Legislation put forward in the Idaho Legislature to abolish the Constitutional Legal Defense Fund

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho Representative Steve Berch of District 15 has put forward legislation to abolish the Constitutional Legal Defense Fund of the Idaho Legislature. In the bill’s statement of purpose, he mentioned how it cost taxpayers millions of dollars in years past. The purpose of the legal defense fund, was to defend the legislature from lawsuits in court, citing legal challenges of pieces of legislation signed into law by the Governor of Idaho. An example of this was the lawsuit filed by the Occupy Boise Movement, known as “Watters V. Otter” which ruled, tents could be symbolically set up on the Old Ada County Court House property, but the people pitching the tents could not live in them. Idaho District Federal Court Judge, Lynn Winmill, ruled against legislation passed by the Idaho Legislature designed to prevent undercover filming of Dairy Farms. This legislation, otherwise known as, “Ag-Gag” legislation by those against its passage. Had its defeat in federal court paid out of the legal defense fund at taxpayer expense According to the Legislature’s website, the legislation known as HB 34 was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee for a hearing. No further action was taken as to when a hearing will take place. More information to come as soon as it comes available. https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0034.pdf https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title67/T67CH4/SECT67-451A https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0034SOP.pdf https://www.acluidaho.org/en/news/idaho-ag-gag-law-ruled-unconstitutional-federal-court https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/minidata/ https://www.acluidaho.org/en/cases/watters-v-otter