Governor Brad Little (R) has until Tuesday night to sign or veto 15 outstanding bills from the 2020 legislative session.
According to the Governor's website, the remaining bills cover everything from wrongful conviction relief to the appropriations budget for the coming fiscal year.
Two being watched carefully are House bill 500, which bans transgender females from competing in women’s sports, and House bill 509, which would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate.
State legislators passed both with a veto-proof majority of votes, but gave up the ability to override a governor's veto when they adjourned sine die March 20. House Speaker Scott Bedke (R-Oakley) told the Associated Press last week the legislature would have remained in session to wait out a potential veto if not for the coronavirus pandemic.
Both proposals are expected to face an expensive, taxpayer-funded legal challenge if passed and both were deemed legally dubious by the Idaho attorney general’s office earlier this year. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden would have the duty of defending the state in any potential legal action.
Other bills still on the governor’s desk include anti-affirmative action House bill 440, House bill 601, which increases exemptions to public records requirements, and House bill 548, which aims to limit citizen initiatives to a single issue and require disclosures on payments to signature gatherers.
Little’s deadline to sign bills into law or veto is Tuesday, March 31 at 6:33 p.m. That is 10 days (minus two Sundays) since the Senate adjourned. The governor receives five days to sign or veto a bill while the legislature is in session, and 10 days following sine die. Bills receiving no action from Gov. Little automatically become law at the deadline.
Unsigned Legislative Work:
HB601 - Public Records Exemptions
HB340a - Child Substance Rehabilitation Related
HB500a - Transgender Women in Women's Sports
HB440a - Anti-Affirmative Action
HB578 - Lifesaving Directives for Unemancipated Minors
HB521 - Establishes Tax Exemption for IT Infrastructure/Construction
HB435 - Adult Adoption Consent
HB442 - Extends Aircraft Tax Exemption to Agriculture Aircraft
HB509 - Prohibits Altering Gender on Birth Certificates
HB548 - Regulations on Citizen Initiatives
HB461a - Tenant Property Rights
HB384a - Wrongful Conviction Relief
HB651 - Budget Appropriations
HB587a - Highway Taxing District Regulations
SB1295 - Tele-Dentistry related
Correction: A previous version of this story stated there were 16 remaining bills as of Friday, March 27. According to Idahoednews.org, House bill 547 (mineral mining lease regulations) has been signed into law by the Governor, but that information was not reflected in official documents posted Friday by the Governor's office.
Follow Troy Oppie on Twitter @GoodBadOppie for more local news.
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