With the 2023 Idaho Legislature nearing the end of its 3-month session, there are two pieces of legislation that deserve your attention.
House Bill 124
A troubling bill you should know about is HB 124. This legislation attempts to limit access to the ballot box. If it passes, the law removes current student photo ID cards from the list of acceptable forms of personal identification to vote at the polls. Proponents say this bill would increase election security. However, there is no evidence to support this assertion. In fact, evidence shows it would serve to disenfranchise an entire group of voters. Voters who just happen to lean Democratic.
House Bill 226
HB 226, on the other hand, offers a ray of hope for our community college. The purpose of this legislation is to provide remedies for when a community college trustee no longer resides in the community college district, specify the emergency authority of the State Board of Education when action to revoke or suspend a community college’s accreditation has been initiated, and to provide for the preservation of community college property.
You would think our local representatives would be on board with this legislation. However, that does not seem to be the case for Reps Ron Mendive, Tony Wisniewski, or Elaine Price.
When asked for comment, Rep. Mendive did not respond and Rep. Wisniewski denied knowledge of the bill, writing “All of the Trustees have agreed to do whatever is necessary to improve the governance issue…” As for Rep. Price, she sent me a confusing email in which she blamed the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities for “accelerating the loss of the accreditation process.” It raises the question, “Do these three representatives support NIC or bend to the will of the KCRCC?”
Act Now
Please take 5 minutes and reach out to your representatives to inform them how you feel about these proposed bills.
- Go to our Take Action page to find your state legislators.
- Click on their name to send them an email message.
- Write and submit a polite message to each of them about how they should vote.
- Urge them to Oppose HB 124 and Support HB 226.
Thanks for being Democrats. And have a terrific week.
