Idaho Legislature: Follow the Money + Transparency in the Idaho Legislature (our opinion, posted 02/24/25)

After watching committee chairs hold “sensitive” bills hostage, we’d like to see a public Sunshine report provided for each committee’s chairs and committee members (~9 people for each committee) as well as House and Senate leadership at the start of each session.

Currently, each citizen must dig for such information using the follow-the-money tools such as those linked in References below. Most of these tools are great, but they require some diligence and expertise to use effectively.

Following the money can help citizens and legislators better understand what could motivate a legislator’s decisions. While funding doesn’t tell the entire story (sometimes honest personal conscience or coercive threats can be at play), “the money” is often a good yardstick for behavior.

For example, if a bill affects medical freedom, informed consent, or bodily autonomy, we should know whether it’s being held up by a chair who receives funding from Big pharma companies or PACs, hospitals, medical boards, insurance companies, or other groups with a dog in the fight.

Likewise, if a committee chair or member has relatives within a corporation, bureaucracy, or other organization that might be affected by a decision (as, for example, on a cloud seeding bill managed by Idaho Power and Idaho Water Resources Board), fellow legislators and voters should know that as well.

If a committee chair, committee member, or other legislator has a conflict, that person should abstain from voting, assign someone to vote in his/her stead, resign, or at the very least, reveal that conflict and explain why it’s not influencing a decision.

References:

(Some URLs shortened below to bypass Substack link bugs)

• Follow the money tools: tinyurl.com/mu43aub4

• Citizens Should be Concerned About the Rise of Corporate Lobbying in Idaho. By Heather Scott (02/23/25): repheatherscott.substac… | Substack Note: tinyurl.com/3mt7wkv4