The Idaho State Legislature passed two bills in the past week that were an attack on the rights of Idaho citizens to put initiatives and referenda on the ballot — rights that are protected explicitly in the Idaho constitution. But Reclaim Idaho, the group that led the successful fight to put Medicaid Expansion on the ballot last year, channeled public outrage by calling on the public to sign a petition asking the Governor to veto the bills, and to phone and email the Governor directly.
The petition alone garnered thousands of signatures, which Reclaim Idaho’s team presented to the Governor’s office.
An ardent opponent of both bills, Reclaim Idaho executive director Rebecca Schroeder said she presented the governor with a petition of more than 11,000 signatures, representing every county in Idaho, asking him to veto both.
"He listened intently, and I believe he is really struggling with this decision," she said. "The phone in his office is ringing off the hook."
Public opposition to the bills was overwhelming:
In the past week, more than 6,100 phone calls, emails and pieces of mail have been received by Gov. Brad Little's office as Idahoans are responding to Senate Bill 1159 and its trailer, House Bill 296.
"Of those, 3,786 were phone calls and the emails would be 2,320," Little's press secretary, Marissa Morrison, told The Press on Thursday. "Out of all of those, I think about 53 ... were in support of the legislation. They want the governor to sign the bills, and the rest were asking to veto."
Even so, many feared that Governor Little would follow the lead of the GOP majority in the House and Senate who voted in favor of the bills after being pressured by lobbyists. In the days leading up to his decision, the governor would not hint at his position.
But Friday, with little fanfare, the wait was over: he made his decision public.
In a veto letter quietly posted to the governor’s website Friday, Little said he is concerned about the bills not being able to withstand a legal challenge. He vetoed SB 1159, and said he plans to veto HB 296.
The veto was the first of his tenure as Idaho’s governor, and he said he reluctantly vetoed the legislation.
We believe that without the public pressure, there is no way that Little would have vetoed this toxic legislation. It would have gone the way of so many bad bills in the Idaho Legislature — sailing through both legislative bodies without incident and then being signed through by the governor, to the frustration of the public.
But thanks to the thousands of people calling, emailing, crowding into public hearings, and petitioning the governor — along with the many former lawmakers and experts who publicly opposed the bill — the governor saw that there would be a long fight on his hands if he did not stand up against the GOP leaders who had written the flawed bills.
And, by vetoing them, he did the right thing.
HUZZAH!!
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Thanks as always to all of you who are paying attention to Idaho and to our fight to protect citizens’ rights here. Those of us who volunteer with Reclaim Idaho are heartened by your support. If you’re interested in keeping up with Reclaim Idaho, check out our Facebook page. If you want to chip in to support our other active fight — to protect Medicaid Expansion, which is still under attack in Idaho — you can donate here.