BOISE, Idaho — Idaho lawmakers will gather in Boise next month to consider legislation banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates by the federal government and private employers.
Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke and Republican Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder said Monday the chambers will likely return for several days on Nov. 15.
“Yes, the House of Representatives will reconvene on November 15th,” Bedke told Idaho News 6.
The House never officially adjourned, and it can reconvene if called by Bedke. Winder said he would recommend senators return as well. Both say lawmakers will look at legislation that would allow the state to initiate legal action over federal vaccine mandates on private employers.
“The thing that galvanizes everyone is the response to the Biden Administration, so vaccine mandates, and I predict that most everything will deal directly with that," Bedke said. "Clearly this is over the line, and we want to be ready with funding and with subsidy policy to push back in a manner that will be eventually effective.”
The House also has to complete action involving an ethics complaint against Rep. Priscilla Giddings. In August, the Ethics Committee recommended Giddings should be stripped of committee assignments for acting in a way unbecoming of a representative.
“They will present that report to the whole house and the whole house will then either accept the report or not,” Bedke said.
Anything unfinished can also be taken up in January during the 2022 legislative session.
Bedke added lawmakers have a sense of urgency and set a goal for themselves to be done by the middle of the week after starting.
