February 16, 2023
By: District 31 Representative Julianne Young
I’m continuing to work hard for the people of Idaho. I want to keep my constituents in the loop about the latest legislative news from the Capitol.
HB 73- Increasing Access to Counseling
I introduced this bill to increase access to professional counseling for people in drug or mental health court. Current Dept. of Health and Welfare rules don’t allow those with criminal records to participate as drug court counselors. HB 73 allows for qualified licensees to apply to provide this counseling, even if the licensee has a prior conviction. This bill just passed the House with unanimous support.
HB 1- Protecting Our Elections
I introduced and sponsored House Bill 1, dealing with post-election audits of paper ballots. This bill heightens the standards for these audits, including requiring a hand recount of paper ballots. Hand recounts of paper ballots provide on-going assurance that machine counts are accurate and should allow the state to identify and evaluate any concerns. This bill was the first House bill of the session. This week it passed the Senate floor and is headed to the Governor’s desk for a signature.
SB 1062- Cleaning Up State Annexation Statute and Clarifying a Consent Requirement
This bill is making its way through the Senate. It cleans up confusing language and clarifies that ⅔ of property owners owning at least 50% of a geographic area must consent to annexation. It also requires that consent to annexation following the passage of this legislation must be express, written consent.
HB 71- Protecting Children from Mutilation
HB 71 bans sex-change operations and medical treatments for minors. It is vital that we protect children from these harmful practices. This bill just passed the House and now heads to the Senate.
H 63- Protecting the Right of Conscience for Counselors
This bill protects the conscience rights of counselors by ensuring that they can transfer the care of a client who wants help with an outcome or behavior that violates the counselor’s sincerely held principles. This bill mutually benefits counselors and clients by allowing counselors to be transparent about their values without fear of losing their professional license or being sued. No one should have to check their values at the door in order to enter a profession. This bill also passed the House and now moves to the Senate.
