In July of 2022, the Republican Party gathered in Twin Falls for our summer convention to elect new leadership of the party. The grassroots came together and overwhelmingly voted for change from the top down, setting a mandate that the party return to conservative principles.
When I took the gavel, I made a commitment to Republicans in Idaho that I would work to ensure their voices were heard in the statehouse and resolutions passed by our grassroots would be represented. I’m very proud to report that the state party has been closely tracking the legislative session to ensure that our Republican elected officials push legislation that aligns with resolutions passed by our IDGOP State Central Committee and our state party platform.
As the 2023 legislative session wraps up, I wanted to give an update.
This week, House Bill 71, protecting our most vulnerable children from experimental medical procedures and hormone blockers, was signed into law in Idaho. This bill began as a resolution regarding minor sex reassignment, brought forward by Boise County and passed unanimously by our Republican State Central Committee. We’d like to thank Representative Bruce Skaug and Senator Lori Den Hartog for sponsoring this bill. The grassroots are truly who got this bill over the finish line and signed into law this week. Thousands of Republicans made their voices heard at the governor’s office, and we would like to thank Governor Little for signing this meaningful legislation into law.
Prohibiting ranked choice voting in Idaho began with a resolution presented by Custer County at the Winter Meeting this past January. The State Central Committee voted in favor of the resolution. Further reinforcing the decision to oppose ranked choice voting, the Republican National Committee also passed a resolution at the end of January opposing the use of ranked choice voting across the country. With the strong support of the Idaho Republican Party, freshmen GOP legislators Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld and Representative Dale Hawkins carried House Bill 179 and it is now signed into law.
As you know, election integrity is a very important issue to many Idahoans. In July of 2022, I brought a resolution to our summer convention to remove student IDs as accepted voter identification in Idaho. Again, two of our freshman legislators Representative Tina Lambert and Senator Scott Herndon sponsored House Bill 124 to remove student IDs from the list of accepted voter identification. It is now signed into law and reinforces Idaho’s commitment to election integrity. We saw a lot of other great legislation passed into law this session, but I wanted to highlight these three specifically because it shows the entire process — from the initial presentation of resolutions to the governor’s signature — embodies the work of your Idaho GOP, with lawmakers and citizens working together to shape policy and make decisions that will better Idaho.
