Proposed amendment to constitution appears on November ballot

A proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution will be on the ballot this upcoming election.

H.J.R. 2 will enforce the Legislature’s ability to approve, reject, or modify executive rules.
This amendment is nothing new. The state Legislature already has the power to review these rules it’s just not in the constitution.

Lawmakers said this proposed amendment to the state constitution will strengthen checks and balances.

“The legislative branch has review of the laws. The executive branch carries out the laws. The executive branch writes rules and regulations to carry the laws out,” said Rep. Linden Bateman.

“A good healthy way, I believe, to make it a better process. Everybody wants a good and gracious government. I do, you do, everybody does,” Sen. Bart Davis said.

H.J.R. 2 gives the Legislature the right to review those rules and regulations.

“When a department or agency knows they have to bring an administrative rule before the Legislature, sometimes they make a lot of good decisions before they even bring it to us,” said Davis.

State lawmakers said this is needed because occasionally the executive branch makes mistakes.

“These are good people but the direction they might want to go with is maybe inconsistent with what the language says, or what we intended for it to do,” said Davis.

“We have this unique feature in Idaho, and we need to keep it,”Bateman said.

Local lawmakers said a lot of people support this amendment including those who work in government as well as voters.
http://http://www.sos.idaho.gov/elect/inits/2014amend.htm
Election day is November 4th.