Idaho Legislature moves to limit response to COVID

| February 2, 2021 1:00 AM

The COVID emergency is not over. People are dying. Businesses are threatened. Short-sighted legislators who are not pandemic experts are endangering our lives and our economy. After Gov. Little lifted restrictions last summer, infections and deaths went up. Lifting of restrictions now, especially with a new variant of the virus possibly coming to Idaho, will only increase infections and deaths. The two resolutions described below only require a majority vote and if passed are veto-proof.

If the Senate passes resolution SCR101, the governor’s COVID emergency declaration and restrictions will be rescinded altogether. It is possible that Idaho could lose approximately $20 million dollars in federal emergency aid for COVID relief, as well as funds for vaccination implementation.

Unemployment support, job support, educational support, and small business support is critical to get us through the short term. If federal funds are unavailable to deal with this, how are cities and counties going to absorb these costs?

The house is working on resolution HCR2 which would remove all limits on gatherings statewide that were imposed due to COVID and void a 10-person cap on attendance for all events, public or private.

Please use your emergency powers as a voter to contact:

 Legislative District 1:

Sen Jim Woodward — jwoodward@senate.Idaho.gov
Rep. Sage Dixon — sdixon@house.Idaho.gov
Rep Heather Scott — hscott@house.Idaho.gov

Legislative District 7:

Sen Carl Crabtree — ccrabtree@senate.Idaho.gov
Rep Priscilla Giddings — pgiddings@house.Idaho.gov
Rep Charlie Shepherd — cshepherd@house.Idaho.gov

And also:

Speaker Scott Bedke — bedke@house.idaho.gov)
Senate Pro Tem Chuck Winder — cwinder@senate.idaho.gov

Protect the governor's plan to get control of the virus and open up the economy for the long term.

Beat COVID and save the economy. Neither one before the other. Each through the other. Each one for all of us. 

NANCY GERTH

Sagle