#idleg Agenda Watch for 2/27/23

POSTED BY Alicia Abbott
We have a slew of harmful bills coming today. How do we know? Because despite best efforts to hide #HateLeg with covert titles, these bills are being presented in other states. We’ve already read them. They are unoriginal and they certainly weren’t written by Idahoans.
Senate State Affairs 8AM MST - Hearing for SB 1056 repeal of statute which clarifies who is a militia in this state. This bill should have protected us from the vigilante occupations of CdA & Sandpoint in June 2020. More from @Georgetown ICAP.
Sen. Teows has an intro in this meeting too. We are watching him closely due to his pledge to make biblical laws at the Altar Church in Kootenai Co. before he was elected... We are classifying him as a Christian Nationalist going forward.
House State Affairs 9AM MST - Christian Nationalist Sen. Ben Teows presenting an RS - Sexual Exhibitions, Minors, Public. This will likely be a prohibition on drag performances of some kind. We have seen this legislation in other states. This would harm the LGBTQIA+ community.
Also in House State Affairs this morning is the ESG attack bill hearings, another bad-faith copycat bill attacking ethical Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) biz practices.
House Ed also at 9AM MST - Nothing but new bills. Is this a privileged committee? We’re mainly concerned about Rep. Ehardt’s #ProjectBlitz bills, which are from a Christian Nationalist think tank... but we also noticed what seems to be a new library bill and a community college accreditation bill. We are watching these closely to see what they are about. legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/upl…
This afternoon in Senate Judiciary & Rules, Sen. Adams is introducing another Covid-19 retaliation bill. The most extreme legislators in Idaho think they can retaliate against a pandemic. You’re embarrassing us/yourselves.
We are expecting a hearing for HB 139, a library censorship bill. If you have not already, please send an email to influential legislators who can stop this law from moving forward. Idahoans want the #freedomtoread. We love our libraries.
The days of the Idaho Senate being the more deliberative, responsible body in the Idaho legislature are over. It’s twice the work to track what the most extreme legislators are doing. If you support this work, please consider a donation.
BONUS: Read more about the rise of Christian Nationalism in North Idaho, including comment from me and The Idaho 97 Project in this Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service story featured in the Washington Post.