(Idaho State) Last year’s GOP primary election loomed over the House Wednesday when a close vote advanced a bill that targets public resources benefitting teachers’ unions.
House Bill 98 would bar public school districts from giving union presidents paid leave for their duties. It would also prohibit teachers’ union members from paying their union dues through an automated payroll dedication system.
The House approved the bill by six votes — after six Republicans who helped defeat a similar bill last year lost their primary election bids in 2024.
Wednesday’s reversal followed a testy debate. Supporters argued that the bill would block taxpayer funds from benefitting teachers’ union activities.
“Many of us didn’t realize that this was being done, and that the teachers’ union was getting a free ride for many, many years while the districts were paying for things,” said sponsoring Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale.
Rep. Lori McCann countered that it was “disingenuous” to say that taxpayer dollars are being spent when teachers “check a box” in a payroll system electing to deduct union dues from their paychecks.
“That is their money,” said McCann, R-Lewiston. “…If we get over our skis on this, we could find that we are possibly discriminating against the teachers who say they want to put their dollars to their union.”
McCann drew objections when she said the bill came from out of state, referring to the Freedom Foundation, the Washington-based, anti-union think tank that helped craft the legislation.
Twenty Republicans opposed the bill, along with the House’s nine Democrats. Rep. Soñia Galaviz, D-Boise, a public school teacher and member of the Boise Education Association, said the bill unfairly targets teachers while exempting other public-sector unions.
“If there’s a concern that taxpayer funds are being used for union-related activity, it is curious that other public-sector unions were exempt in this legislation,” Galaviz said during Wednesday’s debate.
The Professional Fire Fighters of Idaho and the Idaho State AFL-CIO opposed HB 98 during a public hearing Monday.
Forty House Republicans supported it, however. Rep. Rob Beiswenger, R-Horseshoe Bend, said the bill “respects the rights” of taxpayers and teachers, whether they want to join a union or not. “Back in the days when unions started, it was considered unthinkable…that public-sector employees would be unionized at all.”
HB 98 now heads to the Senate.
