Hello District 19,
We are pleased to provide this legislative update and hope this message finds you in good health. Thank you again for the honor of serving District 19.
Recent Developments in the House
On Monday, the House voted 55-15 in favor of House Concurrent Resolution 2 to end all COVID-related limits on gatherings statewide. This would endanger public health just as we brace for more virulent strains of the virus.
Rep. Greg Ferch (R-Boise), a property manager, introduced a bill to prohibit municipalities from regulating deposits and fees for rental properties. This is concerning because state law offers few protections for renters. At a time when both the housing market and the pandemic have put renters at a disadvantage, we should allow local communities to implement their own solutions.
Rep. Chad Christensen (R-Iona) introduced articles of impeachment against Gov. Brad Little. He argues Little violated the First Amendment’s right to assemble. This is clearly political grandstanding.
House Bill 16 – a bill that would strip the Governor of some emergency-declaring powers and rescind the current COVID-related emergency declaration – was held all week in the House. The Republican majority may be learning what we know: This reckless approach endangers our vaccine rollout and is likely unconstitutional.
In the House, a bipartisan bill to allow patients to use medical cannabis will be introduced in the next couple of weeks. The legislation was written by Ret. Senior Master Sgt. Jeremy Kitzhaber, who is terminally ill with Stage 4 cancer. You can listen to his story here. We support this reasonable, compassionate approach to alleviate suffering.
Lauren’s Corner
It is important that we have a fair, equitable system to collect the revenue we need to build a prosperous state. I was honored to join the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce’s virtual forum this week to discuss my tax policy priorities. You can view the recording here.
One of my priorities is to address the dramatic shift of the property tax load onto homeowners. For years, the homeowner’s exemption was adjusted annually with housing prices. In 2016, the Legislature capped the exemption. Since then, home prices have skyrocketed. With them, property taxes have increased at an unsustainable rate. I am working on legislation to increase the homeowner’s exemption, ensure it adjusts continually to the housing market, and once again restore balance to our property tax system.
I have been disappointed by the majority party’s focus on bills that only serve to increase the power of the Legislature. One such bill would require legislative action before a city could rename certain streets or move monuments. I hope we can begin to focus on legislation that improves the material lives of Idahoans.
Chris’s Corner
Let me start with some good news. I’ve been informed by the State Affairs chair that our committee will not consider the impeachment articles against Governor Little. That’s great news because doing so would be a terrible – absolutely terrible – waste of time.
What I call “bad bills” are going to start trickling over from the Senate soon; like the Senate’s new effort to end the COVID emergency declaration. Then there’s Sen. Grow’s attempt to use the Idaho Constitution to legislate drug policy while simultaneously ceding Idaho’s sovereignty to the federal Food and Drug Administration. Sen. Grow’s bill would make any “psychoactive drug” that is illegal in 2020, illegal forever. I don’t believe the personal views of one legislator should be imposed on all of Idaho. As a former volunteer with the Ada County Veterans Treatment Court, I have serious reservations about limiting Idahoans’ ability to use alternatives to opioids. This Constitutional amendment would not just affect Idahoans today, but would affect Idahoans for generations.
The former search and rescue Coast Guardsman in me really wishes we were laser focused on our COVID response right now.
With three full weeks under my belt, I remain committed to learning the legislative process and developing knowledge in those areas that drive much of my committee work. I will admit, without friendly lunches or evening events downtown, developing strong working relationships with other legislators is a real challenge this year. But, hey, what in the last year hasn’t been challenging?! Onward.