regulating Poor People while
Cutting Blank Checks for Rich Voucher Families
So once again, the legislature is selective in what it deregulates and who it trusts.
If you are rich parents sending your kids to private school, we'll cut you a check and trust you to spend it how it's intended. No spending requirements or no expensive tracking system to be sure you're doing what you should, because we trust rich people.
If you are a part of the working poor, then we'll clamp down on your freedoms with red tape and requirements and we'll even pass laws to regulate what food you can buy with food stamps.
I am a member of the Medicaid Managed Care Interim Committee, so I will remain vigilant about the review of contracts and do all I can to be sure that people with disabilities and other stakeholders are at the table as changes are made. I'll keep you posted.
|
|
|
Idaho Women's Day
Strong Women: An Idaho Story
Past, Present, and Future
|
|
|
|
This week, the SW Idaho National Organization for Women (NOW) hosted Idaho Women's Day at the capitol. It featured my good friends, Rick Just, speaking about the history of women in Idaho, and Julie Yamamoto, who spoke about many inspiring women who are a part of today. Then there were two local high school students who shared their hopes for women of the future.
|
|
|
THANK YOU, SARAH INAMA
POWERFUL LEADER AND ROLE MODEL
If I See It, I Can Be It
Let's all give a shout and and thank you to Sarah Inama, a sixth-grade history teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Meridian who refused to take down a sign in her classroom welcoming everyone.
All those bills that Republicans have been passing to limit speech in classrooms is really coming to a head now as we see just how people are interpreting them. The quiet parts are coming out loudly and clearly now. And folks have asked the question, if all the hands were white or light colored, would there be a problem?
Conscious and unconscious bias (and sometimes bigotry) are surfacing all over the place as some extremist Republicans, who have been trying to hide behind "merit" and "colored blindness" are being exposed. Last week on the Senate floor, a Republican Senator innocently and sincerely asked questions about an anti-immigration bill to allow police to stop "illegal immigrants" for a suspected crime, and how one would know if someone was in our country legally or illegally. He discussed the Followers of Christ who don't believe in the government nor do they have birth certificates or sometimes even a driver's license. How would you know if they were here legally with no proof of their birth.
As he inquired, he noted, "I guess you can tell, because they're as white as I am..."
The Senator was sincerely searching for the answer; I appreciate that about him so much. And it might not have been his original intention, but his comments were very instructive. The anti-immigration sentiments have focused on the Mexican border and people who are Hispanic. Fear has been instilled in the white American psyche about criminal immigrants in Idaho. But we know that there has been a steady population of about 30,000 undocumented migrants in our state that mostly work in the dairies and construction industry, and these folks are our neighbors, pay their taxes, and contribute to society in a positive way.
We can't bow to fear or complacence. We must be like this teacher and stand up for everyone even as she did in the face of losing her job. Think about what would have happened if she just went along with the order to remove the sign...We wouldn't be having this discussion in the press and our communities, and we wouldn't be making the positive difference now pushing back against bias, ignorance, and even bigotry.
And all the while, kids are watching! And they are seeing strong role models stand up fearlessly to protect their freedoms.
The power of role modeling: if I see it, I can be it!
|
|
|
Sarah Goodrich was substitute Senator this week for Senator Ali Rabe while she is out on maternity leave!
|
|
I was so honored to receive this check for Washington Elementary through the Steps for Schools program!
|
|
|
Lorraine Draper, a Boise State student, came to testify in committee against HB345!
|
|
I was joined by Representative Megan Egbert and friends to watch the Idaho Women's Day event!
|
|
|
Lorraine Draper, a Boise State student, came to testify in committee against HB345!
|
|
I was joined by Representative Megan Egbert and friends to watch the Idaho Women's Day event!
|
|
Here is a shortened list of bills that have been introduced in either the House (H) or Senate (S) that provide insight into the legislature’s upside down priorities, a far cry from good for the people.
It's so disappointing to see time and money wasted on political grandstanding that harms everyday folks instead of solving real problems Idahoans are facing like housing, school funding, child care, crumbling roads and bridges, and more.
The Idaho Legislature has gone from conservative values of less government to overreach at every turn to control Idahoans' lives.
Some of these bills will move forward and some will stall or die along the way. Future newsletters will usually discuss the ones that come up for a vote either in committee or on the floor of the House or Senate. The title of each bill is a link to track its progress.
|
|
Arming K-12 Employees (H0273): This House bill would allow for K-12 employees to carry concealed weapons while working and for public schools to remove "Gun Free Zone" signs. It has been referred to the House State Affairs Committee.
Concealing, Harboring, and Shielding Undocumented Residents (H0335): This House bill would make it illegal for anyone to knowingly help undocumented individuals with housing, financial support, or legal help. It has been referred to the House Judiciary, Rules, & Administration Committee.
DOGE in Idaho (H0364): This House bill would establish a DOGE Legislative Task Force in Idaho. It would sunset in 2029. It has been referred to the House State Affairs Committee.
Requiring Student Immigration Status (H0382): This House bill would require public schools to collect and report the immigration status and nationality of every enrolled student. This is harmful to our Idaho families who may just choose to not send their kids to schools out of fear. It has been referred to the House Education Committee.
|
|
Local news resources to stay updated on the legislature:
|
|
|
|
|
|
