House committee says, fill the stands

After hearing eight impassioned testimonies from constituents, the Idaho House State Affairs Committee approved legislation that would recall Gov. Brad Little's gathering limitations. 

House Concurrent Resolution 2 was introduced last week by Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, and passed Monday morning in a 13-1 vote. Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, was the only dissenting vote. 

Crane said he was influenced to carry the legislation after hearing parents' and students' cries regarding the limitations' restrictive effect on youth sports — comments echoed during Monday's public testimony. 

Demik Hatch and Kyler Stevens, two football players and study body officers from Idaho Falls' Hillcrest High School, were encouraged to speak by Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, who is partnering with Crane on the bill. Hatch, the student body president and former quarterback, said he has seen how the gathering limitation and inability to attend sporting events have negatively impacted school morale.

"I know a lot of kids are begging for that opportunity to feel wanted at the school," Hatch said. "There are kids that put this thing (mask) on, they put their hood on, and they are just disconnected from the world … It is dragging people down. They are unable to feel connected."

Rosa Martinez, a mother of two boys, said the gathering and other COVID-provisions had inhibited her child from participating in the school band and soccer games. Neither she nor her sons are medically able to wear masks for health and sensory-related medical conditions, which Martinez said has forced their family out of extracurricular activities. 

"It has been hard to tell my kids I'm sorry you can't play soccer because I can't be there, and if something happens to you because you are medically fragile, I can't be there," Martinez said. "What do I tell them because the governor says no?" 

During the meeting, all eight public commenters favored the legislation. None were state, health, or education officials.

Following the public hearing, Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, pointed out that while he believes the state's preventive measures were likely useful, he favors the bill moving to the House floor. 

"One has to wonder how many more people would have died if we didn't do anything with the COVID, and how many more people would not have some kind of permanent injury to their lungs or hearts if we hadn't," he said. "But I think we can do better when it comes to sporting events."

Initially, Little and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare created the gathering limitation as part of the Idaho Rebounds plan, a multistep program to combat COVID-19 infection. Little signed the restriction in mid-November and extended the provisions again on Dec. 30.

The governor and health officials have maintained that these guidelines will help the state's health care system — which has been overwhelmed by COVID-19 hospitalizations. 

"I'd like to see local school boards and local communities choose which science to follow on the COVID, and this (bill) helps that," said Rep. Bruce D. Skaug, R-Nampa. "A lot of my constituents from District 12 have been emailing me, and they are pretty darn angry about the inconsistencies in the application of these arbitrary rules across our state."

House Concurrent Resolution 2 will head to the full House floor in the coming days with the committee's support. If it passes, the bill will be sent to the Senate State Affairs Committee, which has already introduced four pieces of legislation that would repeal the governor's emergency abilities. 

"The citizens of Idaho are extremely frustrated with this overreach that has happened as a result of COVID-19," Crane said. "So I have no doubt you will see a number of pieces of legislation that will come forward with respect to what happens to this piece."