Hallmark Institutions On the Chopping Block...

The Future of Voter Initiatives Under Attack

SJR101, arguably the bill to have the most profound long term impacts on Idahoan's access to the ballot, passed out of Senate State Affairs, even after overwhelming opposition, and was sent to the 14th Order for minor amendments before being voted on by the whole Senate very soon.

SJR101 makes it nearly impossible for voters to hold government accountable

SJR101 changes the already difficult requirements of gathering 6% of legal voters in 18 out of 35 legislative districts to 6% of legal voters from all 35 districts just to get an initiative or referendum on the ballot.

Sound familiar?

It should. The legislature tried this before. In 2021 the majority party passed this same crushingly onerous requirement into law, but the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional, stating that it would make the process so difficult that it legislates the initiative entitlement “into non-existence.”

The Court noted that “[i]f the legislature’s actual goal is to prevent any initiative or referendum from qualifying for the ballot, then this is probably an effective tactic.”

Groundhog Day!

So now, with SJR 101, the Legislature is proposing to insert this exact requirement into the provision in Idaho’s constitution establishing the right of initiative and referendum. How is it reasonable—or a legitimate exercise of the Legislature’s duty to serve the people—to put language in an article of our constitution that, while not saying so expressly, effectively destroys the right supposedly guaranteed by that article?

Why Not Let the Voters Decide....?

Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC)

By this time during a normal legislative session, JFAC would have already voted on and sent 20+ appropriation bills to the chambers for a vote. But since Speaker Moyle took over, he's also orchestrating a take over of JFAC; not one bill has been voted on yet.

The longstanding institution of the legislature that receives national praise for efficiency and civility is at a stalemate as the battle over power between the House and the Senate GOP mounts. Moyle wants to put aside the current laws and rules for the committee to require the committee to vote separately instead of together, which would change the vote from simple majority of 20 members (11) to a majority of each committee of House Appropriations and Senate Finance (10 members each) meaning that 5 votes could derail a budget bill allowing a minority to block the appropriations process. Who wins on this decision? Not the people of Idaho. JFAC is a hallmark institution because it allows for the budget process to move efficiently through the legislature instead of bottlenecking in one committee. Stay tuned.

Joint Legislative Oversight Committee (JLOC)

By this time, JLOC should have already met and released a long-awaited report from the Office of Performance Evaluation on the Direct Care Workforce, an overworked, underpaid in-home care workforce that is keeping people out of institutions and saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars. But House leadership (Moyle and Blanksma) introduced legislation last week to eliminate JLOC and alter how OPE does business. If you want a legislature that makes decisions based on facts that are researched and analyzed by an established, credible, objective, non-partisan source (instead of social media flame-throwers and their sycophantic allies), you will want to follow this bill as it winds its way through the legislature.

JLOC is the only joint committee in the legislature that has equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans to do all we can to remove politics from choices about research and data. OPE exists to provide data and research to help guide legislative decisions. This move is one more way that the supermajority wants to change the rules to favor of a political agenda.

Alzheimer's Disease

Fighting for a Cure

I had the privilege of speaking with individuals from the Alzheimer's Association this week. There are over 27,000 Idahoans diagnosed with Alzheimer's and that number is expected to grow by 22% by 2025. It's estimated that there are 42,000 caregivers in Idaho, which equates to almost $750M in unpaid care. It's so important to find ways as a state to support these caregivers with respite, training, and other benefits because keeping people in their homes saves people from being institutionalized which costs the state hundreds of millions more. Learn more about Alzhiemer's Disease and Related Dementias by clicking here.

Senator Melissa Wintrow

WEEK 4 - LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The Future of Voter Initiatives Under Attack

Alzheimer's Disease

Senator Rabe Introduces a Bill to Help Renters

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