Lt. Gov.: Reconvene Idaho Legislature To Address Health Care Provider Vaccine Mandates

By Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Idaho Capital Sun

August 1, 2021

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued a letter to Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, on Friday calling on him to reconvene the Legislature to address the issue of health care providers mandating COVID-19 vaccines for employees.

“This has left numerous employees with these major health care companies with little recourse for not wanting to take the emergency use authorized vaccine,” McGeachin wrote.

According to reporting from the Idaho Capital Sun, between 22% to 28% of the health care organizations’ staff haven’t gotten a coronavirus vaccine. Based on the size of their workforces, that means thousands of health care workers must now choose whether to leave their jobs or join the 725,147 Idahoans who have received a COVID-19 vaccination.

The requirements have been found legal by some courts and have been rolled out across the U.S., facing resistance from some workers who don’t want to take the vaccine. They come as highly infectious variants, such as the delta variant, are spreading in the U.S. The employers said they will allow religious or medical exemptions.

Unlike the Idaho Senate, who voted in May to adjourn until the 2022 legislative session, the House of Representatives recessed to a date no later than Dec. 31. The move would allow the House to call itself back into session without needing Gov. Brad Little’s authorization for a special session. By Idaho law, only the governor can call the Legislature back for a special session once the body adjourns sine die.

During the recess, legislators are not receiving per diem payments or vouchered expenses unless approved by Bedke.

In May, Bedke told the Idaho Capital Sun that the recess allowed a “crack in the door for the Legislature to react to the unforeseen,” and said he felt confident if there was business to conduct, then the Senate would come back into session. The Idaho Constitution says neither legislative chamber can adjourn for more than three days without the concurrence of the other chamber.

“I am formally requesting that you call the House of Representatives back into session, which the Senate would follow so that both chambers can examine this very important issue,” McGeachin wrote. “This is, after all, why the House of Representatives decided to recess rather than sine die so they could come back and examine critical issues within the state.”

McGeachin announced in June that she is running for governor in 2022, in part, she said, because of how Little has managed the pandemic in the Gem State.

In several social media posts, McGeachin has said she would not support things like vaccination passports or vaccine mandates. Instead, she said, Idahoans should be able to make their own health care decisions.

Bedke announced in May that he is running for lieutenant governor.

Candidates for the May 2022 primary may formally file to run for office with the Secretary of State’s office in February.

The Idaho Capital Sun, the Gem State’s newest nonprofit news organization, delivers accountability reporting on state government, politics and policy.