Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transparency Legislative Travel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rep. Stephanie Mickelson presents bill to require disclosure of out-of-state legislative travel; committee sends it to amendment order
Summary
Representative Stephanie Mickelson said House Bill 378 would require legislators to report out-of-state travel paid for by outside entities within 30 days, including destination, dates, purpose and payer. After extended questioning about scope and equity, the committee sent the bill to the 14th order for possible amendment (committee vote stated as 7–1).
Representative Stephanie Mickelson, R-32, told the Senate State Affairs Committee that House Bill 378 would require legislators to disclose out-of-state travel paid for by outside entities within 30 days.
"Just simply says that if you're gonna go out of the state on somebody else's dime, that you would report that within 30 days," Mickelson said, asking the committee to send the bill to the amending order. The required disclosure would include travel destination, dates, purpose and the name of the entity paying for the trip, she said.
Senators pressed the sponsor about scope. Senator Adams asked whether the proposal would cover travel inside Idaho; Mickelson said the bill was intended to address out-of-state travel and that she was open to edits that clarify excluded categories. "This was supposed to be for out-of-state travel only," she said, and offered to amend language that had mistakenly referenced in-state trips in earlier drafts.
Members debated whether the measure would meaningfully increase transparency or could be avoided by self-funded trips. Senator Shippey asked whether wealthy legislators could avoid disclosure by paying their own way; Mickelson said the draft includes language to capture such situations and that she could accept further changes to improve clarity. Mickelson also told the committee she had consulted the secretary of state's vendor and that establishing a disclosure page would cost under $5,000 to implement on the existing website.
Supporters at the lectern said voters deserve clarity about who is influencing lawmakers. "If I'm a constituent ... I would want to know why my legislator is hopping on a plane and flying to another state to be influenced or to learn about policy that could potentially influence a vote," said Sean Bernd (testimony recorded in committee).
After debate, Senator Harris offered a substitute motion to send House Bill 378 to the 14th order for possible amendment. The substitute motion was seconded and carried on a recorded roll call the chair summarized as 7–1; the bill will return for amendment consideration.
The committee took no final action on the bill beyond referring it to the amendment order; further changes are expected if it resumes in the 14th order.
