Promises Made, Promises Kept!
Two years ago I was honored to be elected to serve as the state representative for Bingham County. It has been an incredible experience for me and my family. I ran as a pro-family, pro-life candidate who promised to stand up for moral values, for constitutional rights, and for the ‘little man’. I promised to be fiscally conservative and to support common-sense educational policies that empower teachers and put the needs of students first. I promised to make the needs of our agricultural community a top priority, including addressing water rights issues.
Today, I stand on my record.
At the close of the 2019 session, I spearheaded the formation of a state-wide pro-family coalition, Protect Idaho Families. Together our coalition identified 9 legislative priorities for 2020. All but two of these saw legislative action and five of the nine are on now the governor’s desk awaiting his signature including:
- The Idaho Vital Statistics Act (ensuring that certificates of birth accurately reflect facts)
- The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (ensuring that females are not forced to compete unfairly against biological males)
- Simon’s Law (ensuring that critical care can’t be withdrawn from a child without parental notification and the opportunity to transfer care)
- The Abortion Trigger Bill (prohibiting elective abortion, effective upon the overturning of Roe v. Wade)
- The Safe Schools Database Act (empowering schools to address pornographic material found in online library resources our K-12 students use).
I carried two of these five and supported from the side-lines on others. I believe this was the best session we have ever had for advancing family policy issues.
I also co-sponsored two bills which successfully removed confusing exceptions from Idaho’s Constitutional Carry statute, printed several bills (which I will continue to work on) aimed at reducing the out-of-control costs of public construction, and laid the groundwork for a project to address sage grouse and the preservation of grazing rights.
When faced with tough decisions, I put the interests of tax payers and voters ahead of the interests of lobby groups and government. I believe that good government serves the people and respects their needs, not vice versa. I have consistently voted for less regulation.
I have worked hard to keep you informed and to address your concerns. I have earned the respect of my legislative peers as someone who studies and understands the issues and gained a reputation for being one of the hardest working legislators in Boise.