The Rachel Report Issue #19

THIS MONTH’S LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Bills, bills, and more bills… Let’s talk about January’s legislation.

The legislative session is entering week five today and I am so excited for the things stirring in the Senate especially!

I want to highlight some important legislation to be watching and participating in and some things that happened in January.

We’ll begin with some important bills:

H2 is the “No Funds for Abortion Act”- this legislation would provide for the withholding of sales tax revenues from local government entities that defy state law and refuse to investigate or enforce Idaho criminal abortion statutes.

H27 adds to existing law to implement the employee medical information protection act.

H54 prohibits the use of student IDs for personal identification at polling places and prohibits personal affidavits in lieu of personal identification. Our very own Representative Tina Lambert is running this great bill.

H63 provides that no counselor or therapist will be required to counsel or serve a client regarding goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselor or therapist.

H69 concerns the “COVID-19 Vaccine” and prohibits the requirements for certain purposes a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine offered under emergency use authorization.

H71 is the “Child Protection Act”- This bill amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the crime of genital mutilation of a child. It also prohibits minors from being able to consent to “gender affirming care” such as sex reassignment surgeries, hormones, or puberty blockers. 

This is one of the most important pieces of legislation to come before the Idaho legislature. It is critical that this bill passes into law. This bill is bold. Make sure to show your support to Representative Bruce Skaug as he is under attack for standing so boldly for righteousness.

H76 will prohibit homeowner’s associations from restricting the right to grow and raise food. This protects Idahoans’ right to be self-sustaining.

HR1, HR2, and HR3 remove the path of personal bills when committee chairs won’t hear a bill. These resolutions may embolden committee chairs to hold bills in the desk.

I am strongly opposed to these resolutions. 

Senator Toews made a motion to hold RS 30156 which would prohibit any sex education in schools prior to the 5^th grade. Keep your eye on this getting a bill number.  

S1004 provides immunity from criminal prosecution when force is used in certain instances and to provide for reimbursement for a defendant in certain instances. This bill enhances Stand Your Ground laws. Senator Scott Herndon is sponsoring this bill and needs the peoples support.

 S1005 requires that daycare facilities provide citations to the immunization exemption law to parents.    

S1011 provides freedom from discrimination because sexual orientation or gender identity is a civil right.

This is a dangerous bill and one I strongly oppose.

S1012 established the right to visitation for patients and residents in health care facilities. This bill will help safeguard against what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when family members were not allowed to visit their loved ones as they died from illness.

S1016 provides that a public contractor shall not be required to provide access to a multiple-occupancy restroom, multiple-occupancy shower facility, or multiple-occupancy changing room on any basis other than biological sex.

S1029 was presented today by Senator Lenney and prohibits a child protection investigation based on a child’s immunization status and to provide that a court shall not grant an order terminating a parent and child relationship based on a child’s immunization status.

S1036 this bill will decriminalize the sale of raw milk for human consumption.

S1038 provides education savings accounts and adjusts money to follow students. 

Keep your eye on this one.

Here is the link for every bill and resolution that have received numbers. Click on the numbers to read the bill in its entirety. https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/

 Always read a full bill before offering support or opposition.  

I’d also like to draw our attention to the pending rule changes that are coming up from the State Board and State Department of Education. There appear to be shenanigans happening with flying these changes under the radar. This is something that has been brought to my attention within the past week and I am still learning about.

This is what I’ve learned:

Every year, education rules are rewritten or revised, by someone who is appointed by the Governor, and brought before the legislature. At the bottom of the document, it states that if the new rules are neither passed nor denied by the legislature, they automatically default to being codified. Once these rules are passed, they are out of the hands of legislators…meaning there is no oversight. And to pass, only one chamber needs to pass it (either the House or Senate) unless a fee is applied then both sides have to approve.

I spent a while reading over the new revised rules for education… Friends they are not good. There are areas where verbiage is broad and exploitable, heavily focused on equity, and inclusive of SEL/ DEI doctrine, and provide little to no oversight of education in Idaho other than the State Board and State Department of Education.

If the rules pass as currently revised… legislation protecting children from CRT/DEI/SEL, Marxism, “equity,” gender ideology, and childhood sexualization risk not being as effective.

Reach out to your legislators, particularly those on the Education committees in both chambers, and the Speaker of the House and ask them about the proposed rules and voice your opposition. Here is a link to access the rule changes: https://adminrules.idaho.gov/rules/proposed_rules.html  

Email or call your legislators when there’s legislation you feel strongly about, let them know when you do not support something and why, but also remember to contact them and thank them when they vote accordingly. Encourage them, pray over them…Remind them that when they compromise on liberty, we’re there. But when they stand for liberty, we’re also there.

It can be tough to stand alone on policy. Remind them that they’re not…We the People are behind them.  

Other Political Updates:

January 9^th the Caldwell School District had the first reading of policy 3281 and the Treasure Valley showed up. There were reports that anywhere from 1100-1800 people showed up throughout the night mostly in opposition to the policy.

The Council School District removed their transgender policy 3281 with a unanimous vote on January 25^th which was a huge victory!   

Attorney General Labrador was sworn in one month ago today and has made some incredible moves to protect Idaho, parents, and children.

On January 25^th Attorney General Labrador filed an immigration lawsuit against the Biden administration to ensure it complies with existing immigration laws and seeks Congress’ approval before creating new “programs.”

He has also begun to take action regarding policy 3281 which has gone before school boards across Idaho over the past five years and most recently this past January. He has written the Idaho School Board Association and is taking bold steps to protect Idaho’s children.