Buckle up: Veteran lawmakers see a busy 2023

Nov. 16—Despite a nearly 50% turnover in membership, veteran lawmakers expect the Idaho Legislature to consider a number of critical and contentious issues next year.

About 60 of the 105 newly elected and reelected state lawmakers are in Lewiston this week for the North Idaho Legislative Tour, sponsored by the Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Although the upcoming House and Senate leadership elections are getting a lot of attention right now, lawmakers are also looking at the 2023 session as an opportunity to tackle some major policy matters.

"I think we will have a fairly ambitious agenda," said Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa.

Crane noted recent remarks by Gov. Brad Little indicating that the Legislature could provide additional property tax relief for senior citizens this session, possibly by increasing the circuit breaker tax exemption.

"I think that opens up a long-overdue conversation about property tax policy in general," Crane said.

Crane, who is the chairperson of the House State Affairs Committee, was just elected to his ninth term in the office. That ties him with Rep. Sue Chew, D-Boise, for the second-longest tenure among the returning lawmakers. It trails only House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, who was just reelected to a 13th term.

Given the combination of redistricting, retirements, and primary and general election defeats, a total of 51 out of 105 legislative seats next year will be occupied by people who weren't there in 2022.

That includes almost 40 people who have no prior legislative experience, as well as about a dozen former lawmakers who are returning to the Statehouse or House members who were elected to the Senate.

Nevertheless, House Majority Caucus Chairperson Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, doesn't expect turnover to slow things down.

"I think we'll be in good shape," she said. "We've already brought the GOP members in for a training session, to try and get them up to speed as quickly as possible. We'll have another training session (at the end of November). So I'm excited. They've provided some good feedback, asked some great questions and are eager to learn."

One of the issues Blanksma expects the Legislature to take up during the 2023 session is strengthening Idaho's support system for new and expectant mothers.

Blanksma co-sponsored a 2020 bill that made it a felony offense to perform elective abortions in Idaho. The law, which is currently being challenged in court, took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving it up to states to regulate abortion.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, Blanksma said the Legislature should now focus on supporting women who need help.

"We already have a number of support programs in place (for expectant mothers), but we need to strengthen them and make sure people know about them," she said. "We need to look at our adoption laws and foster care laws. I think we also have to start talking about fathers who walk away from pregnancies."

Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, also expects education funding to be a major discussion point.

"I think we'll see a lot of conversation around school choice and providing options for parents," she said. "How that all shakes out, I'm not sure."

Den Hartog also serves on the interim Funding Construction of Public Schools legislative working group. She thinks it will present proposals during the 2023 session to help school districts address their infrastructure needs.

"What I really appreciate about the working group is that it's not just coming up with the normal suggestions, like amending the constitution (to reduce the two-thirds threshold needed to approve school bonds). It's coming up with some really creative ideas," Den Hartog said.

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, is equally hopeful that the Legislature will deal with school facilities.

However, she's also concerned that a perceived increase in the number of far-right Republicans in the Legislature will pave the way for school vouchers, enabling parents to take money away from the public school system to pay for private or parochial education.

"I think we'll see a resurgence of a lot of the bad bills we saw last session, including school vouchers and bills to imprison librarians," Rubel said. "And I'm afraid the Dobbs decision (overturning Roe v. Wade) will open the door to more restrictions on personal rights, such as banning the use of contraception or banning pride parades."

If all that is on the agenda, the 2023 session is shaping up to be a wild ride.

"I think people better be ready to work," Crane said.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.