Ballot initiative bills rattle Idahoans

In the past week, more than 6,100 phone calls, emails and pieces of mail have been received by Gov. Brad Little's office as Idahoans are responding to Senate Bill 1159 and its trailer, House Bill 296.

"Of those, 3,786 were phone calls and the emails would be 2,320," Little's press secretary, Marissa Morrison, told The Press on Thursday. "Out of all of those, I think about 53 ... were in support of the legislation. They want the governor to sign the bills, and the rest were asking to veto."

Several of North Idaho's lawmakers are in favor of the ballot initiative bills, which were introduced after a strong majority of Idaho voters passed Proposition 2, expanding Medicaid in Idaho, last November.

SB1159, sponsored by Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, would increase the initiative requirement of getting valid signatures from 6 percent of voters in 18 legislative districts to 10 percent of voters in 32 of Idaho's 35 districts. It would give those gathering signatures notably less time — about six months, instead of the current 18 months allowed.

Public outcry about a violation of the Idaho Constitution and people voicing concern about unfair legislation prompted the introduction of HB296, which "softens" the restrictions of SB1159 by calling for signatures from 24 districts rather than 32 and requiring 10 percent of registered voters. The result would still be the most restrictive initiative process in the U.S.

Both bills have passed through the House and the Senate; the governor is expected to make his decision on them early next week, within the state-statute-allotted five-day window (excluding Sunday) he has since receiving 1159 late Tuesday afternoon. If Little signs both bills, then the requirements in HB296 become law. If he vetoes 296 and passes 1159, then that bill becomes law. He could also veto both bills, neither of which he has openly commented on, Morrison said.

Morrison said that at any given time, about four or five people have been in the governor's office to express their opinions on these bills.

"Our office and the governor cares about what the constituents have to say," she said. "Our constituents services area has been pretty busy making sure those calls are answered. It’s important to our administration that those who take the time to contact our office are heard."

An ardent opponent of both bills, Reclaim Idaho executive director Rebecca Schroeder said she presented the governor with a petition of more than 11,000 signatures, representing every county in Idaho, asking him to veto both.

"He listened intently, and I believe he is really struggling with this decision," she said. "The phone in his office is ringing off the hook."

Schroeder said the second bill is not a compromise and does not provide a middle ground because it was created with input from only one side. She said she expressed to the governor the need to slow down this process: "I have heard from virtually no one that they are seeing an emergency situation to change our initiative process."

"I proposed we look at solutions that have worked in other states, like limiting the percentage of signatures that could come from any district, limit the amount of money that could be spent per signature gathered," she said. "I just urged him to seize the opportunity to show the voters in Idaho that he has faith in his constituents to uphold our shared values.

"He has an opportunity right now to really show the people of Idaho how he is going to govern and what his legacy is going to be."

Rep. John Green, R-Rathdrum, voted in favor of both bills.

"The majority of the constituents I heard from believe the referendum process is being abused and that the rural areas didn’t get enough representation," Green said, referring to the Prop 2 Medicaid expansion process. "The urban areas controlled the whole vote process.

"I think that the options that were proposed, the options that passed and that I voted for, at least give a chance to some greater representation to some rural areas," he continued. "I think the result will be, although I can’t be sure, the signatures will be spread over more counties. The rural areas’ voices will be heard as well."

Rep. Tony Wisniewski, R-Post Falls, also voted for both. He said the bills add several necessary items to the requirements of the initiative process, including a required fiscal note, meeting the same "single issue" rule that is required in all Idaho legislation, the effective date for the legislation being set with enough time to allow the measure to be properly implemented and broader district support.

"Obviously, not all of these apply to every initiative petition, but as long as the issue was being addressed, it was felt necessary to release a cleaned up bill," he said.

Rep. Paul Amador, R-Coeur d'Alene, and Rep. Jim Addis, R-Coeur d'Alene, both opposed SB1159 but voted for HB296.

"While I am certainly no legal scholar, I have concerns that Senate Bill 1159 will face significant legal challenges on both First and 14th Amendment-related grounds," Amador said. "As long as our Idaho Constitution provides the right to a citizens initiative and referendum process, I believe we should ensure that Idaho citizens have practicable means to participate in that process."

Addis said he voted this way because he couldn't support a bill that potentially violates the Idaho Constitution.

"There was quite a bit of evidence that it could be deemed an unconstitutional action because of the different components on 1159," Addis said. "I think it probably went a little too far so I went against that."

He said he voted for 296 because it would accomplish what people want without the threat of being unconstitutional. He said it's "probably a better bill than 1159."

"The right to vote is paramount, and I agree with that," he said, adding that Idaho has a long-standing tradition with its ability to even have ballot initiatives when many states don't have that option.

"I think it's important to preserve the right of the initiative process," he said.