The Gem State Patriot would like to commend Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld for her efforts in exposing the influence that today’s lobbyists play in the critical decisions being made in our government that affect all Idahoans. She is a true conservative who is not coerced because of lobbyists donations and continues to tell the truth about what is actually going on in our legislature. Thank you Senator Zuiderveld.
In today’s world, it has become difficult to discern the truth from the many lies that we are told by our elected government officials and corporations whose products we purchase. Many in the advertising industry would call these lies embellishments but we all know that a lie by any other name is still a lie. People lie for many different reasons; a politician will tell us one thing while campaigning and then conveniently forget what they said after they have been elected to office. Corporations tell us that certain products they manufacture are safe for us to use yet we have found that in many cases they have also lied to influence us to purchase their products. On a more serious note, we have recently discovered that our own government had influenced certain social media platforms to hold back pertinent information about things like the Covid virus and the efficacy of the Covid vaccine during the “Planned-Demic”. It is difficult at best to discern anymore who is telling us the truth and who is lying.
Let me bring your attention to one of the most important bills passed by our legislature this year “The Health Freedom Bill” which is on Governor Littles desk for his signature. The big question is will the influence of the many corporate lobbyists keep him from signing this legislation which is critical to the wellbeing of every Idahoan. Fortunately for us we have a few brave legislators who are willing to stand up for the people instead of the corporate lobbies. One of those legislators is Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld who recently wrote about two bills which will protect corporations and not Idahoans. These two bills are S1183 and H303. Her article simply states “Two major corporations, Idaho Power and Bayer, are each pushing bills that would grant them some level of legal immunity. After digging into both proposals, it appears if these companies can show they’ve taken minimal mitigation steps or simply include certain scientific language on their product labels, they could be shielded from future lawsuits. Senator Zuiderveld states very simply “why would a corporation want to avoid responsibility for its actions and decisions?” The obvious answer is to reduce their potential for liability if their products should do harm to the public. While bill S1124 was the original proposed legislation it was killed and revived into bill S1183
Senator Zuiderveld states that “The question is: will this new bill be more citizen-friendly, or will it simply give utilities like Idaho Power the protection they’ve been after?” Her conclusion is that S1183 seems like an attempt to revive S1124 with a slightly different angle—but the core protections for utilities remain largely intact. The next question she asks is which legislators and political PACs is Idaho powers contributing to. Here is what she found out about who these political contributions went to for the past two election cycles and the numbers will certainly give you the impression that they believe our legislators will be influenced by their donations.
Below you will find both the Candidate and Pac Donations by Idaho Power in the election cycles 2022-2024
The total amount of contributions to our State Senators was $34,596.80 and total amount of contributions to House Representatives was $62,611,10
The total contributions to statewide races was $21,000 with the majority of these contributions going to Scott Bedke receiving $7,500 and Phil McGrane $8,500.
Political Pac’s were a whole other story with $64,000 going to the Idaho Prosperity Fund run by the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry. The Idaho Victory Fund a high-spending PAC run by orchard grower Chad Henggeler, developer Dave Yorgasen, Boise Hunter Homes and the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police received $47,000. Then of course there is the Friends of Brad Little PAC which received $20,000 and three smaller donations for Idaho Rising $500, Gem State Legacy Pac. $2,500 and Idaho Leadership Fund $5,700 for Lt. Governor Bedke.
These donations all totaled come out to the substantial sum of $257,907.90 but what is more interesting is who the big investors are in Idaho Power. You might be surprised to find out they are:
BlackRock, Inc. which owns 6.61 million shares or 12.24% Vanguard Group Inc. owns 6.05 million shares or 11.20% Wellington Management Group, holds 3.42 million or 6.35% and T. Rowe Price Inv. Mgmt. holding just 1.91 million shares or 3.54% These four entities together own 33.33% of Idaho Power Stock. Do you think they might have a vested interest in making sure they don’t have any potential liabilities? By the way several of these large investors have been influential in moving Idaho Power away from carbon fuels like coal and gas for power generation to less reliable sources like solar farms. It is possible we may see them move back now that Trump is going to lower the cost of fossil fuels.
Lets also examine the Bayer Corp. and its Lobbying Efforts
Over the past several months the Bayer Corporation has been flooding the air with broadcasting commercials via local radio stations to allow our agriculture industry the ability to use glyphosate on the crops they grow. If you are interested in knowing more about this non-selective systemic biocide with broad-spectrum activity, which is the most widely used herbicide in the world. Please click on this link https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9101768/
According to Senator Zuiderveld last year, Bayer brought to our legislature bill S1245, which was defeated in the Senate by a 19-15 vote however just like that pesky mosquito that won’t go away and typical of a corporation that wants to protect itself from liability House Bill H303 was introduced which currently sits in the House Agriculture Committee, waiting to see if the Chairman will allow a hearing. So, what’s different between S1245 and H303? Three things 1. New language on Liability, H303 includes updated language that slightly narrows who can bring a lawsuit against Bayer. While S1245 offered broad protections, H303 tries to tighten the scope, but in Zuiderveld’s opinion, it still leans heavily in Bayer’s favor. 2. Mitigation efforts expanded: H303 adds a section requiring some form of mitigation or “best practices” for Bayer to qualify for immunity. However, the standard for what qualifies as “mitigation” is vague and still leaves plenty of room for them to avoid real accountability. 3. Labeling requirements:
The new bill mentions clearer scientific labeling, but once again, it relies heavily on the assumption that people will read and fully understand these labels—which doesn’t really address the heart of the issue for those affected. So, let’s look at how much and to whom Bayer is donating to in our legislature.
Senators receiving donations for Election Cycles 2022-2024 are: Ben Adams, $500 – Kelly Anthon $500 – Camille Blaylock $750 – Kevin Cook – $750 – Mark Harris $1,000. In the House of Representatives, we have Kevin Andrus $1,000 – Judy Boyle $1,000 – Lance Clow $500 – Dustin Manwaring $500 – House Speaker Mike Moyle $1,000 – Josh Wheeler $1,000.
Statewide races: Include Lt. Governor Scott Bedke $1,000 and Governor Brad Little $2,000.
When we get to the PACS the donations rise significantly.
Idaho Prosperity Fund run by Alex LaBeau of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry. $13,500. Idaho Rising, which is Idaho’s House Speaker Mike Moyle’s PAC received the astounding amount of $50,000. Idaho Seed Industry received $5,000 and last but not least The Idaho Leadership Fund associated with Lt. Governor Scott Bedke.
This adds up to a grand total of $81,500 in donations by Bayer.
When you look at the large number of donations that are given to many of our legislators and Constitutional officers you have to wonder who is protecting the people of Idaho and by the same token shielding the powerful corporations from accountability.
In conjunction with this article about Lobbyists and their influence in our state, we have another article which may also interest you that has to do with the spraying of pesticides in our state. We must protect our environment from the dangerous elements of both industry and government that affect us all. Once again we all need to understand that we can no longer trust what industry or our government tells us. They have lied to us time and time again so that we have to depend on our citizens and legislators to keep us informed when the preverbal wool is being pulled over our eyes. Don’t forget Governor Littles promise to dump the Grocery Tax which is still crushing those in the lower economic strata. Please take a few minutes to read this article as it is just another example of how badly our state and local governments function:
Ariel Spraying is not Optional in Gem County
“We Get the Government We Deserve”
One reply on “Fool Me Once, Shame on You; Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me”
I am sharing this so set others can see which of our Legislators are bought by special interest groups, who want to influence their votes.