Idaho Dispatch

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No Bills Pass, One Memorial Passes as Idaho Special Legislative Session Ends

By • November 17, 2021

The Idaho Special Legislative Session has concluded, and the legislature will not be back until January for the 2022 regular legislative session.

While several bills did make it through the Idaho House, those bills were stalled in the Senate State Affairs Committee. The Senate did not pass any bills through their side of the chamber.

What did pass through both chambers was a “Joint Memorial” of the legislature opposing President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate. Memorials, however, are not law and are usually meant as a show of legislative support for or against a particular issue.

The bills that did make it to the Senate were held in the Senate State Affairs Committee by Chairman Patti Anne Lodge (R-11). Below are the three bills that were heard in Lodge’s committee earlier today.

House Bill 414 was sponsored by Rep. Mike Moyle (R-14) and cleared the House on a vote of 46-24, with some Republicans joining Democrats in opposing the measure. Here is what the bill would have done as listed by the Statement of Purpose:

The ability to claim an exemption based on religious beliefs is supported in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which permits an employee to request a religious or reasonable accommodation from an employer requirement that conflicts with their sincerely-held religious beliefs, practices, or observances. While the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces this federal law, recommends that an employer should assume an employee’s stated religious belief is sincere, the EEOC does allow an employer to ask additional questions if the employer has an objective basis for questioning the sincerity of the employee’s religious belief.

This bill adds to the Idaho Human Rights Act, which is the Idaho version of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to prohibit the government, employer or any other entity from questioning or requesting additional information from an employee who claims a religious exemption to an otherwise required medical treatment.

House Bill 417 was sponsored by Rep. Jason Monks (R-22) and cleared the House on a vote of 67-3, with two Democrats and one Republican opposing the measure. Here is what the bill would have done as listed by the Statement of Purpose:

This legislation clarifies that injuries arising from employer-mandated vaccinations shall be compensable under the Idaho workers compensation laws of Idaho.

Finally, House Bill 419 was sponsored by Rep. Ron Mendive (R-3) and cleared the House on a vote of 41-27. Here is what HB 419 would have done according to the Statement of Purpose:

This legislation simply creates a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy concerning Covid-19 vaccination status to prevent Idaho citizens from being terminated from their employment as a result of their personal decisions regarding this vaccination.

What did end up passing was Senate Joint Memorial 105. That memorial was sponsored by Senator Chuck Winder (R-20), cleared the Senate on a voice vote, and cleared the House on a 58-8. Here is what the Statement of Purpose says about the memorial:

This joint memorial notifies the Biden Administration that the Idaho Legislature strongly opposes vaccine mandates for federal workers and contractors, as well as proposed requirements for large employers and health care employers to require vaccination and testing.

Idaho Dispatch will have more coverage on the Special Legislative Session with reactions by lawmakers in a future article.

What did you think of the session? Were you happy or frustrated with what happened?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Tags: HB 154, HB 414, HB 417, HB 419, Idaho Special Session, Jason Monks, Mike Moyle, Patti Anne Lodge, Ron Mendive, Senate Joint Memorial 105

19 thoughts on “No Bills Pass, One Memorial Passes as Idaho Special Legislative Session Ends”

  1. Ole’ Patti Anne resumes her “put the bills in her drawers” actions.

    Patti Anne, Chuck Winder and Scott Bedke are no friends of the People of Idaho. Their old school, good ole boy demeanors are no longer needed in this heated world.

    All three need to be moseyed out of any Idaho Political position permanently.

    Idahoan’s need replacements that understand and stand by God, the Constitution, Stand by the People of Idaho and Have a Backbone for good.

  2. Lodge is corrupted! She needs to be replaced! I once accused her of being “All hat and no cattle” ! Now I’m sure she is corrupt along with a bunch of other RINOs !

  3. Enough games! The House and Senate need to change the rules. The chairs of committees should not be able to block an entire branch of the legislature. A bill passed in one side of the legislature should get a vote in the other chamber. 95% of the Senate needs to be voted out.

    2. I agree. I have lived here 35 years and I am sick and tired of the good ol’ boys running the show. They don’t really care about us. They are deaf to the pleas of their constituents and strangers to the call of freedom’s ring.

    1. LOSS! Idaho’s House and Senate reconvene at Taxpayer’s expense and don’t accomplish a dammed thing.

      Well, except for Kangaroo Court Bedke who remains so scared of his competitors he reconvenes at any cost to satisfy his ego.

      Scott Bedke, the Nancy Pelosi of Idaho, and his minions, are quite the disgusting individuals.

  5. Patti Lodge, Chaney, and Bedke all losers !
    Vote there a$$’$ out.

    Lodge is a vax pusher. She has questioned my wife about the Jab, whom
    Happens to be a RN . But yet this Toad Lodge thinks she knows best.. a joke.

  6. I testified in several committee meetings this week to the point that the legislature missed the opportunity to ban all federal mandates placed on the citizens of IDaho.
    Chicken Little allocated millions to test school age children for Covid, a demographic with a 99.98% recovery rate. He and the legislature could have used that money to provide ivermectin to the entire population of Idaho. I say this in view of the fact that the state of Buttar Predesh, with a population of 241 million people declare themselves “Covid Free” on September 19th. The state distributed ivermectin to all of its citizens to achieve this. If IDaho was Covid Free, the Feds would have no justification for any Mandates here, nor would our hospitals and other employers. The Fear Factor would be gone and the citizens of Idaho would be Empowered.

    1. The Senate never got a chance to vote. It was the Senate State Affairs who did not allow the bills to go to a vote in the Senate. Here is who is on that committee:
      Senate State Affairs Committee:
      Patty Ann Lodge- chairman
      Jim Guthrie- vice chair
      Chuck Winder- president pro tem of Senate
      Kelly Anthon-senate majority leader
      Mark Harris–majority caucus chair
      Abby Lee- assistant majority leader
      Lee Heider
      Michelle Stennett (democrat)
      Grant Burgoyne (democrat)

  10. I talked to Governor Little’s Secty. about two weeks ago concerning removing the Vaccine Mandate in Idaho. She said Little believes businesses and hospitals in Idaho should decide for themselves if they want to impose the mandate. He, Gov. Little, doesn’t want to get involved in removing the State Vaccine Mandates. WHAT A COWARD! WHO IS PAYING LITTLE OFF? BIDEN/OBAMA?

  11. Total waste of time and taxpayers money. Totally a Bedke campaign for Lt Gov. Hopefully the people will see through this charade.

  12. Loved the bills. Hated Senate State Affairs Committee, and the Senate. You guys must have been upset coming back to work from a 6 month vacation for a day. Poor babies:(

  13. Going on 3 years in a row, even before Covid. Senate Committee have been letting bills on medical freedom die.
    I’ll withhold my thoughts I’d love to say outloud about PattiAnn

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