Idaho Legislature Votes To Eliminate Governor’s Emergency Powers
Could the governor's use of emergency powers be coming to an end? For years Idahoans have heard their elected members of the legislature pledge to end Governor Little's expanded capabilities under the emergency orders. Last year, the Senate failed to override the governor's veto.
Monday night, the Idaho House of Representatives voted on a 'concurrent bill' that passed the house reports the Idaho Statesman. The bill now moves on to the Senate for consideration. If the Senate passes the bill, the governor's emergency powers will end. Unlike other bills, this bill does not require the governor's signature.
If Idaho does opt-out of the emergency declaration, the federal funding will end. The federal government has been very good to Idaho during the last few years. The state has a record two billion dollar surplus that most attributes to Idaho's federal aid.
Governor Little is facing a surprising challenging primary partially due to the controversy over the emergency orders. Critics have accused him of having too much power in determining which businesses were essential during the early days of Covid. The governor is running television ads for his reelection but has yet to declare officially.
House Majority Leader Republican Representative Mike Moyle told us this morning that he voted to end the governor's use of emergency powers. He said, "people have come up to me and told me that it's time to get out of the emergency rules."
Political insiders speculate that the bill passing the Senate is not guaranteed. Most insiders say they believe it is a fifty-fifty chance of passage in the Senate. The Senate will have to decide if they want to return Idaho to a more balanced form of government through separation of powers or keep taking Joe Biden's money?
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