Following an 82-day legislative session filled with major budget cuts and bills regarding education, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights, Governor Brad Little vetoed five bills less than a week after the session ended.
As the session has already come to a close, legislators are unable to override any of these vetoes.
House Bill 674
HB 674 aimed to update Idaho law related to the discontinuation of telephone services in Idaho. Seeking to streamline the regulatory process, the bill would rely on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve a company’s decision to stop utilizing the service, instead of requiring the state of Idaho to do an additional review.
Governor Little expressed concern the bill could result in “rural Idahoans losing access to essential telecom services if the federal government acts without state input.”
Representative Vander Woude, one of the bill’s sponsors, did not respond in time for publication.
House Bill 758
HB 758 sought to clarify issues presented in HB 243, which passed last session. The bill states in-home day care providers can monitor children using “videoing devices,” and for the purposes of licensing, in-home day care providers do not need to count their own children.
While the bill’s statement of purpose says these clarifications will “allow in-home day-care providers to continue to operate safely,” Gov. Little disagreed. In his veto letter, Little said the legislation “threatens child safety” and “could eliminate licensing and fire inspection requirements for providers.” Little ended the letter by saying “rooting out child abuse” is one of his top priorities and that the bill “puts too much of our [legislators] good work at risk.”
In a statement to The Arbiter regarding the veto, Representative Barbara Ehardt said she was disappointed by the Governor’s decision.
“I was mostly disappointed because I was bringing this legislation at the request of constituents whose businesses in Southeastern Idaho were unfairly having a standard applied to them that the rest of the state didn’t have applied,” Ehardt said.
Ehardt claims she met with Health and Welfare Director Juliet Charron and two of her associates, who she said felt the best way to solve issues the original legislation presented was to “clarify it statutorily.”
“The Governor was concerned because of the fraud that is being exposed in so many ‘Day Care’ businesses in Democrat states,” she said, saying she understands the governors’ hesitancy but that she was “trying to solve the problems her constituents were experiencing.”
House Bill 968
While Little approved the majority of the bill, he line-item vetoed two components of HB 968. The bill would have allowed the Idaho Legislature to move funding intended to finance an additional 27th payroll period scheduled for 2028 to the General Fund. Another element that was vetoed prevents the transferring of funds into the legislative account from the permanent building fund by the Idaho Legislature.
In his rationale, the Governor wrote: “While I support prudent investment in state facilities, this appropriation is inconsistent with the long-term purpose and stability of the Permanent Building Fund. Maintaining the integrity of this fund ensures the state can responsibly address future capital needs.” Little continued, stating his submitted budget “recommended transfers from the Permanent Building Fund due to canceled projects,” but the funding was to be transferred to the general fund, not to “unrelated accounts.”
House Bill 975
HB 975 would have ensured funds in the Budget Stabilization Fund would not be transferred, even if the fund balance exceeded 15% of General Fund revenues. Little said “locking excess funds” in reserves limits the state’s ability to address “emerging needs, sustain core services and respond to economic shifts.”
The governor is specifically concerned about financing fire-season prevention measures, as the legislature rejected the Governor and the Land Board’s calls to prefund the Fire Suppression Fund.
Representative Petzke, one of the bill’s sponsors, did not respond in time for publication.
Senate Bill 1359
In an effort to reduce scams targeting senior citizens, SB 1359 states kiosk operators would have to “register with the state, provide clear fee and exchange rate disclosures, post fraud warnings, maintain transaction records, and implement reasonable transaction limits and basic fraud-prevention safeguards.”
In his reasoning for vetoing the bill, Little cited the legislation’s “ambiguous” language.
In a statement to The Arbiter, Senator James Ruchti disagreed that the language was unclear. “The language was not ambiguous,” he said. “Representative Manwaring and I are both attorneys and value well-written legislation. We worked hard to get the language right and feel confident we did.”
Additionally, Little advised, “stakeholders work with the Idaho Department of Finance to revisit this bill with the tighter definitions, clear enforcement standards, and a realistic implementation framework.”
“The Governor’s comments surprise me. We worked very closely with the Idaho Department of Finance and incorporated almost all its suggested changes,” Ruchti said in response. “At no time did the Department express concern about the language of the bill being ambiguous or lacking clarity in definitions or rules. We always stand ready to meet with stakeholders, including the Department, but that is obviously a two-way street. Both sides must communicate clearly.”
The legislature has the option to call itself back into session, but completely new bills must be written and identified in a petition.
