BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho House and Senate on Friday quickly moved to recess until April 6 as the coronavirus spread in the Statehouse.
House legislative leaders abruptly canceled all committee meetings Friday morning. Two House members — Reps. James Ruchti, a Pocatello Democrat, and Greg Chaney, a Caldwell Republican — tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. That makes six House members who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week.
House Speaker Scott Bedke, an Oakley Republican, said House leaders decided to recess given that six House members tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week. He said he knows of one staffer who also tested positive.
“When you apply the contact tracing to the six and the staff that is out, we’re going to err on the side of caution here,” Bedke said at a press conference Friday. “I’m not all that surprised. We knew it was a big possibility, and we planned for it as best we could.”
But Bedke said he has no regrets about the way he conducted safety protocols during the pandemic. Masks were not mandated at the Capitol, and many state legislators didn’t wear them or keep their distance.
“I would never tell my peers what to do with their lives,” Bedke said Friday. “We all could’ve been a little more careful. I’m not saying that we did everything perfectly, but we did it pretty well.”
Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, a Burley Republican, said senators will honor the request of House leaders so both chambers can conduct business together at the Capitol. Anthon said the recess gives lawmakers time to plan for the best use of the federal COVID-19 relief dollars coming to the state.
“We are saddened to hear about the increase in cases in the House,” Anthon said in a statement Friday. “The Senate has always understood the seriousness of COVID-19. But we respect the oath and obligation we have to do the important work of the state, and while mindful of the risks to us personally, we remain focused on the work ahead.”
Republicans Reps. Lance Clow, of Twin Falls; Ryan Kerby, of New Plymouth; Bruce Skaug, of Nampa; and Julie Yamamoto, of Caldwell, also tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week, Idaho Press reported.
Kerby is on both House Judiciary & Rules Administration and House Education committees. Three other members of the judiciary committee and two other members of the House Education committee tested positive.
Idaho’s test positivity rate for COVID-19 rose this week for the first time in more than two months. State health officials on Thursday reported that 5.5% of PCR tests were positive for COVID-19 in the past week. The state’s target is 5% or lower.
Idaho has reported more than than 1,900 deaths due to COVID-19 and nearly 177,000 confirmed and probable cases since the pandemic began.
Two senators have previously tested positive for COVID-19, and at least two staffers in the Capitol have gotten the virus.
In January, Democratic representatives with compromised immune systems and disability rights groups sued the Legislature in two separate lawsuits over the lack of precautions taken during the pandemic. Democrats voluntarily dropped their lawsuit when they got vaccinated.
As part of a settlement with disability rights groups, the Idaho Legislature will have to pay a third-party consultant who will recommend improvements to remote access of meetings during this legislative session.
“We fully intend to honor our agreement with the court and with the other side so that all Idahoans, whether they’re disabled or not, can work and can participate in the government process here in the building,” Bedke said Friday.
Idaho Democratic lawmakers last year had urged Republicans to postpone the session given the pandemic. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, a Boise Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, a Ketchum Democrat, in a released statement Friday said lawmakers “must do better” about taking safety precautions when the session returns.
“We hope our colleagues are able to heal quickly and return, so we can finish the session,” they said. “But we can’t help but be disappointed in how bad things have become at the Capitol, when we could’ve prevented this from becoming a hot spot all along.”
The Senate State Affairs Committee, which met at 8 a.m., was the only committee that continued to convene Friday morning as House lawmakers began to discuss the recess. The House Education Committee also briefly met and rushed to introduce three new bills with little discussion.
The Legislature will recess with some of Republicans’ major goals unfinished — curbing the governor’s emergency powers, providing tax relief and approving a transportation package. Lawmakers will also need to allocate some of the federal COVID-19 relief dollars within the next 30 to 60 days.
State legislators said the initial plan was to finish their regular session by the end of this month and reconvene once the U.S. Treasury issued its guidelines for states on what they can spend the federal relief on.
Senators on Thursday narrowly killed a bill that aimed to reduce property taxes by limiting local governments’ budget growth. Bedke said they now have time to work on providing some sort of property tax relief.
Bedke on Friday acknowledged the extra time would also allow Republican lawmakers to drum up support for some of their bills. But he denied that they recessed for any other reason besides health concerns around the COVID-19 outbreak.
Bedke said he expects the session to last another two weeks once lawmakers reconvene in April.
“None of the things will be left undone. It just presses pause,” Bedke said. “All the bills will be here when we get back. We have still important work to do.”
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