House tackles multiple bills

BOISE — The Idaho House State Affairs Committee had a busy Tuesday morning with several introductions of new legislation and four hearings on existing bills.

On the 51st day of the legislative session, there are still many new proposals coming forward in committee. Committee members held short hearings and passed bills on holding multiple elected offices, the process for dissolving auditorium districts, prohibiting large banks from religious discrimination, and handling property from deceased residents of veterans homes.

A number of revisions of bills that had already been introduced were also brought forward.

PUBLIC FUNDS FOR TRANSGENDER CARE

Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, brought back a bill that prohibits any public funds from going toward transgender health care; it means the care couldn’t be covered for Medicaid participants or state employees, their spouses and dependents who use state health insurance. A committee previously voted to pass the bill, Idaho Reports reported.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

Rep. Mike Kingsley, R-Lewiston, reintroduced legislation that would prohibit anyone other than a clerk from distributing forms to request absentee ballots. Voting groups or others can distribute these forms.

An earlier version of the bill would have also required voters give a reason for requesting the absentee ballot. Kingsley removed the requirement that the reason be in the application after he was told by the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office that there would be a cost associated with changing the request form, he said. Voters do not currently need a reason to vote by mail with an absentee ballot.

However, the new version of the bill still says voters may only request a mail-in ballot if they will be out of the jurisdiction or if they have an illness that prevents them from voting in person. The Secretary of State’s Office and Nez Perce County Clerk Patty Weeks both said they interpret this language as a departure from Idaho’s current practice.

Kingsley said his intention was to keep it so anyone may request a ballot, but it’s unclear how the language would change the practice.

The committee voted unanimously to introduce the bill. It will return for a full public hearing.

AI ELECTIONEERING

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, brought back another attempt on a bill that would require disclosure on misleading artificially generated depictions of candidates created for electioneering communications.

The committee had previously voted to send a similar bill to the full House without a recommendation.

Rubel said she addressed issues some members had over the time period considered as “electioneering,” so the time restraint was taken out.

ABORTION IN SEX EDUCATION

Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, reintroduced a bill that would prevent abortion providers from providing sex education materials to schools. The new bill removes a reference to another section of code.

The committee introduced the bill.

HOLDING MULTIPLE ELECTED OFFICES

The committee voted to approve HB 497, which states that those who are on city councils, school boards or other local government elected entities and then are elected to federal, statewide or legislative offices, would vacate their existing positions. The bill doesn’t apply to county commissioners.

“The problem that we seem to have is, I believe, we have a consolidation of power and a conflict of interest,” bill sponsor Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, said.

The bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Rep. Chris Allgood, R-Caldwell, who also serves as a Caldwell City Council member, said he didn’t understand how that conflict was any different from the other conflicts that are noted when legislation comes up that pertains to the type of work lawmakers do — legislators declare their conflicts for the record before taking a vote in these instances.

Allgood said the bill wouldn’t affect him because he doesn’t plan to seek reelection to the Legislature, but he had issues with it.

“I just question it,” he said. “If the constituents put you there, this would kind of overrule what the constituents have said, which is of concern to me.”

Kelley Packer, executive director of the Association of Idaho Cities, testified against the bill. She said it could take away from the small pool of people who want to serve as elected officials in small communities.

Allgood and Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise, voted against the bill, which now goes to the House for a full vote.

RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN BANKING

Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, brought forward HB 560, which prevents large financial institutions from using a “social credit score” to decline or restrict services. A social credit score is defined in the bill as an analysis, rating or scoring that evaluates things such as speech, lack of policy related to greenhouse gas emissions, failure or refusal to do a diversity audit or disclosure, or failure or refusal to facilitate or provide abortion or transgender health care.

This would only apply to financial institutions that have assets of more than $100 billion.

“It shocks me that we actually have to do something like this,” Tanner said.

Tanner said this issue came from a situation in which a number of attorneys general accused JPMorgan Chase of abruptly closing the account of the National Committee for Religious Freedom for its political and religious beliefs.

A spokesperson for the bank told the Wall Street Journal, “We have never and would never exit a client relationship due to their political or religious affiliation.”

Tanner worked with the Alliance Defending Freedom on the bill.

The legislator replaced HB 560 with a new bill that added a reference to the new code and that it applies to national banks.

The committee voted unanimously to send the new bill to the floor.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND FOREIGN ADVERSARIES

After a relatively long introduction hearing, a proposal to restrict the ability of foreign governments to own or operate critical infrastructure in the state died in the committee.

Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, said he worked with a group called State Armor that is a think tank focused on countering threats related to the Chinese government, according to its website.

“China sees the security posture of most states as the soft underbelly of the U.S.,” Hill said.

It would restrict ownership of agricultural land or land within 230 miles of a military installation. There would be requirements that companies certify that they are in compliance with the law, which would include requirements such as prohibiting “foreign nationals from a foreign adversary access to critical infrastructure” and that they vet employees. Critical infrastructure could be publicly or privately owned and include gas pipelines, telecommunications, power delivery and others. Foreign adversaries listed included China, Russia, Iran, Syria, Cuba and others.

It would also prohibit the use of software produced by a foreign adversary in state infrastructure.

Hill faced a number of questions about the group he worked with to write the bill, definitions, and potential consequences of removing all software from China and vetting employees at private businesses.

The proposal was not introduced for lack of a motion.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on X, formerly Twitter, @EyeOnBoiseGuido.