Legislative Watch Report - 2024-01-22
The Legislature does some bookkeeping and some campaign posturing.
Highlights
Support H0392 for limiting the power of district boards of health.
Support H0396 for banning government mask mandates.
Oppose H0406 for expanding the drug war and creating a crime in a situation that should be handled through products liability.
Oppose H0407, a violation of the freedom to speak and criticize politicians.
Oppose S1222 for using “Think of the Children” to introduce tools of tyranny.
Support S1227 with reservations, for its strong, though slightly flawed, pushback against the Covid regime.
Support S1228, which forbids Idaho public colleges from banning concealed carry.
Oppose S1237, an expansion of the state’s violations of the right of free association.
House
H0392 - Health Districts
The Bill
H0392 would limit the power and duties of district boards of health. Their scope would go from doing “all things” required for the preservation and protection of the public health and preventative health, to doing “necessary and reasonable things” required for the preservation and protection of the public health.
Position
We support these proposed scope limitations. With our recent experience with Covid-19 and the government's response, we wouldn’t want to leave health district boards with the authority of doing “all things” required.
H0393 - Counseling Services
The Bill
H0393 would allow Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors (LCPC) to practice in-person and telehealth in other states that are part of a “Counseling Pact” under a privilege-to-practice. The LCPC must be licensed in their own state, must not have any encumbrances against their license in the past two years , and have a fingerprint based criminal history check.
Position
We support this bill. Loosening up restrictions will allow people to have more options when seeking counseling services.
H0395 - Electioneering
Context
The Idaho Tax Commission is forbidden from including any electioneering messages on forms or checks sent to citizens. This is done to prevent politicians from gaining political benefit from money that the Tax Commission sends to citizens when following the law.
The Bill
H0395 clearly defines the term “electioneering message” in the statute banning it.
Position
We support the government being clear on how it limits its department’s communications.
H0396 - Mask Mandates
The Bill
H0396 would prohibit the state from mandating the use of face masks, face shields or any other face covering to prevent or slow the spread of a contagious or infectious disease. They can make a recommendation but it must be stated that the recommendation is not mandatory.
Position
This bill is late in coming, with the Covid hysteria mostly behind us. However, better late than never. We’re glad to see the government forbidding itself and its subsidiaries from imposing absurd requirements on normal people.
The bill also limits itself properly to constraining the actions of governments. In the absence of government enforcement, any attempts to change social norms have to function through voluntary means. If this law had been in place in 2020, businesses would have had to navigate between the pressures of the corporate press telling everyone to be terrified of their fellow man, and customers who didn’t believe them. The operation of the market would have let reasonable behavior be discovered as people made choices of where to go and which standards to accept.
H0397 - Immunization Registry
Context
Idaho has a system in place called Idaho’s Immunization Reminder Information System (IRIS). It can be accessed by healthcare providers, schools and child care facilities. According to Health and Welfare, IRIS “tracks, forecasts, and helps healthcare providers remind patients when immunizations are needed.” Idahoans are opted in by their healthcare providers without their explicit consent. Participation is considered optional. We can contact Health and Welfare to have our records removed.
The Bill
H0397 would make the IRIS opt-in instead of opt-out.
Position
We support this bill; anything government-run needs to be both optional and opt-in. Having it be optional is not sufficient. Many people are unaware that their data is a part of IRIS, let alone that they have a choice in participating.
H0398 - Medicaid
Context
Medicaid is federally funded, but administered by state bureaucracies. Those state bureaucracies have broad leeway to participate in experimental changes to the program and waivers to various program requirements.
The Bill
H0398 requires any participation in experiments and waivers under Medicaid to receive approval from Idaho’s legislature.
Position
We are opposed to the income tax by which the US Federal Government steals Idahoans’ income, and all the spending programs through which they bribe our state governments with our money to go along with federal priorities. Medicaid is no different, and we wish to see it end.
Failing its abolishment, we take no issue with the legislature reducing the power of bureaucrats to implement federal policies.
H0399 - Maternal Mortality
The Bill
H0399 would give the Board of Medicine the power throughout the state to require production of needed information concerning maternal mortality. They will provide an annual summary and report to the legislature by January 31st of each year.
Position
This bill does not affect liberty.
H0400 - Preborn Children
The Bill
H0400 is a duplicate of H0381 that was introduced the first week.
Position
Our stance is the same - the bill does little more than Republican posturing and is a waste of time.
H0401 - Homestead Exemption
Context
Homeowners in Idaho may claim a Homestead Exemption for their property taxes which reduces the assessed value of their primary home for property tax calculations.
The Bill
H0401 adds a penalty and enforcement mechanism for homeowners who are found to have claimed their exemption on more than one property.
Position
As with all forms of taxation, we oppose the property tax. The programs it funds can and should be funded through voluntary means instead. Therefore, we applaud any means by which people can reduce their tax burden, and oppose any means of increasing it. This bill should not pass.
H0402 - Injection Wells
The Bill
H0402 removes laws and regulations related to Oil and Gas Injection Wells. These wells are regulated and permitted directly by the Federal EPA.
Position
We are in favor of removing these regulations. We are also in favor of abolishing the EPA, and working out issues of pollution through normal property damage lawsuits.
H0403 - Soil Conservation District, Supervisors
Context
Idaho’s Department of Agriculture maintains a set of Soil Conservation Districts, charged with regulating land use to keep the soil in good health for normal uses like farming, ranching, and nature preserves. These districts are run by 5-member boards of directors, which can be increased to 7 members.
The Bill
H0403 designates a process by which a district which has moved from 5- to 7-member boards can return to a 5-member board.
Position
We take no issue with laying out this administrative process, and hope it reduces the number of bureaucrats in the state.
H0404 - Records, Wildlife
The Bill
H0404 adds an exemption to public records requests for data about the positions of tagged wildlife, remote wildlife cameras, and other wildlife-tracking tools used by the government.
Position
There is no good reason for these records to be kept secret. We oppose this bill.
H0405 - Lewd Conduct, Penalties, Minors
The Bill
H0405 would allow the state to impose the death penalty on a person convicted of lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 12, if the jury unanimously finds that aggravating factors, which are defined in statute, make the crime so heinous that the convicted person deserves death.
Position
People who force themselves on prepubescent children deserve to die painfully. The difficulty that Libertarians have dealing with these situations is that we do not trust the state to deliver justice to the people who deserve it. This implementation of the death penalty is better than some like in Florida, where a death penalty can be given by only 8 of 12 jurors, but we still oppose the government giving itself the authority to kill its prisoners.
H0406 - Fentanyl Trafficking, Drug Homicide
The Bill
H0406 expands the drug code in Idaho to criminalize the trafficking of Fentanyl, and to define the crime of Drug-Induced Homicide, which a person commits if they sell a controlled substance to another person, and that other person then dies as a result of using that substance.
Position
The Drug War continues to push the government to apply bad solutions to real problems. Fentanyl is a potentially deadly substance, and is popular among drug gangs because it can be cut with more expensive drugs to improve their profits. This often results in overdoses by drug addicts who did not know they were getting fentanyl with their preferred narcotic.
We oppose this law and the new crime it defines. The Drug War would be solved by ending the use of violence against addicts and their suppliers. In that situation, the well-understood field of Products Liability Law, a tradition going back to early English Common Law, could be applied between legitimate businesses and their customers. The solution to addiction will be found through the voluntary social fabric, and people who love one another pushing each other to get healthy and become better people. Every time the state introduces violence to a bad, but non-violent, situation, the situation is made worse.
H0407 - FAIR elections act
Context
The ”Deep Fake,” a false video or audio “recording” which appears to be one person speaking, but does not represent an accurate statement that the person in question made, has become an increasingly easy piece of media to create as technology improves. For example, this video appears to be Joe Biden reading a well-known (and quite profane) 4chan post. The average internet-literate American would know from the words said that it is fake, and the average politically-aware American would know that Joe Biden has not been capable of speaking so coherently for more than a minute in years. However, someone might be fooled into thinking that Joe Biden did actually claim to have graduated in the top of his class in the Navy SEAL program, and more realistic and convincing Deep Fakes are already being produced for both entertainment and propaganda.
The Bill
H0407 creates a civil cause of action that a political candidate may bring against a person who publishes a Deep Fake presenting that candidate, unless the video or audio clearly communicates that it is faked.
Position
The tradition of lying about one’s political opponents is as old as elections. Propagandists have many dishonest tools at their disposal, and they make liberal use of those tools every election cycle. Deep Fakes are not in any way special, and are only different from other propaganda tools in their novelty and their ability to convince people who have come to rely on recorded videos as their source of information about politicians. Each of us has the responsibility to seek out reliable sources of information, to monitor our trusted information sources for corruption and dishonesty, and to discern fact from fiction. The government has no ability to replace our discernment, and should not be trusted to try.
This bill would give powerful and monied politicians a way to use the violent hand of the government to silence dissent. It is an unconscionable violation of the freedom to speak and criticize government officials. It cannot be allowed to pass; even if it does pass, it will be instantly tied up in courts and overturned.
H0408 - Ski Patrol, Volunteer, Liability
The Bill
H0408 would provide Good Samaritan protection for ski and bike patrol, shielding them from liability related to the various aid they provide.
Position
We support this bill. Good people taking reasonable steps to help others do not assume total responsibility for guaranteeing the health of those they help.
H0409 - State Admin Facilities, Sale
The Bill
H0409 simplifies the law and process around selling land which the State of Idaho owns and is no longer using. It was introduced earlier in the week as H0394; this is functionally identical bill replaces that one.
Position
We have no issue with the state simplifying its management of the sale of its own property.
H0410 - Income Tax for Tribal Members
The Bill
H0410 makes income earned within the boundaries of an Indian reservation by a member of an Indian tribe exempt to Idaho income taxes. It does not exempt income earned in Idaho outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation.
Position
While we are glad to see anyone’s tax burden reduced, and so we support this bill, we would rather see everyone’s tax burden reduced. There shouldn’t be special classes of citizenship. If the reservations are meaningfully different places, they should be separate states (and those separate states should not tax income either).
H0411 - Education Data
Context
The State Department of Education gathers a great deal of data about schools’ operations. Statute prohibits most personal information about individual students from inclusion in these data.
The Bill
H0411 expands the protections against the storage and use of personal information to teachers and staff, alongside the current protection for students.
Position
These protections are a good thing, and we applaud their expansion. We would applaud even further if the government got out of the business of indoctrinating children, and Idahoans returned to teaching their own children, hiring tutors, and making use of private schools.
H0412 - Vehicles, Port of Entry
Context
Commercial trucks are required to stop at ports of entry when entering Idaho for a variety of paperwork and regulatory compliance.
The Bill
H0412 allows the Idaho Department of Transportation to implement technological solutions that allow the paperwork and regulatory compliance to be run without requiring the trucks to physically stop.
Position
We would prefer for the regulations and registrations that truckers have to deal with to be abolished. However, this bill could make the government’s intrusion on their lives less severe, and we support it.
H0413 - License Plates, Expiration
The Bill
H0413 would remove the requirement to replace license plates after ten years. If the license plate is still legible it may be retained.
Position
We support this bill. Idaho should not be forcing Idahoans to purchase new plates if what they own is still functional.
H0414 - Commercial Driver’s License fees
The Bill
H0414 extends the lifetime of a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) from 4 to 8 years, reduces renewal fees slightly for online renewals, and brings Idaho into compliance with a federal regulation requiring states to revoke and reinstate CDLs based on federal findings of drug and alcohol abuse.
Position
We do not approve of the Federal Government inserting itself into the CDL program with its standards related to drug use. Idaho should nullify that program. However, the rest of this bill is an improvement for Idaho’s truckers.
Senate
S1222 - Children’s Devices
The Bill
S1222 is similar to last year’s S1163 and S1057, all bills which would require devices owned by children to have filters installed to block access to material which the government deems “harmful to minors.”
Position
Our position from last year stands: the government will use the cause of “Protect the Children” to create systems of surveillance and censorship. Those systems will not protect the children, but they will be very useful for the government to indoctrinate children and silence dissent. We oppose this tool of tyranny.
S1223 - State Procurement
The Bill
S1223 updates the phrasing of statutes requiring solicitations for the state to make a purchase to describe what the state seeks to purchase.
Position
We are always glad to see the state be more explicit in what it’s trying to purchase.
S1224 - State Contracts
The Bill
S1224 allows for broader flexibility for the Division of Purchasing to determine how to award multiple contracts for the same or similar property.
Position
While strict rules on purchasing are usually an anti-corruption measure, we are not particularly concerned about increasing corruption in the Idaho Division of Purchasing. We simply want it to have less work.
S1225 - Interagency Contracts
The Bill
S1225 changes the process for state agencies to contract with state universities, so that agencies can get quotes directly from the universities instead of through the Division of Purchasing.
Position
We take no issue with the government deciding how its various branches may communicate with one another.
S1226 - Space Force
The Bill
S1226 makes a large number of spelling and grammatical corrections to Idaho Code, and adds the US Space Force to lists of military branches.
Position
The Space Force sounds cool. That is the most interesting thing there is to say about this bill, which is ultimately unobjectionable.
S1227 - Patient Medical Rights
The Bill
S1227 is a reintroduction of last year’s S1009: a Bill of Patient Medical Rights.
Position
We continue to support this bill, despite minor reservations regarding the language of a “right to receive emergency treatment.”
S1228 - Concealed Weapons, College Campuses
The Bill
S1228 forbids all state-governed colleges and universities in Idaho from declaring their campuses gun-free zones or otherwise prohibiting concealed carry on campus.
Position
While private citizens are free to set whatever rules for entry that they wish for their own property, the government is forbidden from infringing on the right to keep and bear arms. We applaud this bill that improves both constitutional compliance and the physical safety of college students.
S1229 - Abortion Restrictions
Context
Idaho is a strongly anti-abortion state. Under current law, after the release of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, Idaho has banned abortion except in the cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of a mother. The law primarily applies penalties to physicians who perform abortions.
The Bill
S1229 removes the exceptions that allow for abortion in the cases of incest and rape.
Position
This bill addresses an apparent hypocrisy with the anti-abortion position. If a fetus in the womb is a person with rights, why is it acceptable to end his life because of the circumstances under which that life was conceived? Removing those two exceptions also removes a potential perverse incentive that might motivate a woman who wants an abortion to accuse the prospective father, with whom she had sex consensually, of assaulting her.
As usual when the subject of abortion is raised, we remind our readers that the Libertarian Party recognizes that there are good Libertarians who sincerely believe that abortion is an exercise of bodily autonomy by the prospective mother, and there are good Libertarians who sincerely believe that abortion is an act of homicide against an innocent human being. While individual candidates may take one stance or another, the Party does not take a stance on this issue. We leave judgment of the bill in the hands of the reader.
S1230 - Wine Imports
The Bill
S1230 would allow wine importers to ship directly to retailers.
Position
We support this bill. Licensed distributors are a means by which the government intrudes on the free market.
S1231 - Fish and Game Licenses
The Bill
S1231 forbids people who have outstanding fines from Idaho Fish and Game from purchasing fishing, hunting, or trapping licenses.
Position
This bill brings Idaho Fish and Game in line with normal practices for private companies: not accepting the custom of people who have previously caused the company trouble. We take no issue with the practice.
S1232 - Child Protection, Parental Rights
The Bill
S1232 lists a set of rights that parents have when investigated by Child Protective Services, and requires that parents under investigation receive a written notification of these rights within Three days of first contact from CPS. However, investigations are still permitted even if CPS fails to deliver this notification.
Position
It is certainly important for parents to know that they and their children are under no obligation to cooperate with an investigation from CPS. However, this bill undermines its purpose, by stating that the investigations are unaffected by a failure to notify parents of their rights. Unless the investigations are made null and void by a failure to notify, the bill has no teeth and is a waste of time.
S1233 - Vehicles, Aftermarket Crash Parts
Context
Idaho law forbids car insurance providers from requiring car repair facilities to use aftermarket parts for repairs to a car’s exterior.
The Bill
S1233 expands the definition of “Aftermarket Crash Part” in the laws forbidding such insurance requirements.
Position
It is generally scummy for insurance companies to require particular aftermarket parts in repairs, sometimes indicating corruption. However, the solution to this problem should be market forces, with customers switching from more corrupt to less corrupt insurance providers. We oppose this bill as an expansion of government intrusion on the market.
S1234 - Contraception, Six Months
Context
Prescription contraceptives are often reimbursed in the increments of one or three months. There is a push in several states to require insurance companies to reimburse prescriptions for six to twelve months worth at a time. There have been studies showing that having a larger supply given at once resulted in a reduction of unintended pregnancies.
The Bill
S1234 would require insurance companies to provide reimbursement for prescription contraception intended to last six months obtained at one time by the enrollee, unless no no prescription contraceptives have been previously prescribed or the enrollee requests a smaller supply.
Position
We oppose this bill. While well-intentioned, it is not appropriate for the state to be mandating how insurance companies reimburse prescriptions.
S1235 - Library Board Elections
The Bill
S1235 reduces the term for Library Board trustees from six to four years for all trustees elected in the future.
Position
We approve of more frequent elections for local public officials.
S1236 - Bingo-Raffle Board
Context
While gambling is mostly illegal in Idaho outside of Indian reservations, there are regulatory carve-outs for charitable bingo and raffles, as well as state-run lotteries.
The Bill
S1236 is a substantial rewrite of the Bingo and Raffles Act meant to clarify the law, match it to normal practice for the Bingo Raffle Advisory Board, and increase the allowable administrative expenses, the maximum prizes, and bingo card purchase limits.
Position
It is good for the law to match current administrative practice and to reduce the burden and limitations imposed by regulation. It would be even better if the Idaho state government stopped trying to interfere with voluntary activity, and allowed people’s free associations to differentiate what we like and approve of, from practices we think are unfair or exploitative.
S1237 - Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity
The Bill
S1237 would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of Protected Classes in Idaho’s implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is substantially identical to last year’s S1011.
Position
Republicans aren’t the only Idaho politicians introducing bills for their campaign mailers this year. We continue to oppose all provisions of the Civil Rights Act which impose on the individual’s right to free association, and we oppose their expansion.
S1238 - Worker’s Comp, Notice of Hearing
The Bill
S1238 removes requirements for a notice of a hearing with the Worker’s Compensation Commission to be delivered by personal service or certified mail. It would allow for emails to the parties to suffice.
Position
We have no issue with simplifying the process for these hearings and saving time, money, and paper.
S1239 - School District Trustees, Quorum
The Bill
S1239 clarifies the quorum requirements for school district boards of trustees. It defines quorum as a majority of the currently filled seats.
Position
There is no issue with the government making sure its boards of trustees are able to function. This is a good technical correction.
S1240 - Military and Militias
The Bill
S1240 forbids local governments in Idaho from financially supporting local militias or private militaries, except when those local militias are called up by the military.
Position
Since the state demands a monopoly on military activity within its borders, this bill makes sense for the state. However, since we oppose such monopolies, we oppose this bill.
S1241 - Young Entrepreneurs
The Bill
S1241 makes businesses owned and run by minors exempt from business taxes and permits, as long as the business has a yearly revenue under $10,000.
Position
We love to see support for productive young people. We hope to see it extended to older productive people as well.