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Bill to bar state enforcement of World Health Organization mandates advances from committee
Summary
Senator Foreman presented Senate Bill 1038 to prohibit Idaho and its political subdivisions from being compelled to enforce World Health Organization requirements; the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation.
Senator Dan Foreman presented Senate Bill 1038 to create a new chapter in Idaho code stating that the state and its political subdivisions “shall not be compelled to engage in the enforcement of any requirements or mandates issued by the World Health Organization.” Foreman said the Idaho attorney general reviewed the bill and advised it was constitutionally permissible because it would not prevent federal enforcement but would prevent state or local use of state resources to enforce WHO directives.
Foreman criticized the WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and said the organization is working on a global pandemic agreement that could take the form of a treaty, regulation or resolution. He cited a May 2024 letter in which the Idaho attorney general and others opposed proposed WHO revisions and suggested those changes could “impair constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.” Foreman also noted the United States’ past levels of assessed contributions to the WHO.
Representative Mickelson moved to send SB 1038 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Akhiles asked whether Idaho is presently compelled to adopt WHO mandates; Foreman responded that the bill simply codifies the state’s refusal to use state assets to enforce WHO directives and that any enforcement would be at the federal level under the supremacy clause. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.
