Latest news with #Beiswenger
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Idaho House passes revised ‘medical freedom' bill, after tense debate
A person stands in front of the Liberty Bell replica at the Idaho State Capitol building in Boise on Jan. 11, 2023. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) After a long debate Wednesday, the Idaho House passed — on a nearly veto-proof majority — a bill that would ban business, governments and schools from requiring medical interventions. House Bill 472 is the House's revised version of a so-called medical freedom bill that Gov. Brad Little recently vetoed. The House's 40-minute debate Wednesday turned contentious and oftentimes definitional. Bill cosponsor Rep. Robert Beiswenger, R-Horseshoe Bend, once refused to answer a question from another lawmaker. Opening the House's debate, Beiswenger said the bill 'prevents medical force, medical mandates. People can choose them if they want to, but they don't have to if they don't want to. You can ask people to leave your place of business. But you can't force them into medical treatments like vaccines or other kinds of treatments.' A quarter of the Idaho House's 70 lawmakers rose to debate the bill, which was evenly split in support and opposition. But the House ultimately passed the bill on a 46-21 vote, with one fewer vote in support than the House's vote on the original bill, Senate Bill 1023, two weeks ago. (Three House members were absent for Wednesday's vote. None were absent for the original bill vote.) Critics' central concern on the bill was that it would prevent workplaces from refusing service — or entrance of their facilities — to sick people. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Asked three times if the bill would prevent that by Rep. Dan Garner, R-Clifton, Beiswenger replied by suggesting he believed it would not. 'Can the business ask someone to leave — force someone to leave, if they feel like they are sick?' Garner asked. 'Again, the bill doesn't address it directly. But I believe a business would be within their rights to ask someone to leave if they are sick,' Beiswenger replied. Garner didn't seem convinced. 'This bill, to me, goes a step too far (in) that it imposes someone's freedom or rights on their private property or private business,' he said. Debating in favor of the bill, Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston, argued that debate was straying from the bill's intent. CONTACT US Debating against the bill, Rep. Ben Fuhriman, R-Shelley, and Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise, referenced the bill's specific language. 'I don't care what your intentions are. A law is a law,' Fuhriman said. 'And it's written right here on page two, line 29: A business entity doing business in the state of Idaho shall not refuse to provide any service, product, admission to a venue, or transportation to a person — because that person has or has not received or used a medical intervention.' After Gov. Little vetoes Idaho 'medical freedom' bill, Legislature pursues tweaks Like the original bill that Little vetoed, two new bills introduced this week in the House and Senate would pursue similarly broad medical mandate bans. The bills would ban businesses and any Idaho governments — local, county or state — from requiring medical interventions for employment, admission to venues, transportation, or providing products or services. The bill would've also extended to schools in Idaho — private or public — and colleges, universities and trade schools, blocking them from requiring medical interventions for school attendance, employment, or entrance into campus or school buildings. Under the bills, medical interventions include 'a procedure, treatment, device, drug injection, medication, or action taken to diagnose, prevent, or cure a disease or alter the health or biological function of a person.' (The House tweaked the bill Wednesday to add a comma between 'drug' and 'injection.') The House's revised bill, House Bill 472, adds language specifying that the bill wouldn't overrule existing powers of school districts, or school board trustees — as already granted in Idaho law. After passing the House on Wednesday, the bill is headed to the Senate for consideration The Senate's revised bill, Senate Bill 1210, exempts day cares and adds language specifying the school medical mandate ban provision is subject to various other Idaho laws that let school boards block sick students from attending, spell out parental rights, and more. The Senate amended its version on Wednesday by tweaking the new language related to schools. It's not immediately clear when the Senate will vote on the amended bill, or consider the House's version. To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate, and avoid the governor's veto. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Idaho House passes bill banning government and school mask mandates
The Idaho House of Representatives in session at the State Capitol building in Boise on Jan. 23, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The Republican-controlled Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday preventing the state, public schools, institutions of higher education, government officials, local units of government and health districts from mandating the use of masks to slow the spread of an infectious disease. Rep. Robert Beiswenger, R-Horseshoe Bend, sponsored House Bill 32. 'This simply prohibits government employees, government officials, from imposing mask mandates for the purpose of virus infectious disease transmission – from forcing that on citizens,' Beiswenger said during debate on the House floor Wednesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'This bill increases the amount of freedom Idahoans will have,' Beiswenger added. The state of Idaho never had a mask mandate, and it has been years since school districts, heath districts and local governments required masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19. The bill states that it does not apply to hospitals and health care facilities. There are also exceptions in the bill for people working in health care settings, or people working around hazardous materials and in industrial settings where a face covering is mandatory for protection. Rep. Rick Cheatum, R-Pocatello, voted against the bill after expressing concern it prevents local schools and governments from making local decisions. In addition to serving in the Idaho Legislature, Cheatum is a member of the Pocatello City Council. 'This bill is another preemption of local authority,' Cheatum said. 'We pass a bill like this, and who knows what we may be facing in the future at the local level. Right now, there's an outbreak of tuberculosis in the center part of our country, and masks are being recommended to protect those people.' Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, voted against the bill after asking Beiswenger how hard it would be to change the law if the state ran into a problem in the future where masks were needed. Following a short debate, the Idaho House voted 51-17 to pass House Bill 32. Nine house Republicans joined all eight Democrats who were present on the floor Wednesday in voting against the bill. House Bill 32 heads next to the Idaho Senate for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘My body, my choice': Idaho House committee passes bill to prohibit government mask mandates
A protester's sign encouraging no COVID-19-related mandates rests against an end table in the Idaho House's lobby at the Statehouse in Boise, Idaho, on Nov. 15, 2021. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) A bill to prohibit government mask mandates is moving forward to the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives. The House State Affairs Committee in a 13-2 vote on Monday morning advanced House Bill 32, a bill that would prohibit the state, cities, counties, public health districts, school districts and state officers from mandating the use of masks, face shields or coverings to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. All Republicans on the committee voted in favor of the bill, while its two Democrats voted against it. The state of Idaho never had a mask mandate during the pandemic and local governments, like the city of Boise, haven't issued a mask mandate or masking recommendations since the COVID-19 pandemic, when nearly 4,600 Idahoans died from the virus between 2020 and 2022, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bill does include an exemption for hospitals, health care workers and vocational sessions where wearing protective facemasks is mandatory, such as the welding industry. Bill sponsor Rep. Robert Beiswenger, R-Horseshoe Bend, said the bill would not cost any taxpayer dollars, and it would give Idahoans more freedom because they wouldn't have to worry about getting arrested or fines from officials for not wearing a mask. Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise, asked Beiswenger if he had consulted with any health officials when drafting the bill. 'No, I didn't,' Beiswenger said. 'This is more of a moral issue here.' Health experts have stated that wearing a mask can help lower the risk of respiratory virus transmission. According to the CDC, when worn by a person with an infection, masks reduce the spread of the virus to others. Masks can also protect wearers from breathing in infectious particles. The bill is one of many attempts Idaho legislators have made to prohibit government mask mandates. Last year a nearly identical bill, House Bill 493, passed the House, but it was not introduced to the Idaho Senate. Nine people testified in favor of the bill, with some arguing that mask mandates are 'tyranny,' others pointing to their Christian faith, and some arguing that masks do not prevent the spread of viruses. Yvonne St Cyr testified in favor of the bill. St Cyr was recently pardoned from President Donald Trump for felony charges related to obstructing and interfering with law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Weeks before her Jan. 6 arrest, St Cyr was arrested after protesting outside a Central District Health board meeting where the board was expected to vote on a local mask mandate, the AP News previously reported. St Cyr was originally arrested under a trespassing charge, according to the Boise Police Department. 'My body, my choice,' St Cyr told the committee. 'I'm a sovereign being, and no one's going to tell me that I need to cover my mouth and breathe. My breath is sacred, and I will fight with every breath I have to make sure that my freedoms are not taken away. This mask mandate was taking away my freedom… I'm a healthy woman, and I wasn't going to be unhealthy because somebody was scared or feared a disease.' Two people testified in opposition to the bill, including Heather Stout who said during the COVID-19 pandemic, her family was terrified of contracting the virus because she had a member with an autoimmune disease. 'This is not a question of personal freedoms,' Stout said. 'This is about our humanity, about how we care for our neighbors and our communities. Please continue to allow our state officials to help curb the progression and spread of contagious and infectious diseases by any means possible.' Kelly Packer, the executive director of the Association of Idaho Cities, also opposed the bill, arguing it blocks elected officials' authority to make informed decisions, and potentially affects them when making decisions in the future. The committee voted to send the bill to the House floor with a recommendation that it pass. If passed by the House, the bill will move to the Senate for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
