Republished from the Idaho Freedom Foundation
Idaho’s Legislature is a representative government — or so we thought. Instead of 105 legislators casting their votes on the hundreds of proposed law changes, bills often live or die at the whim of a single, stubborn, committee chair.
This session, Sen. Jim Guthrie has taken it upon himself to be the self-appointed killer of conservative bills in the Idaho Senate. He regularly abuses his authority by locking up bills in his drawer, using them for leverage, and/or refusing to allow any debate or votes on issues he doesn’t like.
This is wrong, and it violates the duties of a chairman as outlined in the rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by the Senate (Mason’s). Those rules hold that the chair should facilitate the work of the committee by setting the agenda and conducting committee hearings. Guthrie’s actions are not facilitating the work — they are preventing the work. Those bills belong to the committee for consideration, not to the chair.
Do you want to eliminate spending millions of dollars on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our universities? Guthrie says, no, it must stay. Would you like to see a committee conduct hearings and interview officials on Idaho’s COVID lockdowns and mandates? Again, Guthrie says, no, we won’t allow transparency on those issues. Do you want Idaho to prohibit requiring public employees to use certain pronouns? Guthrie will have none of it.
To get an idea of just how Guthrie’s drawer has become a yawning abyss, here are just a few of the bills disappearing into nothingness:
- H421 – Gender definitions and rules
- H493 – A prohibition on government mask mandates
- H497 – Limiting elected officials to one office at a time
- H538 – Prohibition on compelling speech of employees regarding pronouns
- H584 – Removes Idaho from daylight savings time
- H599 – Prohibits excessive ballot harvesting
- H669 – Prohibits discrimination based on ESG in financial services,
- HCR26 – Initiates an investigation into U of I’s purchase of the University of Phoenix
- S1227 – Protecting patient rights
- S1228 – Protects the right to concealed carry firearms on college campuses
- S1229 – Protects all unborn babies from abortion
- S1240 – Militias’ right to public marches is protected
- S1304 – Requires school boards and councils to allow sufficient public testimony
- S1357 – Cancels funding for any diversity, equity, and inclusion offices in Idaho universities
- SCR110 – Assembles a committee to review Idaho’s COVID lockdowns and mandates
- HCR35 – Declares a month to honor Idaho’s traditional families
You may agree or disagree with some of the bills listed here, but the problem is this one senator has taken it upon himself — to the exclusion of 104 elected legislators and our governor — to decide these important issues once and for all. This is not how representative government is supposed to work.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation encourages Sen. Guthrie to find the key to his drawer, release all of the bills, and allow the committee and the Legislature to do their work in representing all the views of Idahoans from all parts of the state. The Senate leader, Sen. Chuck Winder, should use his authority to tell Guthrie to hear the bills or be removed from his chair. This is serious business and all the senators should be ashamed of how this game is being played.
If there is no accountability, then there is abuse. It must end. Call your senators to get Guthrie and Winder to do the right thing: End Guthrie’s dictatorship.
6 replies on “Sen. Jim Guthrie Thinks He’s a Dictator”
Why don’t the other 104 legislators care about this? That should worry everyone who wants Idaho to remain a conservative state with Christian values.
each legislative committee should have the right to review all bills that come to that committee and approve by a majority vote which they will hear.
Boot Guthrie he doesn’t want to play Idaho you can go back to where the hell he came from we used to be number one in a conservative state for conservative States now we’re number eight the light bulbs on now duh, a fake like the rhinos in Washington, get him out quickly it becomes a cancer and metastasizes Vet who you vote for, the people of Idaho give you the job if you’re not qualified don’t run we don’t have room for a lot of errors right now this country is in enough trouble, trying to do dumb laws from people like AOC, and others, at this point in time we don’t need politicians we need a junkyard dogs help us straighten this mess out that they’ve made over the last 3 years in DC., people who ran for office in Idaho generally over the years didn’t matter which side of the table you were on work together for Idaho that’s what the people ask for we don’t need renegades trying to be dictators.
Probably time we organize ourselves and our elected officials to make him quit.
Does anyone know anyone living in District 35? Is what jim is doing representing the citizens of District 35?
Regardless, by stalling bills, he is preventing the other 104 from representing their districts on those topics.
Doesn’t “leadership” assign committees and chairmanships? This system is not serving the people. It is a way for “leadership” to get only the bills they want passed.
Committees should be assigned randomly by picking proportionately (R’s, D’s and I’s out of respective boxes from legislators interested in that Committee who put their name in the box. Committee members should then vote on which of their group will be their Chairman.
All bills should be heard unless the Committee members vote not to hear it; and they should be required to explain why they don’t want it heard.
Where’d this clown’s Klown come from, anyway? Just send this TRAITOR straight to where he really belongs: Hell’s own slippery slope. Good freakin’ LUCK, li’l jimbob, you’ll need it where you’re going! Pass the popcorn.