BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The Idaho Senate on Wednesday approved a new version of a constitutional amendment that would allow the part-time state Legislature to call itself into session.
Lawmakers voted 24-11 to clear the two-thirds majority needed for a proposed constitutional amendment that now goes to the House, where it will also need a two-thirds majority.
If successful, it would go before voters in November 2022, where only a simple majority would be required.
If voters approve, the Legislature could call itself back into session if 60% of lawmakers in each the House and Chamber agree. Special sessions would be limited to topics defined ahead of lawmakers going into the session.
A previous version of the measure cleared the House but ran into problems in the Senate, in part, because special sessions would not have had limits on topics. Some senators also said the number of lawmakers agreeing to hold a special session should have been two-thirds - enough to override a governor’s veto.
Some lawmakers who voted to pass the legislation said they still preferred the two-thirds requirement, but the limiting topics allayed their fears that the Legislature could become fulltime.
Idaho is one of 14 states where only the governor can call special legislative sessions, and the sessions are limited to topics defined ahead of the sessions.
Republican Senate President Pro-Tem Chuck Winder said the Legislature, under the current system, isn’t on an equal footing with the executive and judicial branch.
“In Idaho, the Legislature is at the mercy of the other two branches,” he said. “So, the reality is the Legislature is just a small blip on the radar scope of the balance of power.”
The proposed amendment stems from lawmaker dissatisfaction with restrictions - and their inability to do anything about them - that Republican Gov. Brad Little put in place last March to reduce coronavirus infections and deaths.
The restrictions included a temporary lockdown and restrictions on who could go to work. The Republican-dominated Legislature had adjourned for the year by then and couldn’t call itself back into session.
“Like many of you, I received many many phone calls from constituents over this last year,” said Republican Sen. Lori Den Hartog. “It was difficult to say to them, ‘There’s nothing I can do for you. I represent you, and there is nothing I can do for you in this moment.’”
Lawmakers also say they, and not Little, should have decided how to spend the $1.25 billion that Idaho received in federal coronavirus rescue money early last year.
Democratic Sen. Melisa Wintrow, who represents an urban area of Boise, said she couldn’t support the measure because her constituents are suspicious of the Republican-dominated Legislature.
This session, Republicans have put forward a number of measures seen as going against the wishes of urban voters. One is a measure making it difficult to impossible to get initiatives on a ballot, removing a check that voters have on the power of lawmakers.
Another bill was introduced this week to ban mask mandates, which cities have put in place during the pandemic to slow the spread of the virus. The Legislature has for several years failed to deal with property taxes that have increased rapidly in urban areas as home values rise.
“My own district has asked me to vote against it,” Wintrow said. “And I think it was mostly wrapped in a context of a lack of trust. And if the people don’t trust us, that is a problem.”
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