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WHAT A WEEK!
Common Sense Out the Window
The GOP dominated Legislature never ceases to amazing me!
Here are some of the topics I faced this week:
- Abandoning working families by passing H40 the largest and most irresponsible income tax cut in Idaho's history that benefits the wealthiest Idahoans; families making $55-$94 thousand would get a whopping $127 dollars back and top earners get over $5000. How is that fair? $127 doesn't even cover a trip to the grocery store!
- Deregulating child care at the expense of children's safety; it passed out of committee so please continue to contact all senators to ask that they vote no on H243.
- Risking the entire blood supply over the fears and obsessions with labeling blood donations with covid vaccination status (miraculously killed in my committee...close one!)
- Taking Idaho backward in a barbaric move, the legislature made the firing squad the primary method of execution when the death penalty has been issued.
- Granting police authority to stop any person on probation or parol (H187) on the street or in their homes without probable cause;
- Banning flags in classrooms targeting efforts to prohibit any inkling of a symbol that may signal to youth that LGBTQ community is valued;
- Reducing Medicaid benefits for refugees because "it isn't fair" to provide additional support to someone escaping a war torn country, who may have watched relatives raped and murdered in front of them! Where is their compassion?
- Cutting a $2.5 million dollar grant (Digital Access for All Idahoans) through the Commission of Libraries
 that increases access to the internet by underserved populations because Christian Nationalist legislators found the word "diversity and equity" on a website linked to the federal bi-partisan law that created the fund.
The grant was issued during the Biden Administration, so that is enough for the Republicans to hate it, but what has extremists anxious is that the purpose of the grant indicates "by bridging the digital divide with inclusive, thoughtful, and systematic interventions, individuals can be empowered with universal access to education, economic mobility, healthcare, and other essential services that enable them to fully participate in society and our economy." They'll have none of that!
Similar to McCarthyism, these legislators are doing word searches for "diversity, equity, inclusion" just like Trump, and then cut and erase anything associated with these words.
They fear the truth; they fear shining a light on the fact that not everyone has the same opportunity to achieve or the same access to information, no matter how hard they work.
Extremists don't want to admit that the system has been and is rigged; some people just don't have the same access to opportunities or advantages so they have to work even harder to achiever similar results. Why is that such a threat? Because it casts doubt on myth of meritocracy and then requires action to make up for that.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS EXCHANGE IN JFAC.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHORT VERSION.
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H345 Harms Medicaid Expansion
IN Senate Health and Welfare on
Monday, March 10
3:00pm
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H138, the bill that would have triggered a full repeal of Medicaid, didn't pass.
However, Republicans will settle for a bill (H345) that incorporates work requirements similar to other states where they have created so much red tape, that most people won't get through the paperwork and then lose coverage. That's what they want and they'll do anything to eliminate health care for the working poor.
Remember, they'll trust parents to use their $5000 in voucher payments without any paperwork or accountability, but not poor people. They'll weigh you down in bureaucracy until it's almost impossible to get your health care.
Read this article from the Idaho Capital Sun which summarizes things well.
It's likely this bill is greased to pass, which is so unfortunate because it will end up costing the state more money in the long run and jeopardize home and community based services for people with disabilities and many others. I have fought against using managed care models for years because we have to pay a private company to run the program, which costs a lot more money, and creates an added layer of bureaucracy for providers and users to get through.
Please help by signing up to testify against this bill in person or on line.
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DOJ Puts Women at Risk Again
St Luke's Steps in to Protect Us
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I talked to Time Magazine reporter, Chantelle Lee, this week about the troubling, but not surprising news that the Trump Admin. dropped the DOJ lawsuit filed under the Biden Administration that was protecting patients with a crisis pregnancy who went to an emergency room for care.
As I said in the interview, “Unfortunately, it was not a surprise at all. We have been nervous but ready for this decision to come down.
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I think the Trump Administration has abandoned pregnant women in medical crises by abandoning [this case],” says Idaho State Sen. Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat. “They dropped that case, which was only holding onto the sliver of protection in a crisis, and they can’t even allow that. Think about that: they can’t even allow a pregnant woman to go to the emergency room, and if her life and health are in jeopardy, to get medical treatment that could save it or preserve her health. That speaks volumes.”
Read the Time Magazine article by clicking here
You can read the full article HERE.
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 This past week, the Senate Health and Welfare committee sacrificed THE SAFETY OF CHILDREN when it passed H243, the bill that deregulates childcare centers in the state.
Idaho is on the verge of eliminating best practice safety standards for childcare, including appropriate staff to child ratios. Every state in the U.S. enforces adult-to-child ratios in daycare in order to prioritize child safety. It’s the responsible thing to do. But not Idaho!
H243 flew through the House and recently out of the Senate Committee, with 38 testifying against and only 2 in favor (special interest groups). Once again, the weight of testimony is ignored by far right legislators over special interests.
If this bill passes into law, daycares can set their own policies instead of following best practice standards statewide, meaning overcrowded daycare centers, fewer qualified adults with appropriate education, and zero oversight.
Currently, Boise requires one trained caregiver per five infants and one per ten preschoolers. HB 243 would let a single caregiver oversee a dozen babies or more if they wanted to. In committee, we heard a heartbreaking story about the death of a baby that wasn’t appropriately supervised last year. Ratios are in place to prevent this exact thing from happening.
Idaho does face a childcare shortage, but slashing safety standards won’t fix it. This bill does nothing to lower costs for parents. It might boost profits for cut-rate daycare businesses, but high-quality programs will continue enforcing safe ratios and hiring adults with early childhood education credentials. Tuition fees will reflect that. Parents who can’t afford or access those places will risk leaving their children in unsafe conditions.
Children will suffer if this bill becomes law.
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I took this photo in the Senate Health and Welfare Hearing when some day care providers who brought kids into the hearing were asked to leave. I guess there weren't enough seats due to all the adults signed up to testify against it. There there were 2 adults with a dozen students: "...the proper adult to student ratio!" they said as they were ushered out.
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Update on My Bill
Screening for Juvenile Human Trafficking
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 In the 2024 session, my bill (Senate Bill 1350) passed unanimously and now the Department of Juvenile Corrections has implemented standardized trainings, screening, and assessment tools for juvenile human trafficking victims.
Since its passing, Juvenile Corrections has let me know that implementation has been going great and even sent me a publication about it, which you can read HERE.
It has been so great to learn that this piece of legislation is positively impacting youth in our state through the Juvenile Corrections staff.
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ENDING THE WEEK ON A POSITIVE NOTE
Joint Legislative Oversight Committee
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I ended the week on a much needed positive note, presiding over the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee (JLOC), where we heard from 7 legislators presenting requests for research projects for the Office of Performance Evaluation (OPE) to conduct.
As you can see from this photo, it is a joy to serve as co-chair for a committee that is equally represented so we avoid politicizing research requests in our state. The committee is made up of 4 Republicans and 4 Democrats and we are working like a well-oiled machine. We heard requests for research on improving
- 911 Emergency Response (selected)
- Military Veteran Success in Post Secondary Institutions (back up)
- CTE Program Availability and Effectiveness (selected)
- State Facility Management and Practices (selected)
We also heard the K-12 District Characteristics report which had some fascinating information about how Idaho is doing with funding our public schools. We heard that Idaho is the only state, compared to our neighboring states, that does not provide additional funding for districts that have a higher proportion of students from low income households. Rather, the funding is based on district size, which leaves important information, like the proportion of high needs students, out of the equation. We are also missing the mark on funding for special needs students.
You can read the full report HERE.
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I met with this great student, Marley, about bringing people together in a divisive political culture.
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Theresa came to talk about the importance of school psychologists. We need a lot more of these talented people!
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I was able to meet with the great people from the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council.
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I had a great time talking to the folks from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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This is Chairman Chief Allen from the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council!
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Nikson Mathews served as a substitute for Sen Rabe while she is on maternity leave.
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I had the honor of speaking at the Women's Health Care Leadership Conference on Friday. What an amazing group of powerful women!
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Photo Bomb!
Loved diving into the middle of all these Young Democrats!
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LOCATION CHANGE
Join us for our last town hall of the session this month at the statehouse. It is important that we hold up this strong tenet of our democracy!
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Local news resources to stay updated on the legislature:
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