As the Idaho legislature continues to meet, it is doing so with fewer and fewer of its members sitting behind their desks due to concerns over spreading the coronavirus.
At least seven lawmakers – all of them Democrats – have stepped away and didn’t fill their places with substitutes, following state and federal guidelines to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) told the Associated Press she was returning home to Idaho Falls Wednesday to help run her family businesses, including a restaurant they own.
“Oh, it’s killing me,” said House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise). “I’ve been [home] watching all morning.”
Rubel has an existing respiratory condition that could put her life at risk if she were to come down with COVID-19.
“I have pulmonary fibrosis and if I contract this virus, you know, it could take me out and my family is very unhappy about this,” she said.
Instead of being able to debate the remaining bills still lingering before the House and Senate, she and some of her colleagues have set up phones and laptops at home to livestream the meetings in each chamber.
And, many of them are still voting, despite some being hundreds of miles – and even a time zone – removed from the capitol building.
The Idaho legislature allows its members to submit what they call “paired votes.” This involves filling out a slip of paper indicating how a lawmaker would vote on a certain bill and then finding another legislator who plans to cast an opposite vote to “pair” with – essentially cancelling each other out.
But Rubel and her colleagues have questioned the need to continue meeting at all after budgets were set.
They point to bills that have become lightning rods that were all passed this week, including those that limit transgender rights, one that would criminalize abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court and another that dumps the state’s ability to use affirmative action in its hiring decisions.
“It’s just been days and days on totally unnecessary and divisive social issues that, to me, just cannot possibly justify defying all of the health guidance being given to us by every health expert in America,” Rubel said.
The choice to punch out before adjournment started with Rep. Steve Berch (D-Boise) on Monday. Sens. David Nelson (D-Moscow) and Maryanne Jordan (D-Boise) quickly followed on Tuesday.
“My hope was to try to nudge the legislature a little close to adjournment,” Nelson said.
The first-term senator said it was strange not to be in his seat that he’s occupied for the past two years.
“Gosh, every time I hear my name read twice on every bill and I’m not there to vote, it kind of hits me in the heart that I’m not doing that.”
House and Senate Republican leaders said several times this week that they hoped to gavel out of session that day, only to undergo marathon meetings that stretch for hours into the evening with no final resolution.
One legislative staff member resigned Monday over fears he would contract the disease by working at the capitol that was still open to hundreds of members of the public, state workers, lobbyists and legislators.
Republican leaders issued a joint press release Tuesday afternoon, saying they were taking “proactive steps” to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Those include “limiting social contact” and “staying out of crowded rooms,” though an annual end-of-the-session party was still held at a bar in downtown Boise shortly after that statement was sent to the media.
“To date, state and local health district officials have not recommended that the Legislature discontinue its work to finish the 2020 Legislative Session,” Republican leaders wrote Tuesday.
Earlier that day, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder (R-Boise) told the chamber that they would keep working until there was a confirmed case of COVID-19 at the state capitol.
An email asking for further comment sent to House Majority Caucus Chair Megan Blanksma (R-Hammett) was not immediately returned. House leadership did announce their annual end-of-year press conference, which is scheduled after lawmakers recess on Thursday, would be held over the phone and livestreamed to minimize in-person contact.
Idaho was one of the last states to confirm its first case of coronavirus. As of Thursday afternoon, there have been 11 confirmed cases reported. 468 people have been tested, though state officials have not updated those numbers since Wednesday morning.
Nelson said Idaho’s rural landscape gives it an inherent advantage in combating the spread of the disease, but that it could all be rendered moot once legislators leave Boise and return to their districts.
“That’s social distancing to start with and by going back and forth we risk our constituents and the longer the legislature is there, the bigger that risk is.”
Follow James Dawson on Twitter @RadioDawson for more local news.
Copyright 2020 Boise State Public Radio
Member support is what makes local COVID-19 reporting possible. Support this coverage here.
