by Logan Finney, Idaho Reports
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee introduced legislation on Monday to forbid private and public entities from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of service or employment.
Sen. Ben Adams presented Senate Bill 1088, the Coronavirus Stop Act, which he said applies to state and local governments and private businesses.
“It ensures that citizens of Idaho, people that reside in this state, are not being discriminated against – whether they have or have not received the coronavirus vaccine,” Adams said.
The bill mirrors legislation that Gov. Brad Little vetoed in 2022 over concerns it “significantly expands government overreach into the private sector.” The Senate failed to override that veto.
The bill also does not include a sunset clause, the namesake for the original Coronavirus Pause Act, which would have expired one year after the termination of all states of emergency related to the virus.
Adams said he is optimistic the legislation will make it into law this session, unlike the previous attempt.
“In last year’s legislation it was a criminal penalty. We have adjusted that to be a civil affair with a dollar amount for statutory damages,” Adams said.
Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, said she will have questions about the bill’s impact on private businesses at the public hearing.
Rental application fees
Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, introduced a bill in the same committee that would allow renters to recoup application fees in certain instances.
Senate Bill 1089 would require landlords who charge an application fee to disclose to applicants a good faith estimate of monthly rent and non-rent costs for the unit, as well as the criteria used to evaluate applicants and the date the unit will become available.
“If you’re paying an application fee, then you should expect there to be a process, and it should be applied fairly,” Ruchti said.
If the terms of the rental agreement later do not match the information that was provided in the disclosure, then the tenant could refuse to sign and demand their application fee back from the landlord.
“It allows everybody to gather the information they need, so a family can really look at what they can afford,” Ruchti said. He sponsored a bipartisan bill last year to regulate rental fees, which failed in the House.
Crimes against children
Sen. Doug Okuniewicz, R-Hayden, presented a bill that would allow police departments to destroy computer equipment used in crimes against children, such as child abuse or pornography cases.
Okuniewicz said the issue was brought to his attention by a police department detective, and the legislation is modeled after a similar section of code on drug seizures.
“One of the things we’re trying to address is all the computers and electronic storage devices that are used in these internet-based crimes,” Okuniewicz said. “Police departments are required to hang on to them, store them – at a cost to the taxpayers – and then once that sentence has been served, return these items to the convicted criminals. Purged, but still returned to them.”
Under Senate Bill 1087, any person who pleads guilty to enticing or exploiting a child would forfeit to the state any property used to commit the crime or derived from proceeds of the crime. Law enforcement could then retain and destroy the equipment, rather than storing it to return after the sentence.
The committee also introduced Senate Bill 1086 from Ruchti. That bill would extend the amount of time a minor who is a victim of sexual abuse can file a tort claim notice against a government entity or employee to five years, bringing that statute of limitations into line with other sections of code related to sexual abuse of children.
