BOISE, ID – In an instance of late-session scheming Monday, the Senate revived a bill that would restrict public schools’ ability to accommodate teachers’ unions.
Senators voted to “radiator cap” a bill that had advanced to the Senate floor and substitute it for a separate teachers’ union bill that had stalled in committee. In Statehouse parlance, radiator capping is a controversial method for rewriting a bill on the House or Senate floor while maintaining its number — effectively replacing one bill with another and bypassing the normal legislative process.
In this case, the Senate replaced House Bill 516 — Rep. Dale Hawkins’ proposal to bar LGBTQ+ instruction — with House Bill 745. The latter is Rep. Judy Boyle’s proposal barring public funds from benefitting teachers’ unions. Sen. Dan Foreman, chairman of the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee, declined to give it a hearing.
Sens. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, and Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, proposed the radiator cap Monday. “The original bill sponsor is totally OK with this,” Lenney said.
The bill from Hawkins, R-Fernwood, was bound for an amendment that would have given public schools more leeway to make “incidental reference” to sexual orientation and gender identity.
After Monday’s Senate vote, HB 516 doesn’t include the LGBTQ+ instruction proposal while the new bill is similar, but not identical, to HB 745.
The original teachers’ union bill from Boyle, R-Midvale, would have affected all public-sector unions, although it exempted police and fire unions. The new bill would update a section of code that only applies to teachers’ unions.
The new version of HB 516 would still prohibit public schools from:
- Deducting union dues from paychecks.
- Covering union dues in employee wages.
- Providing personal information about employees, including contact information, to the union.
- Requiring employees to meet with union representatives.
- Communicating on behalf of the union.
- Offering employees paid leave for union activities.
Foreman, R-Moscow, debated against the radiator cap amendments Monday, arguing that they would “circumvent the committee process.”
Sen. Dave Lent defended the Idaho Education Association, an “employee voice works fairly well throughout our state.” Lent, a Republican from Idaho Falls and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said he had “one minute” to consider the proposed amendments.
“This is really out of line here,” he said. “We don’t need to go this far.”
The amendments passed narrowly. But votes on amendments aren’t officially recorded. Senators stood up to indicate their support or opposition for the changes.
Civics bill amendments. The Senate also amended a far-reaching civics bill Monday, although not nearly as significantly as the prior bill.
Sponsoring Sen. Kelly Anthon earlier this month promised to consider proposed changes from public school leaders and other stakeholders on the bill. And the Rupert Republican appeared to follow through Monday.
The Senate approved several amendments to Senate Bill 1336. One amendment removed a requirement for a new 8th-grade western civilization course. Another change added entries to a list of “key historical documents” that students should understand. The list will now include documents “emphasizing the fight for abolition of slavery and religious freedom,” Anthon said.
SB 1336 was co-authored by state superintendent Debbie Critchfield’s office and Samual Lair of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, among others.
The Senate could vote on the teachers’ union and civics bills in the coming days.
