{"id":11069,"date":"2019-04-19T17:18:58","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T17:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=11069"},"modified":"2019-04-19T17:18:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-19T17:18:58","slug":"state-lawmakers-wrap-up-contentious-95-day-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/19\/state-lawmakers-wrap-up-contentious-95-day-session\/","title":{"rendered":"State Lawmakers Wrap Up Contentious 95-Day Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

329 new laws are on the books in <\/i><\/span>third-longest session in state history<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Eric Valentine<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"If duration serves as any indication, the 2019 legislative session at the state Capitol was an historic one. The 95-day stretch makes it tied for the third longest session in state history, and while 329 new laws may sound like a lot, the number is 11 fewer than last year and\u2014with the exception of 2017\u2014roughly the same as the last several years.<\/p>\n

Of those 329 new laws, which ones will impact you? It depends on your situation, of course, but let\u2019s take a look at some of them as well as some the bills that didn\u2019t pass or passed the legislature but got vetoed by the governor.<\/p>\n

Ballot Initiatives<\/b><\/p>\n

This bill was perhaps the most contentious one at the Capitol, seeing Democratic leadership call it the \u201cRevenge on Voters\u201d act. It was sponsored by Republicans in an effort, they say, to include more rural voters when it comes to getting petition-driven initiatives on the ballot. It would have increased the number of signatures required on petitions and increased the number of legislative districts represented by petition signatures.<\/p>\n

Democratic leaders called that explanation nonsense, pointing out that it originated after 61 percent of Idaho voters passed a ballot initiative that would expand Medicaid coverage to more residents and that the time to garner all those extra signatures was being cut in half.<\/p>\n

Two versions of the bill passed both the House and the Senate, but when they got to Gov. Brad Little\u2019s desk, both were vetoed. Little explained why he shot them down in a letter to lawmakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough [the bills] give rural Idahoans a greater voice in the initiative process, I believe these bills could give a lone federal judge the only voice in defining our initiative process,\u201d Little said. \u201cI cannot in good conscience let that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Impact:<\/b> For now, Idaho voters could see an increasing number of ballot initiatives in future elections.<\/p>\n

Medicaid Expansion<\/b><\/p>\n

Every bit as controversial were the Medicaid-related bills that did get signed into law. Essentially, Republican lawmakers sought to protect against any abuse of Medicaid funds by setting stronger work requirements on a segment of Medicaid-eligible residents. Democrats balked, calling it an unnecessary administrative hurdle that would cost the state millions in enforcement and leave thousands of people without insurance.<\/p>\n

Impact:<\/b> Depending on your income level, you may be finding yourself without healthcare coverage soon.<\/p>\n

Concealed Carry<\/b><\/p>\n

Back in 2016, state lawmakers made it OK for anyone 18 and older to conceal carry a firearm in public places. But there was a caveat\u2014the law did not make it permissible within city limits. That caveat has now left the building.<\/p>\n

Impact: <\/b>You could get more easily shot and\/or killed by someone. Or, your life could get saved by a person who otherwise would not have had a weapon to protect you.<\/p>\n

Pet-Friendly Plates<\/b><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s \u2026 paws \u2026 from the serious stuff for a moment and remind you that lawmakers have made it possible for you to purchase dog- and cat-punctuated license plates with proceeds going in part to help rehabilitate and find new homes for stray animals.<\/p>\n

Impact:<\/b> You can own cuter and more expensive license plates, and help out some innocent animals at the same time.<\/p>\n

First Responder Protections<\/b><\/p>\n

Lawmakers passed a law to make certain first responders have the same protection against lawsuit when it comes to saving, for instance, a dog overheating inside a car that they would have when saving humans.<\/p>\n

Impact:<\/b> Your dog that you left in the car during summer won\u2019t die. As for your car window, that\u2019ll need replacing.<\/p>\n

Marry As You May<\/b><\/p>\n

A bill that would have set the minimum age to marry\u2014currently there is none\u2014at 16 was killed in the House. Right now, 16- and 17-year-olds need parental consent and children younger than 16 can marry if the parents and a judge consent. A host of reasons against the bill were put out there by opponents. Among them: It didn\u2019t sit well with conservatives that, let\u2019s say, a 15-year-old girl could get an abortion in Idaho but couldn\u2019t marry the father of the child.<\/p>\n

Impact:<\/b> Status quo, with a hearty dose of national scrutiny when the rejection of the bill made national news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

329 new laws are on the books in third-longest session in state history By Eric Valentine If duration serves as any indication, the 2019 legislative session at the state Capitol was an historic one. The 95-day stretch makes it tied for the third longest session in state history, and while 329 new laws may sound […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-idaho","8":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}