Protect Idaho, Not Corporations: The Fight Against S1183 and H303
As we head into what will hopefully be our final week of the session, your elected legislators have some big decisions to make — and not just about the state budget.
Two major corporations, Idaho Power and Bayer, are each pushing bills that would grant them some level of legal immunity. After digging into both proposals, it looks like if these companies can show they’ve taken minimal mitigation steps or simply include certain scientific language on their product labels, they could be shielded from future lawsuits.
It makes you wonder — why would a corporation want to avoid responsibility for its actions and decisions? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
What I can tell you is this: based on everything I’ve reviewed, I will be voting no on both of these bills.
Let’s begin with Idaho Power:
Why are they pushing so hard for this kind of legislation? I can only share my opinion, but maybe — just maybe — it has something to do with the Valley Fire. “Idaho Power has reportedly agreed to an $800,000 settlement to help the state restore winter wildlife habitat that was burned during the Valley Fire last October in the foothills east of Boise.” Read full story HERE.
We started with S1124, which failed in the Senate on a 19-16 vote. But it was quickly brought back for reconsideration by Senator Nichols. We weren’t able to stop it from being revived, so it moved to the 14th order, where it ultimately died.
But that wasn’t the end of it. A new version of the bill was introduced in Senate State Affairs — now as SB1183.
The question is: will this new bill be more citizen-friendly, or will it simply give utilities the protection they’ve been after?