We Won't Be Silenced!

Holding legislators accountable for their vote to silence Idaho voters requires a strong and immediate public outcry. Please write a letter to the editor and to Governor Little (scroll down for contact info), speaking out against SB 1159.

Talking points for your letters to the editor:

• Idaho’s initiative law already makes it challenging for citizens to put a measure on the ballot. Revised in 2013, the law created one of the highest standards in the nation for a citizen initiative to qualify for a vote. It’s not broken and it doesn’t need to be fixed.

• While drafting SB 1159, Senator Grow worked with a lobbyist for MoneyTree Inc, an out of state payday loan company with financial incentive to keep citizens from placing restrictions on the payday loan industry.

• If SB 1159 becomes law, grassroots citizens’ initiatives based on volunteers will be impossible to qualify for the ballot. It will require huge amounts of money to collect signatures in 180 days and only out of state, big money, special interests, like MoneyTree, will be able to put an issue on the ballot.

• SB 1159 locks regular Idahoans out of the initiative process, infringes on our constitutional right to make a law, and silences Idaho voters. Senator Grow should listen to the citizens of Idaho, not MoneyTree, Inc.

• Taking our voice away is not the Idaho way.

How to submit your letter to the editor:

Submit your letter to the Times News on their website.

Idaho Mountain Express: letters@mtexpress.com

The Weekly Sun: email to publisher@theweeklysun.com

While you are at it, please contact Governor Little, too.

Revenge on the Voters - How They Voted in the Senate

It was a tight vote this morning in the Idaho Senate but, SB 1159, the bill to put Idaho among the most difficult place in the nation for citizens’ initiatives to qualify for the ballot, passed 18-17. What now? If the bill passes the Idaho House of Representatives, a veto from Governor Little is the remaining step in the process in the legislative branch. Sign the petition for his veto of the legislation here.

In her debate against the bill, Senator Michelle Stennett raised the question of the constitutionality of this bill. The Idaho chapter of the ACLU has also raised this issue.

More immediately, we can hold legislators accountable by flooding the Twin Falls Times-News, the Idaho Mountain Express and The Weekly Sun with letters to the editor expressing our deep and enduring opposition against this vote. We need to put legislators on notice that Idahoans won’t forget their vote to silence our voices. Senator Grow, the bill’s sponsor, drafted this legislation in cooperation with a lobbyist for MoneyTree, the Seattle payday loan giant. MoneyTree is working against citizen-led initiatives here because last year, Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to restrict the payday loan industry.

See how Idaho Senators voted on SB 1159.

Battle of the Bills

The end of the legislative session is closing in, but we can’t let up. Our voices are needed as two very important Medicaid Expansion bills are at hand, along with the bill to keep Idahoans from making laws. Rep. Muffy Davis brought the Idaho House to silence with her comments on HB 277 today, questioning the costs to Idahoans for the mandatory work requirements associated with Medicaid Expansion and calling out the rushed process for the bill’s hearing. Earlier in the day, the House suspended regular rules on hearing HB 277 in a party-line vote (54-14) with all Democrats voting against the suspension. The Idaho House passed HB 277 this afternoon with a 45-25 vote. A Senate bill to fund the expansion, SB 1204, sponsored by Sen. Fred Martin (R-Boise), has voluntary work requirements and would cost Idahoans much less. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee passed SB 1204 out of committee this afternoon. And, the Idaho Senate amended SB 1159, Sen. Grow’s bill to silence the voters by making it impossible to put a measure on the ballot, which sends it back to the floor of the Senate for a full vote. Sen. Michelle Stennett has been working hard against this bill. Keep calling Senators and sending your emails. Or head to Boise tomorrow morning to Pack The Senate event and let our legislators there know we support the people’s voices and the people’s will.

Our Voice, Our Vote

With the hearing for SB 1159 scheduled for 8 am at the Capitol, tomorrow is a big day for Idaho’s democracy. Our constitutional right to make laws is up for consideration by the legislature. It’s up to us to show the legislature that they cannot silence us! So, attend the hearing if you can, but if you can’t keep calling AND emailing. Monday’s hearing brought some of the concerns about this bill forward, but tomorrow’s hearing is just as important.

Silencing The Voters

The Senate State Affairs Committee (to see the full committee, click the ”Members” tab or see below) will hold a hearing on Monday morning, March 11 on S1159, the bill to upend the citizen initiative process in Idaho. The bill makes it virtually impossible for Idaho’s citizens to exercise our constitutional right to make a law. Retired, former Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Jones penned a guest opinion editorial in the Coeur D’Alene Press saying this bill would “kneecap the initiative and referendum process.” And, as Rep. Sally Toone pointed out in a Facebook post earlier today, those in charge waited until after 5 pm on Friday to post the agenda announcing this hearing. Rep. Toone also noted that this bill is an “attempt to kill our democracy.” Members of this committee need to hear from everyone who cares about our Democracy. Please ask all members to vote against this bill.

If you are able to attend the hearing, please arrive early if you wish to testify. See the attached agenda.

If you can’t get to Boise, just use this easy tool to call AND email all the members of the committee, and include the committee secretary on your emails.

Here is a complete list of Senate State Affairs Committee members with contact information. Secretary information is at the end.

Senator Patti Anne Lodge (R) - Chair
palodge@senate.idaho.gov
District 11
P.O. Box 96, Huston, 83630
Home (208) 459-7158
Statehouse (208) 332-1320 (Session Only)

Senator Brent Hill (R)
bhill@senate.idaho.gov
President Pro Tempore
District 34
1010 S. 2nd East, Rexburg, 83440
Home (208) 356-7495
Statehouse (208) 332-1300 (Session Only)

Senator Chuck Winder (R)
cwinder@senate.idaho.gov
Majority Leader
District 20
5528 N. Ebbetts Avenue, Boise, 83713
Home (208) 853-9090
Statehouse (208) 332-1354 (Session Only)

Senator Steve Vick (R)
sjvick@senate.idaho.gov
Assistant Majority Leader
District 2
2140 E. Hanley Avenue, Dalton Gardens, 83815
Home (208) 332-1345
Statehouse (208) 332-1345 (Session Only)

Senator Kelly Arthur Anthon (R)
kanthon@senate.idaho.gov
Majority Caucus Chair
District 27
725 E. 300 S., Burley, 83318
Home (208) 654-4099
Statehouse (208) 332-1327 (Session Only)

Senator Mary Souza (R)
msouza@senate.idaho.gov
District 4
P.O. Box 2223, Coeur d’Alene, 83816
Home (208) 818-2356
Statehouse (208) 332-1322 (Session Only)

Senator Michelle Stennett (D)
mstennett@senate.idaho.gov
Minority Leader
District 26
P.O. Box 475, Ketchum, 83340
Home (208) 726-8106
Statehouse (208) 332-1353 (Session Only)

Senator Cherie Buckner-Webb (D)
cbucknerwebb@senate.idaho.gov
Assistant Minority Leader
District 19
2304 W. Bella St., Boise, 83702
Home (208) 343-2650
Bus (208) 861-5482
Statehouse (208) 332-1339 (Session Only)

Secretary: Twyla Melton
Email: sstaf@senate.idaho.gov
Phone: 208-332-1326An

Against the People's Will

This post was updated on March 7, 2019.

The latest on Medicaid Expansion: the bill introduced by Rep. Vander Woude (R-Nampa) places work requirements on those eligible, making it costly to implement. As far as this bill goes, two things stand out: these restrictions will waste taxpayer money by creating both an extra layer of bureaucracy, and another “gap population” of folks who can’t meet the requirements. And that means even more tax dollars wasted when those in that gap head to emergency rooms and we foot the bill through our county indigent funds and state catastrophic fund. It’s a job half done.

Beyond this particular bill, another thing is quite clear as well: the people of Idaho did not vote for work requirements. We overwhelmingly approved a law that expands access to health care through Medicaid. Period. Members of the House Health and Welfare Committee outside our district need to hear from us on this.

And in another effort to undermine our democracy and the people’s will, yesterday, Sen. C. Scott Grow (R-Eagle), brought forth a bill to raise the requirements for Idahoans to qualify a measure to the ballot for a statewide vote. Right now, citizens can put a measure on the ballot by gathering signatures from 6% of the voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts over a period of 18 months. If S 1159 becomes law, it would require a citizens’ initiative to gather enough signatures to represent 10% of the voters from 32 legislative districts. The proposal also calls for changing the timeframe in which signatures are gathered to only 180 days (approximately 6 months). These are HUGE changes that make it very difficult to exercise our right to make laws through the citizens’ initiative process (see the Idaho Constitution, Article III). This bill is simply bad for the democratic process.

Local Control in the 2019 Legislative Session

A recent poll shows that a large majority of Idahoans support a statewide ban on the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. The poll also revealed that Idahoans think that local governments should be able to enact those restrictions if the state won’t. But, this session, Rep. Chad Christensen (R-Ammon) introduced HB77 to ban local governments from enacting hand-held cell phone bans. The bill would also repeal any existing local ordinances, like the ones in Blaine County, Ketchum, Hailey, and other places in Idaho. The House Transportation and Defense Committee killed the bill in a close 7-8 vote. That is the good news. Another bill to address distracted driving with a statewide ban on using hand-held phones, SB1064, failed narrowly.

HB127 allows counties to opt out entirely of creating comprehensive plans, which would create a great deal of uncertainty about land use patterns and negatively impact local communities’ ability to plan for orderly development. Local government officials from Blaine County, including Commissioner Angenie McCleary and Bellevue Mayor Ned Burns, testified against this bill in a committee hearing last week. The bill moved forward on a very close vote and continues to gain traction. Stay tuned on this one—comprehensive plans are an important tool citizens use to help shape the future of our communities.