Are You Ready? We Are!

Conservative legislators have hit the ground running! On Monday we listened to Governor Brad Little deliver his State of the State Address, where he explained how he was going to spend – excuse us, “invest” – your hard-earned tax dollars. He proposed setting aside $100 million for tax relief, but we think the Legislature can do better. Look for some substantial tax cuts on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee’s menu this year!

The Governor also proposed $50 million for school choice, which is the same amount in a new bill that Rep. Wendy Horman will introduce soon. We will be watching this very carefully to make sure that any school choice proposal gives real options to Idaho families without bringing the heavy hand of government onto private schools and homeschool families.

Our own co-chair Rep. Heather Scott introduced the first bill of the session on Tuesday morning, a memorial that condemns the way in which the Supreme Court forced gay marriage on the states. Idahoans have long believed that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman, and it’s not right for five justices to impose a different view on our state.

This issue also touches on state sovereignty, which is very important to our members. It’s time for Idaho to start taking back its constitutional authority, with regards to education, with regards to land ownership, and with regard to institutions such as marriage. We will be dealing with this issue a lot this session, so stay tuned!