Senate panel endorses voter-rejected constitutional amendment on admin rules

The Senate State Affairs Committee this morning endorsed HJR 5 , a constitutional amendment that also passed the Legislature unanimously in 2014 but was rejected by voters, designed to ensure that the Legislature can review and reject agency administrative rules without any possibility of veto by the governor. The Legislature does that already, but lawmakers want to enshrine that authority in the Idaho Constitution so no future court decision can take it away.

Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, noted for the record that this year’s constitutional amendment bill actually violated several legislative rules: It wasn’t introduced on or before the 36 ^th day of the legislative session; and it wasn’t transmitted from the house of origin prior to the 55 ^th legislative day. Davis said rules permit a petition process to waive that, but that hasn’t happened either. However, he also said legal theories say a Legislature can set aside its rules. “A rule is virtually repealed for the occasion when it is disregarded by those who have the power to control it, and the act of breaking it is at least a suspension of it,” Davis said. So he said there’s likely no problem, but he may submit a letter into the record addressing it. “I thought this committee needed to know and understand that,” Davis said.

HJR 5 now moves to the full Senate, where it needs two-thirds support to pass. To amend the Idaho Constitution, a measure must pass the House and Senate by two-thirds votes plus receive a majority vote at the next general election. In 2014, voters rejected the measure by just under 5,000 votes.