Another action-packed week is coming at us this week unda’ da’ rotunda. Last week culminated in a contentious Friday afternoon debate on the House floor over one of the “School Choice” (aka voucher) bills that passed by a vote of 42-28.
New bills continue to roll out at a furious pace. Last week, we reported on 30 bills introduced in a single day. Well, the #IdLeg topped themselves today with 40 new bills on the docket!
Since the session started one month ago, a whopping 283 pieces of legislation have been introduced. As overwhelming as that sounds, ICL tries to track everything crawling out of the mahogany-paneled woodwork on the official Idaho Legislative website, along with the bills that the Governor is signing into law as they hit his desk. We’re doing our best to keep up and you can too by checking out the priority bills that we’re tracking. Last week, we also testified on several measures including environmental permitting and ballot initiatives, and attended more than a dozen committee hearings. We’re there for you, as your voice for conservation…every day.
On Thursday, ICL found time to host a press conference alongside Sen. James Ruchti (D-Pocatello) and the Idaho Organization of Resources Councils, to share an Idaho Pesticide Poll. Fact is, we’ve never seen numbers this good. 88% of Idahoans agree that lawsuits lead to safer products and better-informed consumers, and over 90% oppose legal immunity for corporate chemical companies if their products cause harm.
If that wasn’t enough, we also appreciated catching up with our friends from the Nez Perce Tribe last week. Each year, leadership and staff from Lapwai meet with legislators, the Governor, state leaders, and ICL, to share their priorities and concerns. For decades, ICL has cooperated closely with the Nez Perce Tribe, and all of Idaho’s Tribes, to protect shared values like clean water, abundant fish and wildlife, public land protection, sustainability, efforts to combat climate change, and the list goes on…
More than ever before, we need to stick with our friends, because the winds are starting to howl, and stronger winds may be in our forecast. But as Winston Churchill once said, “Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.”
As we face these headwinds, ICL can’t do it alone. We need our Tribal partners, we need our business partners, we need our conservation partners, and we need You. There’s never been a better time to join us as a member!
So with that, here’s what you need to know.
Citizen Initiatives under fire, yet again
Since 1912, initiatives and referendums have allowed the citizens of Idaho to effectively craft our own laws (initiatives) or repeal laws (referendums) enacted by the legislature. “The people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws … independent of the legislature.” Now a constitutional amendment is seeking to undo that right.
Currently, citizen initiatives can qualify once supporters gather signatures from 6 percent of registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. The current rules are already very restrictive and only the most popular, well-funded and well-organized efforts realistically get on the ballot.
SJR 101 from Sen. Doug Okuniewicz (R-Hayden) would raise that limit to all 35 districts, likely killing the prospect for any initiative to qualify in the future.
Citizens have played an important role for the environment in Idaho’s history. It was initiatives that established the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in 1938, trying to remove political interference from wildlife-related decisions, to regulate dredge mining in 1954. And in 1974, a nascent ICL helped pass an initiative requiring transparency for political donations and lobbying. The fact is that since 1912, only 15 initiatives have been successful. That’s less than one every 7 years. Idahoans have been judicious with their use of initiatives, and it remains an important part of our democratic framework. Just like the Idaho Constitution says, “All political power is inherent in the people.”
Grizzly bears, chickens, and insects, oh my!
Each year, we’re guaranteed to see bills that relate to both livestock and wildlife on the menu at the statehouse. We can count at least a dozen bills on those topics that have been introduced so far.
One that we’re concerned with would encourage the Trump Administration and Congress to remove grizzly bears from the Endangered Species List. While grizzly bear populations have expanded near Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, in North Idaho, it’s a different story. The Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak populations have stabilized under the direction of USFWS, but the populations have not expanded, and recovery goals have not yet been achieved. Plus Idaho doesn’t have a grizzly bear management plan. We all want to see grizzly bears delisted when they’re recovered. But they’re not there yet.
The chicken bill from Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee Chair Tammy Nichols (R-Middleton) passed out of committee last week. The bill would allow all homeowners with more than .2 acres to have up to 4 chickens, and would prevent Homeowner Associations from prohibiting them. We’re just monitoring the bill, but we do recognize that backyard chickens are a great way to save money on pricey eggs, generate fertilizer for home gardens, reduce waste, and make great pets.
Finally, we’re also sitting on the sidelines as Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard) advances a bill to require clear labeling associated with the use of lab-grown meats, or insect proteins in food. Ultimately we support transparency and disclosure for all products, but we have enough on our plate right now.
Other animal related bills pertain to livestock fencing, compensation for predator-livestock conflict, winter feeding of deer & elk, a moratorium on mule deer doe hunting, a bill on muzzleloader bullets, and hunter education. Keep an eye on the ICL bill tracker as more gets loaded onto our plate with each passing day.
A mixed bag on public lands, EVs, renewable energy, and water rights
ICL is watching a number of other bills too. Some good, most bad.
The good one would provide the Land Board with 5 more years to purchase new public lands with the revenue generated from cabin sites on Idaho Endowment Lands that are being sold off around Priest and Payette Lakes. If the law isn’t changed, $35 million would be sent back to the stock market instead of being invested in lands. It’s a lot harder to find a camping spot on Wall St. than it is on our state’s endowment lands.
The bad ones include a bill seeking to put the brakes on Electric Vehicles investments, despite the fact that Ada County saw a 20% increase in EV and hybrid registrations last year. Another measure would handcuff renewable energy projects and is sponsored by Rep. David Leavitt (R-Twin Falls) and surprisingly, Rep. John Gannon (D-Boise) who represents the Boise bench. Apparently they both think we should limit cost-effective renewable energy, so we can all pay more for our power bills. What fun!
Finally, check out former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones editorial spotlighting the mysterious and deafening silence from Idaho’s leaders after President Trump and the US Army Corps of Engineers “usurped” Californian farmers’ water rights. Maybe water rights aren’t as important as we thought?
Cynthia’s Corner 
What a week! On Monday evening, ICL’s Government Relations team and other staff attended the Nez Perce Tribe’s evening legislative reception. As I get to know the tribal leaders better because of their close working relationship with ICL, I am struck by how soft spoken many of these leaders are. Despite their historical setbacks, they are kind and funny. I will enjoy getting to know and work with them as I get my sea legs at ICL.
I also testified in Senate State Affairs on Friday morning in opposition to Senate Joint Resolution 101, which raises the bar for citizens to put an initiative on the ballot. Every single testimony during the two-hour meeting was in opposition to this bill except for two. Unfortunately, the bill passed the committee by a vote of 5 to 3; it now heads to the Senate floor.
Although ICL is a conservation organization, citizen initiatives have played an important role in protecting the environment. ICL played a direct role in helping implement a citizen’s initiative as well, known as the Sunshine Act, in our first few years (78% of Idaho voters agreed to its passage in the 1974 election). Clean water in Idaho benefits from the Idaho Dredge and Placer Mining Protection Act (which aimed to protect clean water and passed with over 85% support in November 1954), and the Idaho Fish & Game Commission was approved via initiative in 1938.
Tie of the week! 
R&R are both needed to survive the Idaho Legislature, but not the kind you think.
Salmon and steelhead need both robustness and resilience to persist, and they need your help. I wore this custom-gifted tie to recognize their plight, and our collective efforts to save them, when we met with Nez Perce Tribal leaders last week. Together, we’re working to secure the survival of salmon and steelhead in Idaho’s rivers and streams. The Nimiipuu or Nez Perce people too are a robust and resilient people. Along with other tribes, they continue to struggle with persecution, loss of their homelands, poverty, racism, injustice, and challenges galore. Yet each day they rise to defend their values. We take inspiration from our Tribal partners and each day ICL rises to defend Idaho’s public interest: clean water, clear air, and healthy lands and wildlife for all. So this TOTW is dedicated to Idaho’s collective robustness and resilience, and keeping both conservation and native flames burning today, tomorrow, and forever.
Until next week…Esto Perpetua,
Jonathan