On Friday, the Senate adopted a concurrent resolution aimed at combating childhood trauma. House Concurrent 29, sponsored by Rep. Brooke Green (D-Boise) and Sen. David Nelson (D-Moscow), passed the full House earlier this month, and encourages state officers, agencies, and employees to become better informed on the long- and short-term impacts of severe emotional trauma on children and adult survivors. …
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Amid Idaho’s growing housing crisis, the House GOP passed legislation to remove renter protections in a 54-14 vote. House Bill 442 would prevent cities from setting reasonable maximum fees or deposits for residential rental properties, like application fees or pet deposits. With cities unable to ensure these basic protections, there are no checks on unscrupulous landlords who can bankrupt families …
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On Tuesday, the Idaho Behavioral Health Council was honored for its work to improve Idahoans’ access to mental health services. The state’s National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Idaho) presented the council — which features members from each branch of government, including Sen. David Nelson and Rep. Brooke Green — with the second annual Kathie Garrett award, given to mental …
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All Idahoans deserve the opportunity to enjoy the highest quality of life, and for this to happen, necessary improvements must be made to the state’s behavioral health system. Behavioral health issues impact our communities at all levels: schools, hospitals, courts, jails, and more. This is why the Idaho Behavioral Health Council — which features members from each branch of government, …
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Lawmakers will introduce a bipartisan bill to penalize targeted residential picketing in the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee. The legislation is drafted by Reps. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, and Brooke Green, D-Boise, and aims to protect one’s privacy within the home, irrespective of their chosen profession. The pair said targeted picketing applies to someone who demonstrates outside an individual’s residence …
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Our democracy relies on freedom of expression, including protest. It also depends on an open, productive, and civil discourse where everyone can be heard and policy is set based on a rational assessment of available options. Setting policy based on who can act most intimidating is anti-democratic and anti-American. Sadly, the past year has seen a dramatic increase in the …
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As we face a global pandemic and the resulting economic fallout, Idahoans may have been hopeful about the legislature’s recent special session. Since the pandemonium at the Statehouse dominated the news, Idahoans may still be wondering what was actually accomplished. The answer, unfortunately, is not much. Republican legislators spent most of the time pandering to the far right, and the …
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Republican politicians have had supermajority control of the legislature and every statewide office for decades. Under their governance, Idaho has sunk to 51st place in education investment (and, remarkably, now they want to cut another $99 million from our education budget). For seven years they refused to even allow a vote on Medicaid expansion, leaving many thousands of Idahoans to …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Friday, Governor Little signed into law a bill that will make electronic smoking devices less accessible to Idaho’s youth. House Bill 538 aims to create parity between traditional tobacco products and new, electronic smoking devices. This legislation allows the Department of Health and Welfare to permit the retailers of vaping products in the same way …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Friday, House State Affairs voted to send HB 525 to the House floor. The legislation would ban any public money from going to Idaho organizations that provide abortions. Under current law, organizations that perform abortions can receive federal funding to provide other health care services. Democrats on the committee voted against the motion to send …
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