House Rankings by Committee In Liberal Idaho

House Rankings by Committee In Liberal Idaho

by Sue Dawson

How Can a Republican State like Idaho Pass Such Liberal Laws and Regulations?

Because the Speaker of the House, Bedke, controls and manipulates voting outcomes.

Speaker Bedke holds the sole power to pick committee members and to remove them when and if he wishes. This is not the case in most states. Many states assign committees and chairmen by a special committee of caucus members, but the Idaho system gives Speaker Bedke exclusive leverage over the committee, chairman choice, and thereby the outcome of committee votes.

As you can see in the chart below, it is very predictable how the votes in each committee will likely turn out as shown by the voting record of it members in respective colors of red, purple and blue. The vote is predictable according to who is strategically assigned to each committee and chairmanship by Speaker Bedke. Furthermore, Bedke knows that the resulting committee vote will almost always determine the final vote on the chamber floor. The entire state is consequently affected by and is a reflection of the Speaker’s political views by the way he stacks the committees, who he places on each committee, the leanings of the chairman, and which bills he wants to pass or fail. This situation is only one of the reasons why Idaho has been adopting such outrageously liberal regulations and laws in the past few years. It is no surprise that in the case of Speaker Bedke, only 15 of the70 representatives are more liberal than he is, putting him in the top ¼ of the most liberal Representatives in the House even though he loudly proclaims he is a conservative Republican.

This special power of the Idaho Speaker weakens the Representative Republic form of government and in this case suppresses the vote of conservatives. This fancy footwork may very well be what the voters of Idaho want in their state government…. On the other hand it may be a deception in that “Republicans” in Name Only do not reflect the Republican Party Platform, but rather consistently vote as Democrats vote. In either case it is critical that you understand the voting record of your elected Representatives regardless of proclaimed party affiliation as I can assure you that Bedke does understand. Secondly, citizens need to understand the power vested in a very liberal Speaker Bedke to manipulate the outcome of votes in the House of Representatives.

The chart below lists the members of each standing committee of the Idaho State House of Representatives in order of seniority and by color-coded voting record. Red indicates conservative voting record. Purple indicates moderate voting record. Blue indicates Democrat platform voting record.

Agricultural Affairs -Farm & Ag, Animal Rights, GMO

Chair Judy Boyle

Vice Chair Thomas Dayley

Maxine Bell

Steven Miller

Julie Van Orden

Van Burtenshaw

Ryan Kerby

Caroline Nisson Troy

Thyra Stevenson (new)

Paul Amador (new)

Randy Armstrong (new)

Karey Hanks (new)

Christy Zito (new)

Mathew Erpelding (D)

Sally Toone (D) (new)

Appropriation -State budgets, Revenue, Appropriations, Building Codes, Minimum Wage

Chair Maxine Bell

Vice Chair Rick Youngblood

Steven Miller

Van Burtenshaw

Wendy Horman

Luke Malek

Neil Anderson

Sage Dixon

Phylis King (D)

Melissa Wintrow (D)

Business –Banking/insurance issues licensing, credit union, investments, stocks

Chair Vito Barbieri

Vice Chair Lance Clow

Gary Collins

Brent Crane Asst Majority Leader

Joe Palmer

Jeff Thompson

Brandon Hixon

Jason Monks

Robert Anderst

Sage Dixon

Caroline Nilsson Troy

Thyra Stevenson (new)

Randy Armstrong (new)

Gayann DeMordaunt (new)

Dust Manwaring (new)

Elaine Smith (D)

Hy Kloc (D)

Sally Toone (D)

Commerce and Human Resources –State Employees, Firemen

Chair Stephen Hartgen

Vice Chair Neil Anderson

Steven Harris

James Holtzclaw

Wendy Horman

Kelley Packer

Eric Redman

Heather Scott

Mike Kingsley (new)

Dorothy Moon (new)

Scott Syme (new)

Phylis King (D)

Sue Chew (D)

Education –Public schools, colleges, universities, home school, Common Core, Testing, STEM

Chair Julie VanOrden

Vice Chair Patrick McDonald

Paul Shepherd

Judy Boyle

Lance Clow

Ron Mendive

Ryan Kerby

Don Cheatham

Paul Amador (new)

Gayann DeMordaunt (new)

Dorothy Moon (new)

Scott Syme (new)

Hy Kloc (D)

John McCrostie (D)

Sally Toone (D)

Environment, Energy, and Technology –Hazardous waste, sewage, recycling, power, Utilities

Chair Dell Raybould

Vice Chair Jeff Thompson

Stephen Hartgen

John Vander Woude Majority Caucus Chair

Neil Anderson

Robert Anderst

Ron Mendive

Janet Trujillo

Greg Chaney

Ron Nate

Heather Scott

Don Cheatham

Wendy Horman

Luke Malek

Dorothy Moon (new)

Elaine Smith (D)

Paulette Jordan (D) (new)

Ilana Rubel (D)

Health and Welfare –Health/child care, welfare, disabilities, Medicaid, e-cigarettes, naturopathy, mental illness, vaccinations

Chair Fred Wood

Vice Chair Kelley Packer

Brandon Hixon

Christy Perry

John Vander Woude Majority Caucus Chair

Eric Redman

Marc Gibbs

Megan Blanksma(new)

Karey Hanks (new)

Mike Kingsley (new)

Bryan Zollinger

Sue Chew (D)

Ilana Rubel (D)

Judiciary, Rules, and Administration –Courts, prisons, attorneys, juvenile, justice, law enforcement, victim issues, detention centers

Chair Lynn Luker

Vice Chair Luke Malek

Christy Perry

Thomas Dayley

Janet Trujillo

Patrick Mc Donald

Don Cheatham

Ryan Kerby

Ron Nate

Greg Chaney

Paul Amador

Karey Hanks (new)

Christy Zito (new)

Bryan Zollinger (new)

John Gannon (D)

John McCrostie (D)

Melissa Wintrow (D)

Local Government –City/county governance, taxing districts, urban renewal, eminent domain

Chair Christy Perry

Vice Chair Eric Redman

Lunn Luker

Vito Barbieri

Lance Clow

Gary Collins

Megan Blanksma (new)

Priscilla Giddings (new)

Mike Kingsley (new)

Dustin Manwaring (new)

Bryan Zollinger (new)

Sue Chew (D)

John McCrostie (D)

Resources and Conservation –Water quality/rights, fish and game river restoration, water, adjudication, oil, mining, federal lands, endowment lands, hunting, fishing & trapping, natural resources

Chair Marc Gibbs

Vice Chair Terry Gestrin

Mike Moyle Majority Leader

Dell Raybould

Paul Shepherd

Fred Wood

Judy Boyle

John Vander Woude Majority Caucus Chair

Steven Miller

Van Burtenshaw

Ron Mendive

Rick Youngblood

Clark Kauffman

Priscilla Giddings (new)

Megan Blanksma (new)

Mathew Erpelding (D)

Ilana Rubel (D)

Paulette Jordan (D) (new)

Revenue and Taxation –Sales/property/income taxes, Tax Credits, Levy’s & Taxes, grocery tax

Chair Gary Collins

Vice Chair Janet Trujillo

Mike Moyle Majority Leader

Dell Raybould

Robert Anderst

Thomas Dayley

Stephen Hartgen

Clark Kauffman

Greg Chaney

Ron Nate

Jeff Thompson

Terry Gestin

Thyra Stevenson

Caroline Nilsson Troy

Mathew Erpelding (D)

John Gannon (D)

State Affairs –Statewide policy issues, elections, abortion, electric utility deregulation, e-cigs, tobacco/alcohol license, Guns, Article 5 Convention, bully transgender, LGBT, gambling

Chair Thomas Loertscher

Vice Chair Jason Monks

Lynn Luker

Brent Crane Asst Majority Leader

Joe Palmer

Vito Barbieri

James Holtzclaw

Steven Harris

Randy Armstrong (new)

Priscilla Giddings (new)

Dustin Manwaring (new)

Christy Zito (new)

Elaine Smith (D)

Paulette Jordan (D) (new)

Transportation and Defense –Fuel taxes, state/local highways, motor vehicle issues, National Guard, civil air patrol, Militia

Chair Joe Palmer

Vice Chair Paul Shepherd

Terry Gestrin

Brandon Hixon

Clark Kauffman

Kelley Packer

Rick Youngblood

Patrick McDonald

Sage Dixon

Steven Harris

James Holtzclaw

Jason Monks

Gayann DeMordaunt (new)

Scott Syme (new)

Phylis King (D)

Melissa Wintrow (D)

John Gannon (D)

Ways and Means –Used to quickly introduce and/or Stop Legislation

Chair Robert Anderst

Mike Moyle Majority Leader

Brent Crane Asst Majority Leader

John Vander Woude Majority Caucus Chair

Mathew Erpelding (D) Minority Leader

Ilana Rubel (D) Asst Minority Leader

Elaine Smith (D) Minority Caucus Chair

House Rankings by Voting Record