OPINION: Idaho legislators should not vote on bills that line their own pockets
Idahoans learned this year that the Idaho Legislature’s conflict of interest rules are essentially toothless. Under rules adopted by both Houses, legislators are not required to disclose the nature of a financial interest they may have in a legislative measure.
An April press report disclosed that Senator Codi Galloway had introduced Senate Bill 1141, which banned public camping or sleeping on public property. As initially drafted, the bill allowed persons or businesses to file suit against political subdivisions that did not enforce the ban. At the time she did not disclose that her husband’s business was affected by camping in Boise and that he might well be a person filing such a suit. The bill was amended to remove the private enforcement provision and limit its application to the few Idaho cities with populations exceeding 100,000. She voted to pass the bill without disclosing a conflict of interest. Galloway claimed she did not have to report a conflict because other Boise business owners were facing the same situation as her husband. She should have reported the potential conflict before voting on the bill.
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