Passing restrictive bills doesn't seem wise

Greetings from Boise. I hope all is well at home. 

In the last week legislators have taken some votes on controversial bills. We have voted on a bill to limit which flags can be displayed in classrooms, another rejecting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made several years ago and directing them to reverse their decision, and still another directing our judges in their sentencing decisions. All of these bills have the potential of taking away local control from the elected and professional people in our district who are our local decision-makers. 

Despite the strong feelings for each of these bills, none of them raised as many messages to me as the reaction to my vote on HB32, a bill that will prohibit officials making mask mandates with certain exceptions. 

It could be that many of our community members have followed this issue closely for several years and have felt strongly about it. It could also be that a criticizing Mailchimp/Facebook message from Scott Herndon for Idaho was sent out regarding my vote. Then the American Action Fund, Texas based, jumped on board, campaigning for their own cause with a districtwide text message blast. 

The votes taken in the Capitol are important in many ways for all of us. First, they cost money. It's been said by the Speaker of the House, the cost of simply writing a draft bill is approximately $1,000. A day of the Legislature's time has been estimated to cost $35,000-$70,000. So, running bills costs taxpayers money and time; time away from important issues and matters that affect our district and state.

The number one constitutional priority and requirement for each legislature is to develop a balanced budget for the State. Services relative to constitutional services like education, transportation, safety, business/commerce, and healthcare are of great importance to the State. With these issues in mind, one question for legislators is what else should be added?

Each legislative session we spend time reducing our regulations. Sometimes new bills unnecessarily add to that load. I feel HB32 is one of the unnecessaries.

I believe our voters want effectiveness and efficiency during health emergencies. Many have questioned the effectiveness of mask mandates during the COVID era. I didn't vote to implement a mask mandate with HB32. I voted to keep our emergency options open in the future and to have the freedom for officials to make the best decisions possible given the current situation and the tools they have access to. It's been several years since COVID, lots of lessons have been learned. Let me reiterate, I am not voting to implement mask mandates. 

Today we hear of bird flu in the Western states, TB in Kansas and an outbreak of pertussis in Idaho. I don't know what health hazards we will face in the future. I also don't know what successes our health technology and equipment researchers and manufacturers are making this week. I do know I believe in the American spirit and system of continuous improvement and a dedication to help our fellow man. 

Passing a restrictive bill that could require 105 legislators to return to Boise to address an active emergency situation doesn't seem responsible to me.  My experience as a first responder and decision making on emergency incidents wasn't enhanced by the input of policy makers from afar. This was another reason I opposed HB32.

There is a time and place for a dialogue and decision-making choices including constructive questions or comments. I invite dialogue and reach out to constituents for opinions, however, some political activists, including Herndon and others, do not contribute to dialogue or take the time to ask questions on Votes; they choose to organize on social media and mass emails to spread negative and misconstrued information. Remarkably, despite the organized efforts to criticize my votes from Herndon and out of state action funds, a number of people read-through the message and complimented the decision to oppose HB32, even though that was not the message they were encouraged to send. 

I respect the questions and comments of our district voters with their sincere thoughts. I'm committed to responsibly serving everyone.

Mark Sauter represents Bonner and Boundary counties in the Idaho Legislature in District 1A. He can be reached at msauter@house.idaho.gov.