Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Disaster Emergency Authority topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House approves bill clarifying legislative role in state disaster emergencies
Summary
House Bill 409 clarifies how the legislature can terminate a declared disaster emergency and narrows some executive emergency authorities; the House passed the bill after brief debate 59-6-5.
House Bill 409, which clarifies procedures for state disaster emergency declarations and the Legislature’s role in terminating them, passed the Idaho House on March 17 by a vote of 59 ayes, 6 nays and 5 absent and excused.
The bill amends existing language on gubernatorial disaster emergency powers and creates a mechanism by which the Legislature may terminate a state disaster emergency by concurrent resolution, addressing a gap lawmakers said they identified in prior practice. The sponsor said the measure does not address emergencies caused by floods, fires, tornadoes, earthquakes or invasive species and clarifies a sixty-day reference in the statute.
Sponsor remarks emphasized the goal of providing a legislative mechanism to terminate a disaster emergency and to provide clarity about which types of emergencies are covered by the procedure. The bill also contains a provision about special sessions called by the lieutenant governor in which a disaster emergency may be declared.
The House debated the bill briefly, then voted. The clerk reported the recorded vote: 59 ayes, 6 nays, 5 absent/excused. The bill will be transmitted to the Senate.
