Legislative authority over drugs
Opinion contributor Art da Rosa took a closer look at House Joint Resolution 4 this week, a ballot question which would amend our state constitution to remove drug legalization from the initiative process. Is this a good idea? Or is it a step in the wrong direction?
Set marijuana policy itself aside for a moment and look only at the structure of what the Legislature is doing. HJR 4 invokes the exact principle this piece opened with — that lawmaking power belongs in one elected, deliberative body — and writes it permanently into the state constitution. But it does so for exactly one subject, at exactly the moment that subject threatens to be decided against the Legislature’s wishes by initiative, while leaving every other subject, including a wholesale rewrite of the state’s approach to abortion law, fully open to the same process it’s foreclosing here.
Labrador: Holding Meta Accountable
Parents are the first line of defense for children in Idaho, and that role depends on accurate information. A mother deciding whether her thirteen-year-old can have an Instagram account is relying on what the company says the product does. When a company misrepresents that, the parent loses the ability to make the decision at all. Consumer protection law exists for exactly this reason. The requirement is that a company tell the truth about what it is selling, and Meta purposefully misled the public about the safety of its platforms. Enforcing that requirement is not the government substituting its judgment for a parent’s. It is the government making sure the parent has what she needs to exercise her own.
McGrane: From Timber to Textbooks
As Secretary of State, I serve on the Idaho Land Board alongside Governor Brad Little, Attorney General Raúl Labrador, State Controller Brandon Woolf, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield. Together, we oversee nearly 2.5 million acres of state endowment land, much of which was granted to Idaho at statehood for a specific purpose: to generate revenue for public schools and other beneficiaries.
At our recent meeting, the Land Board approved a record $132.5 million distribution to Idaho’s schools, universities, and other beneficiaries, surpassing last year’s record of $117.3 million.
I had all of this on my mind during a recent visit to Lewiston, where I got to see two very different sides of Idaho’s forest products industry.
Simpson on the move
Earlier this week, I sent out a survey asking Idahoans if they support protecting women’s sports. Despite this being an absolutely common-sense issue, given the recent WNBA headlines, I felt it was necessary to reaffirm my commitment to protecting women’s athletics and spaces.
As Idaho’s only appropriator, I take the responsibility of bringing taxpayer dollars back to Idaho very seriously. Personally, I’d rather see taxpayer dollars go to Idaho communities rather than communities in New York or California, wouldn’t you? I recently advanced funding for the USDA-ARS University of Idaho Aberdeen Research and Extension Center Potato Breeding Facilities Project in Aberdeen.
As Congress returns in the next few days, I am looking forward to a productive week back in DC. As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact my office or send me an email.
Press releases
Lenney pushes back
Over on X, Sen. Brian Lenney responded to Attorney General Labrador’s newsletter regarding the Meta settlement:
$17.1 billion over ten years (a third of it contingent) against $200 billion a year in revenue?
For that, Meta bought a decade of goodwill, a press release from 47 states, and its preferred policy architecture entered as a court order that nobody had to vote on.
That’s not a company that got spanked.
Video of the day
Rufo and Lomez had a robust discussion recently about the place that social media has in our society in light of the Meta settlement and the Lindsey Clancy trial. Worth watching, whether you’re a parent or not:
Remember to check out all the tools at Idaho Insider, including the Judicial Branch, which I’ve been building out over the past few days. I’m also working on an ambitious project to catalog all of the major state agencies, bringing you information about the bureaucracies that truly run our government. Stay tuned!
Once again, a big thank you to sponsors Lynn Bradescu’s Boise Realty, Money Metals, and New Saint Andrews College. Thank you also to all the paid subscribers who make it possible for me to do what I do, as well as all the readers who are constantly encouraging me to keep it up. I appreciate you!
Feature image from KTVB.