In November, 61% of voters in Idaho approved a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid in the state, a resounding victory for progressive policy in a deeply red state. But the state’s GOP has never been very interested in fair democracy, so instead of honoring the clear will of the voters and working to expand the healthcare program, they are now working to gut the expansion — and destroy the state’s direct democracy altogether.
There are two bills being pushed in the last weeks of the Idaho legislative session. The first, sponsored by Rep. John Vander Woude, would put ridiculously onerous work requirements on Medicaid recipients, demanding 120 hours a month, which is far more than any other state, and could cost 10,000 or more people their healthcare. And absolutely no one but GOP leadership is in favor of it. Look at what happened last Friday, via the Idaho Statesman:
Of the 51 people to testify over three hours, 49 were opposed to the bill. Only one person spoke in favor — Fred Birnbaum, a lobbyist with the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a group that earlier this year lost a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Medicaid voter initiative.
Nearly all of the testimony given during the first hour of testimony opposed the bill, with critics taking aim at the added administrative costs the bill creates, the difficulty that rural residents could face in finding work training and job opportunities, and the potential that the bill could still leave thousands of Idaho residents without access to health care.
Even more egregious is a law being pushed by new State Sen. C. Scott Grow that would make it just about impossible for new voter initiatives to even placed on the ballot. Idaho made it harder to get on the ballot in 2012, requiring signatures from 6 percent of registered voters in 18 of the state’s 35 legislative districts. That was in response to a voter initiative that struck down anti-teacher “reforms.”
Now, Grow’s legislation would raise the bar to 10 percent of voters in 32 of 35 legislative districts in just 180 days, an absurdly high bar that everyone agrees would end ballot initiatives as we know it. News organizations across Idaho have come out against it, and activists have been storming the capitol to try to stop it.
The bill is being put to committee on Monday, giving Reclaim Idaho — the group that campaigned for its original passage — and advocates precious little time to fight this tyranny.
CLICK HERE to donate to Reclaim Idaho and The Fairness Project, the leading progressive ballot initiative group, via ActBlue!
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