There is more than one way to burn a book.

March 12, 2022 

"There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches."

--Ray Bradbury

There has been a flurry of bills on a wide-range of issues moving between the House and the Senate in an effort to end session by March 25th.

H666 (bills are numbered automatically so the number here is pure coincidence) would criminalize librarians for allowing minors to check out "harmful" materials. It begs many questions from whether librarians could be punished for checking a bible out to a minor to whether a librarian could be punished for stocking a crime thriller on a shelf in an area accessible to minors. This bill is intended to censor the materials that libraries have available by making librarians afraid to do their jobs. H666 passed the House.

S1239a is an effort to require all legislative sessions to adjourn on or before the last Friday of March, with limited exceptions. Following a record 311-day session (although there were lengthy recesses when we did not meet) last year, this constraint on the legislature is a good idea.

It also comes as voters will have a choice in the upcoming general election in November of whether to allow the legislature to call itself into special session. That measure passed both houses last session and because it would be an amendment to Idaho's Constitution it comes to the voters rather going to the Governor. I oppose this amendment because the legislature has shown no restraint and kept itself in session just to grandstand rather than doing the people's business in a timely way.

H693 would ban ballot drop boxes entirely. Ballot drop boxes in Idaho are a secure way for people to return absentee ballots and there have been no issues with their use. This bill narrowly passed the House.

S1350 changes the hospital assessment to allow cost-shifting from hospitals offset non-hospital costs in the General Fund. Under this legislation, hospitals are the only providers being taxed to cover other expenses in the Medicaid budget. There are limits on this increased assessment, but it presents a significant cost to our hospitals, because the state refuses to take fiscal responsibility for Medicaid.

There was some progress this week in my efforts to advance a measure to help with the shortage of rural veterinarians who work with agriculture production animals. S1380 is a new bill requiring a fourth year of veterinarian practice for those who receive three years worth of loan repayment (up to $25,000 per year for a total of $75,000). This bill passed the Senate Agriculture Committee and will advance to the Senate floor for a vote.

Both houses have now passed two bills I co-sponsored, H564, which advances fairness for property taxpayers, and H548, which improves election integrity.

Respectfully,

Michelle