Republican leadership lays out legislative plan
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK)-Republican Idaho legislators are developing a package of constitutional amendments and other legislation they believe will protect people from “overreach by the executive” branch of state government.
According to House Speaker Scott Bedke, “Idaho’s laws dealing with unprecedented conditions created by the COVID-19 virus are inadequate. The Republican Caucuses of the House and Senate are working together to craft legislation that would improve Idaho’s future response should these conditions arise again.”
Outgoing Senate President Brent Hill said the legislation would ensure people are represented during “trying times.”
The package includes election dates and procedures for “non-cognizable” funds (like the Congressional CARES Act), the duration and power of emergency declarations, special legislative sessions, limitations on schools and businesses, and flexibility for schools to deal with financial holdbacks.
The action comes after a Republican Party State Convention last weekend that featured a variety of party policy proposals, including the right of the legislature to convene itself for the purpose of reversing any or all of Republican Governor Brad Little’s actions aimed at containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
