Property Tax Veto Override; Trump Indicted
News Roundup for Mar 28-30
Property Tax Veto Override
On Monday, Governor Little vetoed the property tax relief bill. The Senate moved quickly to alter another bill and sought to have that serve as a substitute, but the House opted instead to override the Governor’s veto and sent the original bill back to the Senate. After lengthy debate, the Senate followed suit late Wednesday to complete the veto override. The last time that occurred was in 2007.
The Governor made a statement claiming success in getting the legislature to address issues he had with the bill, alluding to a trailer bill that fixed the funding of transportation projects he had identified in his veto. However, his opposition to the removal of the March election remains. The March election is where many school bond measures and local project levies are voted on and critics point to low turnout in those elections as not truly reflecting the will of the people.
Trump Indicted
This marks the first time a former President has been indicted. Critics are quick to point out that he is also the leading candidate for the 2024 Presidential election and that this is a political vendetta. Trump also reacted that this was ‘election interference at the highest level in history’. Gov DeSantis of Florida, the next most likely GOP candidate at this point, also weighed in on the political nature of the indictment and said Florida would not assist in extradition if it comes to that.
Defenders of the move by NY DA Alvin Bragg say that ‘nobody is above the law’.
The indictment surrounds payments to Stormy Daniels though the details have yet to be unsealed. Trump is also facing court battles in Georgia over a phone call he had with the Georgia Secretary of State over the 2020 election results and the classified documents investigation that was part of the Mar A Lago raid last August.
‘TikTok’ bill - National Security or Tyranny?
Idaho has banned the use of the popular app ‘TikTok’ on state issued devices and a number of other states have done so as well. The reason cited is that TikTok is a Chinese application and there are concerns that it collects and stores data on its users that it shares with the Chinese government.
Federal legislators have proposed legislation dubbed the ‘TikTok’ bill. It would enable the US Secretary of Commerce to ban technology that would harm the US. The supporters of the legislation claim this is necessary for national security.
But opponents are alarmed at the new powers this gives to the federal government and have likened it to the Patriot Act. An example provided is that persons using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to connect to the internet could open themselves up to million dollar fines and 20 years in prison.
Tech Leaders Call for Halt on AI Development
Elon Musk and many technology leaders signed an open letter calling on all Artificial Intelligence (AI) labs to halt development for 6 months. ChatGPT-4, developed by OpenAI, was called out in the letter as the baseline beyond which no other AI platforms should be released until impact studies can be done. GPT-4 is reportedly a significant upgrade to ChatGPT (version 3) which has gotten considerable attention for its impressive ability to generate responses to questions asked by its users.
Bank Report Expected May 1st
The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs questioned members from the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Tuesday. This is in the wake of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank and overall concerns about the banking industry particularly smaller regional banks.
One camp, mostly on the Democrat side, want to blame regulation roll backs in 2018 under the Trump Administration. Another camp, mostly Republican, blame woke policies that prioritize social agendas above fiscal ones. Still another camp points to the mismanagement of the economy by the Biden Administration which caused rapid inflation and rate hikes and diminished the investments of banks like SVB in long term bonds.
Senators expressed a range of concerns including the fairness of insuring deposits above the $250,000 level. A full report from these groups is to be available by May 1st.
Legislation Roundup
Speculation is that the legislative session will finish next week. Here is the recap on the most talked about bills…
Blue indicates bills that have become law. Green indicates action since last summary. Pink are bills that have failed.
This is great news for the people of our state. The bill certainly isn’t perfect, but this shows that our representatives are listening to us and are at least trying to make things better!
Re: https://theidahovoter.substack.com/i/111733475/tiktok-bill-national-security-or-tyranny
The RESTRICT Act poses grave danger to American Freedom!
* Bill Info: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/686/all-info (This page describes the bill and its sponsors, and provides a link for your to contact your members of Congress.)
* More info: https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2/b/2b4f7206-6125-4edb-b925-7e4c64f14bdb/620D5CBA3AE75F38CE6C4D38537684C2.final-two-pager.pdf
Please call and write Sen Mike Crapo asking him to withdraw his support (yes, he's a co-sponsor!) and oppose this act:
🔥🔥🔥 TAKE ACTION:
Write Senator Crapo: https://www.crapo.senate.gov/contact/email-me
Call Senator Crapo:
- Boise Phone: (208) 334-1776
- Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Phone: (208) 522-9779
- Pocatello Phone: (208) 236-6775
- Coeur d' Alene Phone: (208) 664-5490
- Lewiston Phone: (208) 743-1492
- Twin Falls Phone: (208) 734-2515
- Washington, DC Phone: (202) 224-6142
📃 Suggested Script:
Please DO NOT SUPPORT S.686, The RESTRICT Act. While I strongly oppose TikTok, this Act proposes grave dangers to American Liberty by giving the government wide-reaching powers with little oversight. The government would have power to control and censor information and impose heavy penalties on people who attempt to avoid these powers. This broad Act could destroy the free-speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Please carefully read, consider the long-term implications of, and strongly oppose this Act!