You're in Idaho now, slow down

Bonner Alerts helps me follow what is going on in the Idaho Legislature, providing the information I need about individual bills and emails and phone numbers for contacts at the legislature.

I thought that it would give me a voice that might be heard in the turbulence. But the turbulence is winning.

Bills come at us so fast and furious that often there are only a few hours to comment on a bill before a committee meeting. (Committees do things like send bills to the floor with a recommendation on how to vote, or hold bills in committee until they can reach a determination, oftentimes to allow them to be rewritten.)

Several bills have been stopped or approved in committee partly because hundreds of people have commented on them by filling out a form, sending emails, or testifying in committee hearings on Zoom or in person. We can even stop or help a bill after it passes the Legislature by asking the governor not to sign it into law.

But when you don't have time to even understand what the bill says, the hearing is scheduled, over and done with, and has moved on. Many legislators evidently do not want to hear what the voters have to say on issues like the library, the budget, public school funding, guns, and abortion — the most important issues that should be considered most carefully.

Is there a way to fix this? The House and Senate can pass rules that would slow down the process: require a week from the time a bill is proposed until the committee hears it. I'm sure there are other options that would be acceptable to everybody.

You can help: write to our representatives Sauter and Dixon and to our senator Herndon and ask for support for rule changes:

• Sen Scott Herndon, SHerndon@senate.idaho.gov; home, 208-610-2680; Statehouse, 208-332-1349
• Rep Mark Sauter, MSauter@house.idaho.gov; home, 208-332-1035; Statehouse, 208-332-1035 
• Rep Sage Dixon, SDixon@house.idaho.gov; home, 208-610-4800; Statehouse, 208-332-1185 (session only)

Then sign up for Bonner Alerts at bonneralerts.substack.com.

NANCY GERTH

Sagle