Attempt to override veto fails

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Gov. Brad Little’s decision Saturday to veto a bill aimed at curtailing the reach of his emergency powers survived an override attempt in the Senate Monday morning.

Senate Bill 1136, which passed the House and Senate in the first weeks of April, sought to limit exactly what a sitting governor could do during times of peril and emergency. In particular, the bill modified existing Idaho Code to limit declarations of extreme peril to no longer than 60 days, prohibited a governor from suspending Idaho law, and required that all Idahoans be allowed to carry forth their livelihoods, regardless of almost any circumstances.

Without the rigorous debate in early April that followed SB 1136, the Senate quietly moved on the expected override attempt Monday morning. The Senate originally passed its bill on March 12 by a 27-7 vote, but a pair of changes into its final form required a second Senate vote on April 9 by a 28-7 vote.

To override Little’s veto, the Senate floor required 24 ‘yea’ votes, a two-thirds majority. Monday’s veto override failed by a 23-12 vote, one vote shy of the threshold. Five senators changed their vote to “nay,” including Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle.

“I am always supportive of making our Idaho laws better,” Woodward told The Press after the vote. “However, I voted not to support the veto override because of the potential unknowns with the proposed changes. We heard a myriad of legal opinions as to what the changes would or would not do. Just as folks were frustrated this year to find that Idaho law allows some of the actions that were taken during the pandemic response, we could find ourselves in a worse predicament with a new section of code.”

SB 1136 was one of two bills addressing executive powers that Little vetoed Saturday. HB 135, which would empower the Idaho Legislature to end emergency orders while also prohibiting a sitting governor to restrict Idahoans’ abilities to work during emergencies, was expected to make its way to an override vote Monday morning. But that attempt didn’t materialize, as the House recessed for the day.

In his announcement Friday when he said he would veto both bills, Little chastised the House and Senate for presenting legislation he said inhibited a governor’s ability to act swiftly in the face of an emergency.

“If the Legislature fails to extend an emergency declaration, disaster recovery and FEMA relief funding are jeopardized, and Idaho taxpayers are on the hook for emergency response costs,” Little said. “Idaho is a state that values the Constitution. These bills violate the Idaho Constitution on a number of fronts. The Idaho Constitution wisely prohibits the Legislature from performing executive duties.”

Woodward said the act of changing law is a task that shouldn’t be taken lightly, and SB 1136 didn’t live up to the expectations Idahoans deserve.

“The existing Idaho code addressed in Senate 1136 has served us well since 1927,” Woodward said. “I believe our current law will continue to work until we come to widespread agreement on any changes. We are looking for a balance between the duties of the executive branch, responsible for day to day operation of our system of self-governance, and the duties of the legislature, our policy-setting body which must write law worthy of the ages.”