House bill 440 will remove protections that help level the playing for women and people of color seeking employment with public entities. House bill 500 will require girls to prove their gender to participate in high school sports through a genital exam, DNA test, or testosterone test. House bill 509 will ban all Idahoans from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate, which is a direct violation of a recent court order and will prevent transgender Idahoans from having a birth certificate that accurately represents their identity.

The Legislature’s focus on discriminatory legislation will harm the targeted people most profoundly, including transgender children and adults, people of color, and women. But, all Idahoans will pay a price. All of us who want every member of our community to be valued saw repeated attacks on people we care about. All of us who want Idaho to garner respect saw our state’s reputation tarnished yet again in the national media. All of us who want Idaho to have a thriving, resilient economy will feel the impacts. Companies across the state warned that these bills send the message that we are a hostile place to do business. And we will all pay the price in millions of tax dollars as the state defends unconstitutional laws in court.

These perverse priorities also came at the expense of every Idahoan who wanted the Legislature to focus on our real challenges this year. Our bitter, divisive session accomplished very little, even while Idahoans share many common values that could have united us.

We could have come together to adequately fund higher education. This is a key building block of our economy, which prepares our people for careers and builds a skilled workforce. Instead, legislators squabbled over funding levels. The House killed the budget twice before finally approving a scaled-back version that sends the message that we are not interested in investing in our future.

Property tax reduction is a broadly held goal that is crucial to keeping Idahoans in their homes. Rapidly growing home values, coupled with the cap on the homeowner’s exemption enacted in 2016, have created a perfect storm for residential property taxes.

The House, however, refused to hold hearings on any sensible solutions such as increasing the homeowner’s exemption, serving more Idahoans through the circuit-breaker (property tax assistance for seniors and veterans), and allowing school districts to collect impact fees from developers so that growth pays for itself. The House only entertained proposals to cut local services, including emergency response and public health districts, while we face a global pandemic. The Senate wisely killed these harmful bills, but the political gamesmanship between the two chambers meant that we concluded the Legislative Session without any action on property taxes. We simply left many Idahoans to struggle for another year.

I hope that the Idaho Legislature can recommit to the values and priorities of Idahoans before we convene again in 2021. Pragmatism, compromise, and balance can steady our focus on the problems that Idahoans are facing every day, This focus is more important than ever as we face significant uncertainty and economic hardship brought by our current public health crisis.

Now more than ever, we need to put aside political games and focus on the best interest of Idaho families. In a time when we should be coming together, the legislature and Governor Little endorsed efforts to pit Idahoans against each other. As the coronavirus situation escalates and we begin to see the negative consequences of recent legislation, Idahoans will be looking to their leaders to take accountability for their actions. They will expect us to serve the people of Idaho, not political self-interest. I hope we can come together to meet that challenge.

“We are deeply disappointed that the Governor chose to sign HB 440, 500, and 509 into law.” The Idaho House and Senate Democratic caucus explained. “We are grateful that the Governor chose to veto HB 340 – this bill would have put Idaho children in danger of abuse during their most vulnerable moments of recovery. In his justification for the veto, Governor Little discussed the importance of protecting Idaho children from harm, and noted that this legislation conflicted with that goal. We wish that Governor Little had exercised that same compassion and concern in connection with other legislation passed by the legislature this year.”

“From the moment this bill was introduced in committee, Democrats heeded the warnings of the overwhelming majority of those testifying against HB340, and warned our legislative colleagues that HB 340 put Idaho children in jeopardy. Unfortunately, most Republican members would not listen to these concerns. Thankfully, the Governor has chosen to stop this harmful legislation from becoming law. It’s obvious from his decision, however, that he has prioritized certain groups of Idahoans over others. He is willing to protect some Idaho children from harm but is complicit in putting other Idahoans children at risk of trauma, abuse, and suicide. We hope that, in the future, Governor Little will focus on protecting and lifting up all Idahoans.”

“Idaho’s Attorney General, legal advocacy groups, and numerous qualified lawyers have already made it clear that these unconstitutional pieces of legislation will end up in court and Idaho will lose,” Rep. Necochea explained. “I am disgusted and disappointed that Governor Little has decided to waste valuable taxpayer money to fight court battles over issues that are not a priority to Idahoans. Our residents are losing their jobs, getting kicked out of their homes, and struggling to make ends meet. Instead of wasting state money to fight court battles that we have already lost in the past, we should be prioritizing taking care of our fellow Idahoans.”

“During a national pandemic like we have never seen before, Governor Little has vetoed several other bills with the justification of saving money to help Idahoans handle this ongoing crisis. He should have vetoed these hateful, discriminatory laws as well. I am stunned the GOP would prioritize genital exams for children and allowing hiring discrimination while people are dying by the thousands nationwide.”

“Idaho’s economy depends on our ability to attract business and talent to our state. This requires being inclusive and forward-thinking. Several Idaho companies have made it clear that they will not be able to continue operating here if we continue to shrink the hiring pool. These bills send the message Idaho is not a good place for a company to invest if they are looking for diverse, qualified, hardworking individuals.”

Important legislation that could significantly improve the quality of life for LGBTQ Idahoans still awaits a hearing. Add the Words, which would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to Idaho’s Human Rights Act, would protect LGBTQ Idahoans from discrimination in housing, employment, and in public services. Failing to pass Add the Words makes LGBTQ Idahoans, in spite of being hard workers and good tenants, vulnerable to losing their jobs and being kicked out of their homes for simply being who they are. All Idahoans deserve to feel safe and secure in their homes and jobs, and we must ensure that no one worries about having a roof over their head or food on the table.

Suicide rates in Idaho continue to be some of the highest in the country, and the LGBTQ community is particularly vulnerable. To improve mental health of LGBTQ youth, I have introduced legislation to support these young people. I recently brought HB 482 forward to ban the dangerous practice of conversion therapy in Idaho. The harms of conversion therapy contribute to Idaho’s growing suicide problem, and this legislation helps mitigate that tragic outcome.

The House recently targeted Idaho’s transgender community with discriminatory legislation. House Bill 509 would prohibit Idahoans from making necessary changes to their birth certificate. Research shows that transgender individuals lacking an accurate gender marker are more prone to be harassed, denied services, and otherwise discriminated against. Transgender Idahoans depend on accurate legal documents to access basic services like driving a car. House Bill 509 simply is not the Idaho way.

Additional anti-LGBTQ legislation circulating the statehouse, House Bill 500, would require all female athletes in public high schools to undergo invasive “internal and external examination of reproductive organs” and other medical tests just to play sports. The bill specifically targets transgender athletes yet hurts the lives of all girls and women who wish to participate in public school sports. Participation in extracurriculars increases grades and promotes confidence, self-worth and overall health.

The legislature bears the responsibility to protect all citizens of Idaho and to provide equity and justice to those who need it most. Idaho’s LGBTQ community needs and deserves safety and well-being. I ask the legislature to join me in supporting our LGBTQ citizens and to focus our legislation back on concern and compassion for our communities.

“All athletes should have the opportunity to participate in the sports that best align with their gender.” Representative Melissa Wintrow/(D-Boise) said. “This discriminatory legislation only serves to eliminate opportunities for young girls to participate in sports and further disenfranchise and endanger an already vulnerable population.”

“This is addressing a problem that does not exist in Idaho. The NCAA and the Olympic Committee both allow avenues for transgender athletes to participate in sports based on their gender identity. There is no reason that Idaho should be holding our high school athletes to a higher standard than the Olympics. This legislation would allow anyone to dispute the gender of young girls. The legislation does not outline who can or cannot accuse someone of lying about their gender. Parents, coaches, students, and anyone else can mandate that a young girl gets their genitals examined by a doctor. We will be putting Idaho’s children on trial to prove their gender. I cannot think of a more heinous government overreach than mandating reproductive organ exams for children.”

“As a legislature, we have all made a commitment to protect the rights and safety of all Idahoans and this legislation infringes on that promise. Participation in sports increases confidence, reduces the risk of suicide, and promotes mental and physical health. Rates of suicide in transgender youth are already high and eliminating their opportunity to participate in sports will further increase their risk of suicide. This dangerous legislation promotes a discriminatory, invasive agenda that does not offer equal and ample opportunity for girls to participate in sports.”

“This discriminatory legislation serves no other purpose than to cost Idaho taxpayers millions in the inevitable lawsuit that will come from ignoring a court ruling.” Representative Lauren Nechochea/(D-Boise) explained. “Idahoans currently have the opportunity to change their gender marker through a process that is similar to changing one’s name. There have been no issues with the existing process.”

“Every Idahoan deserves equal access to the protections offered under the U.S. constitution. This legislation undermines the Equal Protection Clause and violates a court mandate. This bill is aimed at a vulnerable population that needs to be protected, not targeted. The blatant disregard for the needs of constituents will waste taxpayer dollars and will not address the concerns that really matter. Funding for schools, adequate healthcare, and solutions to the property tax crisis are being put on the back burner in order to appease discriminatory beliefs that do not prioritize the needs of everyday Idahoans.”