Idaho Legislature shenanigans

COEUR d’ALENE — Wednesday morning got a wild start in the state House of Representatives when the Democrats attempted to force a vote on a minimum wage bill that had previously died in committee.

According to Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Post Falls, the House convened on the floor to start business at 10 a.m., but two committees were still

debating controversial bills. He said the Democrats tried to take advantage of that.

“The Democrats tried a procedural move to bring the minimum wage to floor for a vote,” Mendive said. “We were about 30 people short on the floor, so the committees were called to the floor for the vote.”

That shut down the Education and State Affairs Committees, which both were hearing controversial legislation they are trying to pass before the part-time Legislature wraps up next Thursday.

Mendive said he was sitting in the education committee when they got called to floor. They were hearing testimony on a controversial bill that has been dubbed the “Bible bill,” which clarifies state laws that allow religious texts to be used for reference materials in the schools.

“We only had about five minutes left when we got called to the floor,” he said. “We’ll just take it up again (today) where we left off (yesterday).”

That was also the case in the State Affairs Committee, where Rep. Eric Redman, R-Athol, was presenting his bill which would prohibit courts from using international laws in certain legal cases if it conflicted with U.S. or state laws.

Redman said the bill certainly did stir up some debate.

“I guess it did a little bit,” Redman said. “But I didn’t think it would go smoothly either.”

Redman said that committee was cut short by the floor vote right before his legal experts could address some of the concerns that were expressed in the hearing. Many testified that the bill could cause problems with international contracts, but Redman said the bill has specific provisions that address international trade.

He said the bill becomes important in the family law arena. Essentially, he said, it protects the freedoms and liberties provided by state and federal laws.

Redman gave an example of a man from Pakistan who legally marries a 12-year-old girl in his country, and wants that marriage legally recognized in Idaho.

“It is not a problem over there in Pakistan,” he said. “But when they move over here it is.”

Like Mendive, Redman said he hopes to pick the issue back up this morning in the State Affairs Committee.

Meanwhile the House narrowly passed the Medicaid budget for next year, quashing any hope of expanding Medicaid in Idaho this year. However, lawmakers expect some sort of legislation that will at least provide some healthcare to the 78,000 Idahoans who fall into the “Medicaid gap.”

Redman said they may attempt new legislation that would be similar to the governor’s Primary Care Access Program.

Redman sits on the House Health and Welfare Committee, and voted for the Medicaid budget this year.

“I sit on the committee so I see what we’ve already got,” he said, referring to federal entitlement programs. “I just don’t want to see more of it.”

Mendive also voted for the Medicaid budget.

“I struggled with it, but I did vote for it,” he said. “Part of the issue is that these budgets are so huge — if you disagree with just one line in the bill, what do you do?”

Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Idaho, voted against the Medicaid budget, along with Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens.

“I just think they are leading us down the road toward a single-payer healthcare system,” Sims said, explaining why she voted against the Medicaid budget.

Like Redman, Sims said she is hearing there will be two more bills coming in the next week to address the Medicaid gap.

Sims said the Legislature wants to get some interim legislation in place to help those in the gap, but it expects to see the national health care system change after the presidential election in November.

“The next election will determine whether the government should run healthcare or not,” she said.

While most of the craziness occurred on the House side of the Capitol Building, the Senate side was making news too.

The Senate passed the controversial constitutional carry bill, which would allow Idahoans over the age of 21 to carry a concealed weapon without having to secure a permit.

Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, said she voted for the bill after receiving an overwhelming number of messages from constituents who supported the bill.

“What I thought was interesting in that discussion was the education component,” she said, explaining that some lawmakers would like to make gun safety courses available in the public schools.

“We really should have a basic gun safety class in our schools,” she said, adding that wouldn’t involve shooting a gun, but it would make students aware of the dangers associated with firearms.

Souza said things are definitely getting “a little crazy” as the session heads for adjournment a week from today.

“That is the goal at least,” she said. “They want to wrap things up by next Thursday, so we can all get out of here and be home for Good Friday.”