By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff
The same day that the Idaho Capital Sun reported on Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s memorandum establishing “executive branch protocols” for the session — focused on communications both inside and outside the Statehouse — the Sun also reported on a new bill that would halt those directives.
Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, introduced legislation Jan. 21 in the House State Affairs Committee that would shield public employees from “adverse action” for communicating with legislators. Specifically, the bill would “bar employers from restricting public employees from communicating ‘in good faith’ with state lawmakers, legislative staff or committees in the Idaho Legislature,” the Sun reported.
“This is really about good governance and government transparency,” Manwaring told the House State Affairs Committee, according to the Sun.
He told the Sun that his new legislation wasn’t in response to Little’s recent memo; rather, he was prompted to introduce the bill by his experience in the Statehouse and after conversations with fellow lawmakers.
“I’ve had enough personal experience with just having issues where I feel like sometimes we’re not getting the best information, or we would just get better information if this protection was in place for employees to just be able to talk to us freely,” he told the Sun in an interview.
In response to that reporting, the Idaho Joint Democratic Caucus issued statements to statewide media, writing that the governor’s policy “comes as Little pushes budget cuts and Idahoans want straight answers about what those cuts will mean. Instead, the governor is inserting his staff between agency experts and the public.”
Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Wintrow, of Boise, stated:
“This memo doesn’t build trust; it reads like a gag order. If a cut will mean fewer services, longer waits, or higher costs pushed onto families and local communities, Idahoans deserve to hear that plainly from the people who know. Requiring agencies to clear answers through the Governor’s Office is about hiding the harm, not serving the public.”
Boise Rep. Illana Rubel, who serves as leader of the Democrats in the Idaho House, wrote:
“Legislators need straight information to do our jobs. Agency staff are the subject-matter experts, and they shouldn’t have to look over their shoulder before answering a lawmaker’s question. When communication is censored or slowed down, the Legislature makes decisions with less information, and Idahoans pay for it later. Idaho should put clear protections in place so public employees can communicate in good faith with legislators and legislative staff without fear of retaliation for being honest.”
It was immediately unclear when — or if — Manwaring’s bill would receive a full hearing in committee, which would include public testimony, prior to moving to the House.
