Legislature passes Capitol camping ban, sends it to governor who sued on the issue

A year after Idaho banned camping on public property and along public roadways, the Idaho Legislature passed a bill Tuesday that would prohibit all overnight symbolic tents and structures in the Capitol Mall in an action that critics argue violates the First Amendment.

House Bill 603 passed the Senate with limited opposition to clear the Legislature after receiving near-unanimous support in the House last month. The bill next heads to the desk of Gov. Brad Little, who in recent years sued protesters to have an encampment removed near the Capitol that he and the Attorney General’s Office said created a public health hazard.

Nampa Republicans Sen. Ben Adams and Rep. Bruce Skaug sponsored the bill. Adams urged fellow lawmakers to vote in favor to uphold their duty that the Capitol “remains a welcoming, safe and functional place for all citizens.”

“Currently, our statutes are vague regarding the difference between a temporary protest and a permanent encampment,” he said during debate Tuesday on the Senate floor. “This bill … provides that clarity.”

Ahead of the vote, senators shared memories from the Capitol encampment during 2022’s legislative session. They recalled lawmakers being harassed, protesters using Capitol bathrooms to clean up and brush their teeth, and damage done to the Capitol grounds and vegetation.

Photos of the encampment were distributed to lawmakers. Little’s lawsuit alleged the nearby Capitol Annex in Boise was littered with vomit, urine and feces, rotting food and drug needles, and required state police intervention.

“The pictures don’t even do it justice,” Adams said.

But opponents said curtailing citizens’ right to assemble brushed up against protected constitutional rights. The proposed law would disallow any enclosed structures, such as a tent, in the Capitol area between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. each night.

“Free speech is messy,” said Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, acknowledging the challenges police face. “But it is protected, and I’m not convinced by any stretch that we’ve reached the right balance here.”

Ruchti, an attorney, cautioned that the state could expect a lawsuit once the new limits go into effect. It would do so immediately upon Little’s signature, if he approves the new ban.

“We’re not interested in silencing speech,” Adams countered. “What we are doing is preventing our public plazas from becoming long-term residential areas, which creates significant safety, sanitation and accessibility concerns for the public.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho testified against the bill as it made its way through the legislative process. The organization pointed to recent legal precedents that ruled limitations on symbolic tents for political purposes are unconstitutional.

“We urge the governor to veto House Bill 603, which undermines Idahoans’ First Amendment rights to assemble,” Amy Dundon, the ACLU of Idaho’s legislative strategist, said in a statement to the Idaho Statesman. “It targets overnight demonstrations at Idaho’s Capitol Mall — one of the most important public forums for political speech in our state.”

One Republican joined the small contingent of Senate Democrats in voting against the bill.

“This might be inconvenient, it might be even scary at times, but I think that people have a right to free speech,” said Sen. Phil Hart, R-Kellogg. “This is ‘The People’s House,’ and I think the people ought to be able to exercise their free speech in whatever manner they want — as long as they’re not harming or threatening other people.”