House overrides emergency powers veto

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The Idaho House voted Wednesday to override Gov. Brad Little’s veto of House Bill 135, which aims to limit a sitting governor’s declaration powers during emergencies.

A veto override requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. Because of absences in the Idaho House, that threshold required 45 votes. Wednesday’s vote in the House carried 48 votes, more than enough to cast the House override.

HB 135 prohibits a sitting governor from broadly closing the economy during emergencies, requiring that any emergency orders that do require shuttering businesses must tailor those closures narrowly. The bill also puts a stopwatch on emergencies that would end after 60 days, and it enables the Idaho Legislature to end emergency declarations.

The House originally passed HB 135 in February, while the Senate didn’t vote on an amended version of the bill until April 9. Those amendments required the House to vote once again on HB 135, which they again approved April 15 by a 52-15 margin.

Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the Coeur d’Alene Press after the vote that he was proud the House stood up against the veto.

“We needed to do that,” Mendive said. “Obviously, the super-majority in the House thought it was necessary, and I thought so, too.”

Little said on Friday he would veto two bills — HB 135 and Senate Bill 1136 — that challenge the parameters in which any governor can declare and manage emergencies. Little vetoed SB 1136 on Friday and sent it back, where the Senate would later fail to override. But Little didn’t veto HB 135 until Monday, delaying the override attempt until Wednesday.

HB 135 and SB 1136 were written in response to Little’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the virus the World Health Organization reports has killed more than 3 million people forced states and nations around the world to shut down, restricting commerce and limiting how and where people could congregate.

Mendive said he expects the Senate to vote on the override today, the 102nd day in what’s well on its way to becoming the longest legislative session in Idaho history.

“We signed onto the job,” Mendive said. “We’re all eager to see the session end, but not at the cost of our responsibilities. This has been a strange and difficult session, but there are some issues still on the table.”

Debate over HB 135 ran long on the House floor Wednesday, with impassioned lawmakers hinting that Little’s actions during the pandemic — and the ensuing vetoes — represent tyranny.

“We aren’t tyrants in here,” said Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard. “It’s really, really hard to be a tyrant when you’re a 1-in-105 vote. It’s really hard. But it’s easy if you’re just one person.”

Rep. Chad Christensen, R-Iona, agreed. “I’m tired of being beholden to the executive branch,” he said. “We’re our own power. We’re our own body. Let’s do what’s right for Idahoans … The only tyranny I’ve seen is from the executive branch this past year.”