New emergency bill introduced to regulate Capitol Mall grounds users

The House Ways & Means Committee has voted along party lines to introduce new emergency legislation regarding the Capitol Mall, aimed at authorizing the state Department of Administration to promulgate rules governing the property and requiring permits for various uses. State Department of Administration Director Teresa Luna said, “We believe that the state has not only the right but the responsibility to manage and maintain our properties.”

House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, noted that the state already is in the midst of a federal lawsuit over the Occupy Boise vigil across from the Capitol. House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said, “This keeps in place the judge’s order,” but allows state regulations.

Asked what prompted the bill, Luna said in addition to the Occupy Boise group, a counter-protest group had parked cars on the lawn amid their tents “in an effort to say that their cars are their voice;” they were towed because they were violating parking regulations, but since then, Luna said, they’ve started driving their cars across the law amid the tents without stopping. “They’re not parking, they’re driving,” she said. The bill likely will be scheduled for a hearing this week in the House State Affairs Committee.