Legislators Gather for Idaho Falls Chamber Town Hall and Discuss Healthcare, Education and Budget

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – The Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce hosted a legislative town hall meeting on Saturday evening at the College of Eastern Idaho. The topics of the meeting included a proposed ethics bill, LGBTQ prioritization, education, medicaid expansion, AI, nuclear power, mental health resources, statewide budgeting and more.

The panel consisted of six members of Idaho Legislature. Representatives and senators serve on various committees across the state inlucding state affairs committees, agriculture, and Idaho Falls J-FAC.

Attendees of tonight's town hall meeting were invited to write their questions for the panelists on notecards which were compiled prior to the start of the meeting and asked by the moderator. The session began with questions about prioritizing transgender and LGBTQ-related issues in Idaho.

"We have much bigger priorities in helping families and children and other things," said Representative Marco Erickson. "You won't see me bringing a bill to address that. But when they come before us, we don't have an 'I hate this bill' or 'I hate this part of it,' we have a 'yes' and a 'no.' That's the only options we have."

"This issue effects not 1% of Idahoans, doesn't mean more to 20% of you or have anything to do with you," said Senator Kevin Cook. "We're all Idahoans. From an education standpoint, we still need to educate our kids. I don't care what color, religion, or anything else. They're children. We need to love and respect them, to teach them and give them an education so that they graduate."

Keeping parents in the conversation about transgender children has been a hot topic across the state. The panelists talked about what it means to keep children safe both at school and home.

"I felt like one particular bill was striking the balance that was trying to make sure that parents or at least a parent was kept part of that conversation," said Representative Josh Wheeler. "Those adolescent years are years when the youth of Idaho are making some of the decisions that will have the greatest effect on their life, long term."

Representative Stephanie Mickelson mentioned a prior bill which passed to require parent consent for healthcare in schools, as simple as giving Band-Aids. "It's hard when you want to hold schools and teachers accountable for what a child is doing," said Mickelson.

Idahoans have been concerned with recent legislation attempting to repeal Medicaid expansion in the state. Panelists spoke on this issue tonight, all six of them expressing they are against the repealing of the bill.

"We had a couple options with some sideboarding or we could get rid of the whole program," said Erickson. "It's too big of an economic impact for our state to allow that to go away, and too many of our very vulnerable adults that are working really hard and they just can't afford insurance and it's tough."

Audience members wanted to hear panelists' thoughts on AI. Senator Cook said he's a big fan of AI and all that it can do for jobs and education in the state, however he emphasized the need for parental involvement.

"We are very strict about no data collected, no data going outside the school district," Cook said. "Your kids are still safe, they'll be okay if they use it, but as parents, you need to get involved with it."

This topic also raised concerns over the amount of water it takes to power AI. Senator Cook said we need to be able to store Idaho water. "Not a single drop should leave the state of Idaho that is not legally required," he stated.

When asked about the high number of suicides in Idaho schools, panelists focused on human connection and knowing the warning signs of suicide. Amid the statewide budget cuts, attendees asked how mental health resources would be affected.

"Citizens need to learn how to recognize the symptoms and signs and talk about it openly," said Erickson. "That's what's really important. Connection is a really huge and anti-suicide thing."

"The 988 system has been a revolutionary change in this conversation," said Wheeler. "It's important we protect that funding. Those guys run one lean, mean, but absolutely vital service. Not just to our kids, but to everybody." Representative Wheeler also touched on the legislation passed last session to ask all school districts in the state to have a cell phone policy. He said the cell phone addiction amongst young Idahoans is causing more anxiety and a barrier to human connections.

Representative Erin Bingham offered hope to those struggling. "You are needed, you are loved. Don't give up," she stated. "I hope that we can find that connection or be that connection for someone who is struggling."

Legislative Town Hall Meetings are held for specific reasons, adequately stated tonight by Representative Mickelson: "Just simply being in the same room and taking time to respectfully listen to each other and look somebody in the eye and say, 'I hear what you're saying' is a really important part of this whole process."

If you're interested in attending more legislative events to talk to representatives and senators, visit https://idahofallschamber.com/.