A busy day for local lawmakers, Groundhog Day for others

BOISE — Local lawmakers went on a binge, budget-writers talked redistricting and Republicans saw their shadow Thursday, as the session approached its midway point.

Here are some details from the day’s legislative action:

HOGGING ALL THE ACTION — Five lawmakers from north central Idaho presented bills in committee or on the House floor Thursday.

Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, was the first representative from the region to get a bill through the House floor — and did so with style, earning a unanimous 70-0 vote in support of House Bill 74.

The legislation removes language from two sections of state code that gave municipal health boards and mayors authority to enforce quarantine as far as 5 miles outside of the city limits.

Mitchell noted that language conflicts with Article XII, Section 2 of the Idaho Constitution, which limits police powers to the city limits.

Mitchell’s 5th Legislative District colleague, Rep. Caroline Troy, R-Genesee, had her running shoes on. She had four bills introduced in three committees, and two other bills were sent to the House floor with favorable recommendations.

The bills that advanced include HB 96, which gives district judges an option to grant restricted driving privileges to people who lose their driver’s license for nonpayment of child support.

The intent, she said, is to ensure that rural residents can still drive to work and have an opportunity to catch up on the payments.

Troy’s new bills included legislation requiring that any contracts between state agencies and the state’s four-year public colleges and universities must be awarded through competitive bids.

The fiscal note on the measure indicates that, over the past two years, 41 state agencies issued 262 total contracts to the University of Idaho, Idaho State University, Boise State University and Lewis-Clark State College. Collectively, they were valued at $32.7 million.

Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, proposed legislation that would impose a five-year minimum prison sentence on anyone found guilty, or who pleads guilty, to various elections felonies.

The list of offenses that would earn the mandatory sentence include voter fraud, ballot forgery and tampering, attempting to influence or bribe electors, fraudulent voter registration, and willful neglect or misconduct by elections officials.

The statement of purpose on the bill indicates the intent “is to provide a greater deterrent to those who may consider committing voter and/or election fraud in the state of Idaho.”

The proposal went a bit too far for the House Judiciary and Rules Committee, which declined to introduce the legislation.

The Senate Transportation Committee introduced legislation sponsored by Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, to create a new “air travel enhancement fund.”

The fund would be used to help develop and expand intrastate commercial air service in Idaho. The bill proposes an initial deposit of $1 million, although it would be up to the joint budget committee to decide how much to appropriate and from what funding source.

Johnson co-chaired the interim Intrastate Commercial Air Service Committee, which reviewed options for improving connectivity within Idaho by expanding commercial flight opportunities.

Gary Peters, chairman of the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport Board and a member of the interim committee, joined Johnson in discussing the issue with the Transportation Committee.

Peters said an airline would be more willing to launch intrastate flights if local communities offered a minimum revenue guarantee — meaning they would cover any difference between the actual number of tickets sold and the minimum number needed for the route to be profitable.

“Airlines typically like to operate at an 80 to 85 percent load factor,” he said. “We might not be able to achieve that right off, because it takes time for a route (to get established). So this money would provide a minimum guarantee, so if they left the gate at 65 percent and we promised 80 percent, we’d dip into the minimum revenue guarantee.”

Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, introduced the “Medical Consumer Protection Act,” which would prohibit the state or any local government entities from entering into contracts with companies that discriminate against unvaccinated individuals.

All of the newly introduced bills can now come back to committee for public hearings, at the discretion of the committee chairmen.

DRAWING NEW BOUNDARIES — The Legislative Services Office is requesting $171,800 in one-time funding in fiscal 2022 to cover the cost of this year’s legislative and congressional redistricting effort.

Redistricting is the process of redrawing political boundaries so they have roughly equal populations. It’s done every 10 years, once updated census numbers are available.

The intent is to support the principle of “one man, one vote” by ensuring that one district doesn’t have substantially more voters — and voting power — than another.

States likely won’t receive the 2020 census population data until August. Once it arrives, a six-member, bipartisan Commission for Reapportionment will be appointed. They’ll have 90 days to approve a redistricting plan for Idaho’s congressional districts and 35 legislative districts.

The Legislature previously appropriated $445,000 to pay for the software and GIS computers needed to produce the redistricting map. The $171,800 request for fiscal ‘22 would cover any remaining costs; that includes $75 per diem for each commission member, as well as travel and staffing costs. In addition, the Republican and Democratic “teams” on the commission would each receive $30,000 to hire their own consultants.

LIMITING SCHOOL CLOSURES — Two bills that would prohibit public health officials from ordering school closures to prevent the spread of contagious diseases passed the House after brief debates.

House Bill 68 clarifies that only the State Board of Education has the authority to close a public college or university or limit their programs and activities in an effort to contain an outbreak. Community college trustees would have similar authority over their institutions.

House Bill 67 says only the governor, state board or local school board can order a public school closure, “or otherwise limit any aspect of school programs or activities” to prevent the spread of contagious or infectious diseases.

“This bill simply respects local control,” said Rep. Gayann DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, who co-sponsored both measures. “It reduces the number of government entities that have authority to close K-12 schools and otherwise limit their programs. It empowers and allows our locally elected school board trustees, who have literally been entrusted by the electorate to make those decisions.”

HB 67 passed by a margin of 65-5; HB 68 passed 59-11.

THIRD TIME WASN’T A CHARM — The House State Affairs Committee introduced a fourth amended version of a much-anticipated bill to limit and define the governor’s emergency powers.

“It feels like Groundhog Day; we just keep doing this over and over and over,” said Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, who is leading the House Republican effort on this issue.

Monks noted that the main details of the legislation haven’t changed: It still caps emergency declarations to a maximum of 60 days.

The governor could extend a declaration beyond that time limit, but only for the purposes of maintaining federal funding. Any other provisions, including restrictions on individuals or businesses, would expire unless extended by the Legislature.

“This bill doesn’t take away the governor’s ability to respond to an emergency,” Monks said. “But it does allow the Legislature to get involved, if that (emergency) continues for a long time.”

Governors would still have the ability to temporarily suspend rules and regulations under an emergency declaration, he said, but they couldn’t suspend any laws or infringe on constitutional rights. The bill also states that all workers are considered essential.

The differences between House Bill 98, the third version of the bill, and the latest version were fairly minor. The updated measure allows the Legislature to extend an emergency declaration for a maximum of 365 days, rather than indefinitely. It also clarifies that lawmakers have the authority to extend or terminate a declaration, but can’t amend it.

The committee held a combined public hearing on HB 98 and the newest version of the bill.

Several groups testified in opposition to the measure, including the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, the Food Processors of Idaho and the J.R. Simplot Co. Among other concerns, they worried the bill would slow or interrupt the state’s response to a natural disaster or other emergency, and possibly block access to federal assistance.

Monks countered most of their concerns, and the committee sent the amended version of the bill to the full House with a favorable recommendation.

Spence covers politics for the Tribune. He may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.