1. HB 78: The first option is HB 78, which aims to boost the homeowner’s exemption from its current cap of $125,000 to $224,000, bringing it to the level it would be at today if the Legislature hadn’t capped it in 2016. The bill will also ensure the exemption stays current by restoring its annual index, so it adjusts with changing home prices.

2. HB 77: The second option is HB 77. It allocates $150 million in state revenue to provide property tax relief exclusively for homeowners. The focus on homeowners is warranted. Since 2016, homeowners have experienced an increase of 20%, on average, in their property taxes. Commercial properties, on the other hand, have seen a 22% decrease in their property taxes during that same time period.

3. HB 79: HB 79 is the third option. It provides school districts with much-needed funding to pay off supplemental levies and bonds. Once those are paid off, it provides school districts funds they can use for maintenance needs. However, it also takes away $50 million from the September Special Session’s newly established school operations fund, jeopardizing our ability to increase teacher and education support staff salaries. The funds are being taken from already underfunded parts of the budget, creating a gap in the General Fund and ultimately affecting school funding.

I’m looking forward to hearing more about these proposals, but I thought I would get some basic information out to you about them. I heard about the need for property tax relief again and again during the campaign, so this issue is important to me.

Topics On My Mind: Ballot Initiatives, SJR 101 and Irony
“Irony is just honesty with the volume cranked up.” — George Saunders

SJR 101 has reared its ugly head. It is an effort to amend the Idaho Constitution to establish extremely restrictive requirements for citizens to get an initiative on the ballot. The new standards would require those seeking signatures to obtain, from each of the 35 legislative districts, an amount of signatures equal in number to at least 6% of the legal voters at the time of the last general election.

This would make Idaho’s standard one of the strictest in the nation. More importantly, it would make the standard virtually impossible to achieve. Anybody who has worked on one of these signature-gathering efforts to get an initiative on the ballot can tell you how extremely difficult it is to succeed even under the current standards.

Under SJR 101, any of the 35 legislative districts could veto the other 34. If some special interest opposes a citizen ballot initiative, under this proposed new law, it could concentrate its money in one legislative district to defeat the effort. Under this standard, we wouldn’t have Medicaid expansion or a way of pushing the Legislature to solve problems it has been ignoring for years.

If the standard being proposed by SJR 101 sounds familiar, it should. It is the exact standard the Idaho Legislature enacted in a statute back in 2021. It was Senate Bill 1110. The Idaho Supreme Court struck down that statute for being unconstitutional.

In doing so, the Court noted our own Idaho Constitution acknowledges all political power is inherent in the people and initiative powers are fundamental rights. Justice Brody found that SB 1110 was “not reasonable and workable.” She also concluded SB 1110 “turns a perceived fear of ‘tyranny of the majority’ into an actual ‘tyranny of the minority.'”

The true irony in all of this? It is that this proposal would enshrine in our Idaho Constitution the very standard our Idaho Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional because it made the initiative process illusory. It would still be a right the people had under the Constitution, but in name only. It would be meaningless.

A Personal Note: Worker’s Compensation & PTSI
As a co-sponsor of HB 18, I am proud to support this critical legislation that will provide the necessary compensation and treatment to our first responders suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI).

The increased role of firefighters in responding to accidents, natural disasters, and shootings has resulted in a higher exposure to traumatic events and an increase in PTSI cases. This trauma can have long-lasting effects on the mental and physical health of our firefighters, affecting their ability to perform their duties effectively.

HB 18 will remove the sunset provision from Senate Bill 1028, passed in 2019, providing workers’ compensation coverage for first responders with PTSI. According to the fiscal note, total claims for the three years of coverage have been less than $1.5 million, and the base rates for employees in these classes are lower than the rate set in 2019. This bill will take effect on July 1, 2023.

We must stand behind our first responders and support this bill. Our cities in Idaho recognize the importance of supporting our heroes and strengthening the safety of our citizens. Let’s do our part to help those who protect us every day.

What we have not begun to tackle this session is property tax relief; increased funding for education; our housing crisis; or a myriad of other issues that have the potential to make the lives of Idaho families better. In short, the Idaho Legislature is choosing culture wars over solving real problems.

Here’s just one specific example. Earlier in the session, a legislator from north Idaho presented a piece of legislation in Senate State Affairs committee that seeks to remove the requirement to obtain a marriage license. Why? Well, that is the question I asked myself. I even met with the legislator to seek answers. While he had his explanations, I was left unsatisfied. In short, he wanted to get the government out of the business of approving marriages.

Right now in Idaho, to have a legal marriage, one must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk and obtain documentation from whomever performs the marriage ceremony. The bill sponsor wanted to minimize the role of the county clerk’s office and shift some of the most important responsibilities over to the marriage ceremony officiant.

Here’s the problem. Currently, one of the key roles played by the clerk is to provide a sworn statement stating the participants to the marriage are of the proper age, not related, and otherwise qualified to be married under the laws of the State of Idaho.

Shifting those key responsibilities to whomever is conducting the marriage ceremony causes me serious concern. Nowadays, anybody can get on the internet and qualify to perform the ceremony. Taking the clerk’s office out of the process will only lead to abuses and trouble. The system isn’t broke, so we shouldn’t fix it.

Just Say No to Vouchers/ESAs
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I am adamantly against vouchers/ESAs. In fact, if I could only accomplish one thing this session, it would be to defeat this proposal. That is saying a lot, because there are many things I would like to accomplish or defeat this year!

Let me take a moment to explain why I feel so strongly about this issue. School choice already exists in Idaho. Those choices include traditional public schools, magnet schools, open enrollment options, 80 plus brick and mortar charter schools, an online charter school option, and funding for struggling families which they can use for education needs. This is not even an exhaustive list. Additional options include private schools, religious schools and home schools. This is why the Heritage Foundation ranks Idaho #3 in the nation in overall education freedom on its Education Freedom Report Card.

In Idaho, parents are simply free to decide where and how their children will receive their education. Voucher/ESA programs simply divert funding from public schools to private, religious and home schools, which can lead to unequal opportunities for students. It creates a two-tiered system where some students have access to resources and opportunities, while others are left behind.

We must give recent investments in public education time to work properly. Passing any kind of legislation that diverts public funds to private, religious and home schools will completely derail education for students in Idaho.

Here are five additional reasons why I oppose vouchers/ESAs:

FIRST: I am against the voucher / ESA proposals because they spend public money without accountability.

Under these proposals, private schools, religious schools and home schools do not have to provide reports to the state or use state education standards. They can spend public money without public accountability.

SECOND: Our state public school budgets run the risk of growing out of control if we must fund a voucher/ESA program.

Just ask other states who have listened to these sorts of clarion calls in the past. In 2011, Indiana created a voucher system. We watched a presentation on day one of this session from a former rural superintendent from Indiana. He explained how Indiana came to regret that choice. He explained how expensive it is to fund an entirely new public education system through vouchers. Rural schools districts suffer the most because public funding can’t keep up. Property taxes will increase. Wisconsin has experienced something similar, as have other states who went the voucher route. We must learn from their mistakes, not repeat them.

THIRD: Most of the families who use the program will be families who are already sending their children to private and religious schools or who are home schooling their children.

In other words, taxpayer money will be used to subsidize a choice these families have already made.

FOURTH: The voucher / ESA system is supported by Wayne Hoffman and the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

That’s enough for me to reject the proposal, frankly. But remember this — Wayne Hoffman, the head of the IFF, holds public education in high disdain.

In 2019, he wrote this in an opinion piece: “I don’t think government should be in the education business. It is the most virulent form of socialism (and indoctrination thereto) in America today.”

The voucher / ESA proposal is simply Wayne Hoffman’s chosen vehicle to run public education off the cliff.

FIFTH: Creating a voucher / ESA system would violate our obligations to uphold the Idaho Constitution.

Article IX, Section 5 prevents appropriating public monies for religious schools. But even if proponents of vouchers can find a way around that prohibition, there is Article IX, Section 1. It is the constitutional provision that states, “it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.”

But what is lesser known from that provision is the line which precedes it. That line explains why the framers felt public education was so important. That line reads: “The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.”

Public schools serve as a cornerstone for communities, providing education and opportunities to students of all backgrounds and abilities. The role of public schools is to ensure that every child has access to a quality education, regardless of their family’s financial situation. That’s why I firmly oppose voucher/ESA programs that take away funding and opportunities from our students.

The Governor’s plan is a comprehensive approach to improving public education in Idaho. It will benefit all of our citizens, particularly our students, teachers and support staff.

One of the key features of the plan is an increase in starting teacher pay and a strengthening of existing teacher pay. This is a crucial step in attracting and retaining talented and experienced educators. Based on current pay scales throughout the country, this proposal will bring Idaho’s starting teacher pay into the top 10 states in the nation. Additionally, the plan includes provisions to close the salary gap for support staff, which will help to ensure that all of our education professionals are fairly compensated for their hard work.

The plan also includes $30 million for IT development, which will help to modernize our schools and prepare our students for the workforce of the future. Furthermore, the plan provides $8,500 to graduating Idaho high school students to use for college, which will help make higher education more accessible for all. If passed, this money will be available to qualifying members of the Class of 2024.

The plan also invests $110 in community college and university infrastructure, which will help to ensure that our students have access to the best possible educational facilities. Additionally, the plan allocates almost $300 million dollars to repair bridges, airports, and pedestrian paths across the state, which will help improve transportation and accessibility for all Idaho citizens. In addition, these improvements support economic development and job creation.

The plan also invests $225 million in federal funds to improve broadband infrastructure, which will help to bridge the digital divide and ensure that all Idahoans have access to the internet. Additionally, the plan includes $115 million dollars to support our water infrastructure, $100 million dollars to outdoor recreation, and $15 million dollars for childcare grants.

Lastly, the plan sets aside $120 million dollars for property tax mitigation, which will help to alleviate the burden of property taxes for many Idaho citizens.

Overall, I believe this plan is a strong step forward for our State, and I will be working to support its passage in the legislature. I urge you to voice your support for this plan as well. Together, we can work to improve public education and opportunities for all Idahoans. Learn More

We are at a Crossroads
We are at a crossroads when it comes to public education. Governor Little and many members of the Idaho Legislature — both Republicans and Democrats — support increasing funding for public education with our budget surpluses. We are at a critical juncture in our state’s history, and what we choose to do this legislative session will determine which path we take. Will it be one that creates economic opportunity and shared values that make Idaho a welcoming place for our children and grandchildren, or will it be one which leads to economic stagnation and squandered opportunity?

I explained above how I believe we achieve the former. I am deeply disappointed to see hard line opposition favoring the latter. The extreme wing of the Idaho Republican Party and its partner, the Idaho Freedom Foundation, favor a path that defunds public education and, ultimately, leads to its demise. It is clear they do not understand the importance of investing in our children’s future and how it will benefit our entire state.

GOP Chair Dorothy Moon has been rallying opposition to Governor Little’s plan within her own party. It is shocking to see the infighting play out so publicly. The vehicle Dorothy Moon, the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the extreme wing of the Idaho Legislature has decided to use is vouchers / Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Vouchers / ESAs will devastate our public schools, especially our rural communities’ public schools.

Governor Little’s plan is a smart and responsible approach to funding public education, and it will provide the resources our schools need to ensure that every student has access to a high-quality education. It is a clear plan that aims for students to have the best, and every Idahoan should be able to benefit from it.

I will continue to fight for our public schools. Investing in our children is not only the right thing to do, it is also the best investment we can make for Idaho’s future.

A Personal Note: Esoteric Laws Have no Place in Idaho
Last Monday, I made the motion to “not print” a bill that would have removed the exceptions for rape and incest from Idaho’s recently upheld abortion law. I have heard from many women in my district about how challenging pregnancies can become. I was proud when the Senate State Affairs Committee supported my motion and voted to reject the bill.

This bill was introduced in an attempt “to protect women.” The proposed legislation, however, would have had the opposite effect. If we remove exceptions for rape and incest, we are denying any recourse for women and girls who have suffered through such horrific acts.

In fact, most countries worldwide allow abortion in cases of rape and/or incest, either through laws enumerating these grounds or by permitting abortion on request. We need to remember that this is about helping women who have been victimized by terrible acts—not punishing them further by having the state deny them the ability to seek medical treatment.

I have been elected by my peers as the Senate Assistant Minority Leader. This role will give me the opportunity to meet with the Governor and Senate majority leadership throughout the session. I hope to use these opportunities to find common ground on important issues like public education funding, property tax relief and housing affordability.

I will serve on the following committees: Judiciary & Rules, State Affairs, and Commerce & Human Resources. I’m excited about these committee assignments.

The top issues this session will be public education funding and property tax relief. Expect concerted efforts to create an education voucher system. I will be fighting against that effort. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to make sure good policy is passed, and to ensure the experiences of everyday Idahoans are considered.

I will send out regular updates throughout the session, which is underway now – follow along in this newsletter, and on the Legislature’s website.

A Personal Note
Dear Constituents,

I am honored to have been elected as your Idaho State Senator, and I am excited to begin serving our community.

During my first week in office, I have been working hard to hit the ground running. I have met with my colleagues in the Senate, as well as representatives from various organizations, to discuss the important issues facing Idaho.

I am fully committed to fighting for the needs and interests of my hometown and to making sure your voices are heard in Idaho’s Capitol.

In the coming weeks and months, I will be working on a number of initiatives that I believe will have a positive impact on our community. Some of the issues I will be focusing on include

• Increasing public education funding
• Improving our judicial selection process
• Protecting the rights of first responders to obtain the workers’ compensation benefits they deserve

I will also be holding monthly town hall meetings to hear directly from you about the issues that matter most to you and your family. I encourage you to reach out to my office at any time with your thoughts and concerns.

I am honored to be your State Senator, and I look forward to working with you to make Idaho a better place for all of us. Let’s make Idaho a place our children and grandchildren want to live and raise their families.

Topics On My Mind: Collaboration & Public Education
As your State Senator, I am honored to serve and represent our community in the Idaho Legislature. One of my top priorities is to work in a bipartisan manner to achieve progress for our state.

I believe that by collaborating with my colleagues across the aisle, we can find common ground and pass legislation that benefits all Idahoans. This includes finding solutions to fully fund public education, which is essential for the future of our state and our children and grandchildren.

I also believe that investing in public education is one of the most important steps we can take to ensure a strong and prosperous economic future for Idaho. This means working to ensure that our schools have the resources they need to provide a high-quality education for every student, regardless of their background or circumstances.

Last August, I worked together with the Governor to pass an historic public education funding increase. This year, the Governor’s budget proposals increase pay for teachers and support staff, help Idaho high school students go on to college, and empower our public educators.

Hard line opposition to this plan has already been seen from some of the more extreme members of the majority party. They don’t agree with increasing funding for public education and would rather pour that money into a voucher system that would shift taxpayer money from our local public schools to private schools, religious schools and home schools. This would devastate our public education system, especially our rural schools.

I will work tirelessly to find solutions that meet the needs of our community. I encourage all of my constituents to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns they may have.

I look forward to working with you to make Idaho a better place for all of us.

During the Special Session, they shoved their way past Idaho State Police officers, broke a window in the Capitol, demanded that legislators kowtow to their views, bullied their way into committee rooms, and refused to leave when their actions violated rules of decorum. In short, they behaved like anarchists, not members of a democratic republic.

They are a presence with which we must reckon, and we better do it soon. They are gathering power and influence while thoughtful members of society either ignore them or convince themselves their ideas are so lacking in merit that nobody will take them seriously. Either approach is a mistake and will lead to these groups gaining more influence with policymakers to Idaho’s detriment.

Thus far, politicians, political parties, and elected officials have made little effort to understand these groups, their goals, and their methods. These groups have little patience for our democratic institutions, our legislative processes, or public criticism. They have little use for experts, science, data, or logic. And they have little interest in dialogue, compromise, being respectful of others, or exercising compassion and empathy. In short, they reject our form of government and our society’s way of thoughtfully solving its problems.

During my time in the military in the late 80s and early 90s, when people would hear I was from Idaho, they would say in response either “potatoes” or “Aryan Nations.” That was what they knew about Idaho. Those two things. One brought pride, and the other brought immeasurable shame. It took us years to rid Idaho of the Aryan Nations and even longer to cleanse our great State of the reputation that came along with their stench.

Today, Idaho has become a destination for young professionals seeking fair wages and challenging jobs, young families who enjoy the lifestyle provided by our access to public lands and water, and retirees seeking a sense of community and belonging. When I think of the progress we have made, I am filled with hope for our future. But I also recognize we are at a turning point.

If we do not take action now to push back against these groups, Idaho will be saddled with what could prove to be an even more harmful reputation and, just as importantly, we will find our democratic institutions damaged beyond repair. Idaho’s employers will struggle to attract the best and brightest to their doors. Our children and grandchildren will choose to leave, building their futures in states with “less crazy” on display and more compassion for others.

While many who associate themselves with these modern agitators may just be lost or misled, there is ample evidence that a strong current of racism and authoritarianism fuels the movements. The bottom line is we cannot stand idly by and let these groups gather power. It is happening. For the sake of Idaho’s future, it must be stopped.

If you agree with me and recognize the urgency of this situation, I hope you will consider making a donation to my campaign to support proactive leadership in Idaho. It’s what we deserve.

Thank you,

J.R.

James Ruchti

From our earliest days, Idahoans knew the role hard work played in the success of building our towns, our schools, and our future. They knew in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries that survival in the rugged mountains, old-growth forests, and windswept plains of Idaho required not only self-reliance and self-confidence, but also a willingness to come together to build and improve communities. It was as true in Idaho’s mining and logging towns as it was in our farming and railroad communities. The dignity of work wasn’t just important for its inherent value. It actually built things. It made lives better. It created safer communities. It paved the way for a better future.

Labor union men and women played a vital role in making those things happen. Union members built transportation routes, grew local economies, made the companies for which they worked more successful, and they provided a tax base for local governments to create school systems and government services needed by growing families. Labor unions members also fought for safer working conditions, employment stability, better wages and improved working hours.

Along the way, Idaho’s labor unions promoted the value of hard work as a social compact upon which society and its workers could rely. As Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown puts it, “The dignity of work means hard work should pay off for everyone, no matter who you are or what kind of work you do.”

Labor unions continue to play an important role in our communities. For that reason, I spend time listening to their concerns and ensuring I understand their challenges. Just in the last several months, I have met with leaders from the local firefighters union, AFL-CIO, and the local teachers union. These meetings are vital to my ability to represent working men and women throughout our community.

I look forward to continuing to work with union workers throughout Idaho. Working Idahoans need someone in their corner, fighting for their rights to live and work to their full potential. I look forward to fulfilling that role in the state legislature.

If this sounds like the kind of leadership you’d like to see in our State, I hope you’ll consider supporting my campaign as it enters its final stages. Whether you can make a donation to help me hire vital support staff during the legislative session, or you can display a lawn sign to help get out the vote, your contribution is very much appreciated.

Thank you,

J.R.

James Ruchti

This past week, we officially kicked off our weekly volunteering shifts. Volunteers will be able to sign up to join us (in-person or virtually) any Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday now through election day. We are hoping supporters will become regular volunteers, but whether you can participate two days a week, once a week, once every other week or once a month, we really appreciate your time and efforts to get good people elected to public office.

At the link below, choose any dates that work for you! If you can’t make any of these times work but would like to get involved, let us know, and we will find a better time for you!

As many of you know, Governor Little has called for a Special Session of the Idaho Legislature so it can consider legislation related to legal liability immunity and election issues. The Special Session will take place on Monday, August 24th.

The election legislation is designed to ensure election offices around the State of Idaho have the resources they need to do their jobs under these unprecedented circumstances. Election offices rely heavily on volunteers to conduct elections, many of whom are retirees who want to serve their communities by helping to ensure elections are conducted fairly and efficiently.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, election officials worry volunteers will be hard to come by. This could lead to issues getting ballots tallied efficiently since early voting is expected to be a significantly larger portion of the vote total than in years past. I have seen some of the proposed legislation and feel the Legislature is on the right track to curb this potential challenge.

As to the liability immunity legislation, I have serious concerns about the protections being proposed for corporations, governmental entities and other businesses. The initial drafts of the legislation were pretty alarming, but thankfully each new draft has reigned in the excesses. Much of the credit for that goes to the chairs of the relevant committees who are trying to strike the right balance. I want to see how the process plays out before making a final judgment.

To be clear, I don’t believe legislation is necessary in this area, but since some form of legislation will apparently be passed, I am eager to see that it is as harmless as possible. I plan on speaking about this more throughout my campaign, and I am happy to discuss it with you in more detail if you are interested.

If these sound like the kinds of decisions you’d like to see made in the legislature, I hope you will consider supporting my campaign with a donation. Today, your contribution would allow my campaign to maintain the staff we need to make a real, long term impact in Pocatello, and throughout the State.

We have made some important progress in the campaign so far. My campaign team and I are working hard to reach out to local voters and encourage them to vote absentee in this unique election season.

In our most recent day of action, we gathered over 20 volunteers in-person and online to make calls to Pocatello voters. We made over 850 calls and helped over 50 people request their absentee ballots for the November 3rd election.

If you haven’t requested your absentee ballot yet, I ask that you visit the link below. In just a few clicks, you can apply to receive your ballot in September. During these unpredictable times, it is the safest, easiest, and most certain option.

Beginning in August, we will be scheduling weekly volunteer sessions. If you’d like to join our efforts, sign up for more information at the link below.

In addition to doing voter outreach, I’m also meeting with local officials, teachers, business leaders and others to learn about the challenges they are facing and what the legislature can do to help.

Outside of the election, I’m also spending time outdoors. Wendy and I recently returned from Redfish Lake where we spent time with family and are looking forward to heading to Island Park shortly to see more family. Life is always good on a hiking trail, a fishing stream, or mountain lake. I hope all of you are getting away and spending time with your families.

Sincerely,
J.R.
James Ruchti