Idaho GOP boss wants to make it harder to pass them, or to remove the process altogether

The Idaho Republican Party is hoping this year legislators will focus on either making it harder to pass citizen initiatives or removing the petition process altogether.

Idaho GOP Chairperson Dorothy Moon relayed the state central committee’s priorities for the 2024 legislative session at the Capitol.

She gave a summary Monday of the accepted resolutions from the party’s winter meeting Jan. 5-6. There were 21 resolutions brought forward and eight accepted, she said. The resolutions were submitted from members across the state.

The resolution calling for changes to the initiative passage process was made in response to an initiative proposal that would put in place nonpartisan, top-four primaries and implement ranked-choice voting.

“They’re kind of sneaking in ranked-choice voting, which is the most dangerous part of that initiative,” Moon said.

The resolution calls for a required two-thirds majority to pass an initiative that makes it onto a ballot. To approve an initiative, there needs only to be a simple majority of voters in favor. The announcement of the resolution was met with applause from the audience in the Capitol’s Lincoln Auditorium.

Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, has agreed to carry legislation to this end, Moon said.

She said if this two-thirds majority requirement can’t be passed, then the party would like to see a state constitutional amendment to remove the initiative process altogether — one person in the audience gasped in response to this.

The party approved another resolution that makes it the Idaho GOP’s official stance that law enforcement officials entering Idaho from out of state be required to be U.S. citizens. The resolution also wants Gov. Brad Little, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and the Legislature to issue statements stating, “Idaho does not and will not recognize peace officers or law enforcement officials who are non-citizens.”

It was unclear if there was an incident in Idaho that prompted this resolution; the proposal cites recent moves by Illinois and California to remove citizenship requirements to become peace officers in those states.

The central committee additionally approved a resolution in support of legislation that was narrowly rejected last session to require digital device manufacturers to include filters that prevent minors from accessing internet pornography, Idaho Reports reported. Under last year’s proposal, manufacturers would face civil and criminal penalties if they didn’t include a filter and a minor used the device to access materials considered harmful.

In another resolution, the party wrote that members would like the governor to be required to pick county central committees’ top choice for filling county commissioner vacancies; central committees submit a list of names to the governor when filling a vacancy in preferential order.

One resolution was aimed at the Boise City Council, in opposition to an ordinance that passed that prohibits many landlords from rejecting rental applications based solely on income, including federal Section 8 vouchers. The requirement doesn’t apply to those who own two or fewer rental properties, BoiseDev reported.

The resolution calls on the Legislature to ban cities from enacting this type of ordinance.

The party also expressed support for legislation that would implement mandatory minimum sentencing for fentanyl trafficking. A bill to accomplish this was rejected in its committee after a long debate. Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, previously said he planned to bring back a proposal.

There were also resolutions condemning the use of “dark money” in political ads and stating the party is opposed to youth having access to marijuana.

Laura Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa.