(Boise, ID) State lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that would let the Idaho governor veto laws passed directly by voters.
The bill by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, would let the governor veto successful ballot initiatives — similar to how the governor can veto laws passed by the Idaho House and Senate.
In the Legislature, lawmakers can hear from experts and staff to understand bills, he said. The governor’s veto “is a good protection for a misinformed electorate if they don’t get the information like we get to have,” Skaug said.
If an initiative passes with at least two-thirds support from voters, the bill says “the initiative petition shall be approved without the need for the governor’s approval.” Skaug said that’s similar to the legislative process, which lets two-thirds of state lawmakers override gubernatorial vetoes.
Idaho House Minority Caucus Chair Todd Achilles also noted the bill doesn’t appear to add gubernatorial vetoes to referendums — another voter power outlined in the Idaho Constitution that lets voters approve or reject laws passed by the Legislature.
The Idaho House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday introduced the bill on a unanimous voice vote.
“This is an extreme attack on the rights of Idaho citizens,” Luke Mayville, who co-founded the group Reclaim Idaho that has supported several recent Idaho ballot initiatives, told the Idaho Capital Sun in a text message. “No other state in the country gives a single elected official the power to overrule the will of the voters.”
Skaug told the Sun in a text message he did not work with the governor’s office on the bill, but he did notify the governor’s staff that he intended to introduce it. A spokesperson for Gov. Brad Little declined to comment, saying the governor’s office doesn’t comment on pending legislation.
Introducing the bill tees it up for a full committee hearing, including public testimony and a possible vote to advance it to the Idaho House floor.
The bill is expected to be publicly available shortly on the Idaho Legislature’s website.
If passed into law, the bill would take effect immediately through an emergency clause.
In addition to Skaug, Sens. Ben Adams, R-Nampa, and Doug Okuniewicz, R-Hayden, are listed as bill co-sponsors.
Bill draws on Idaho’s legislative processes
If voters pass a ballot initiative with less than two-thirds support, the bill would give the governor five days to approve or veto the initiative.
If the governor vetoes the initiative, the bill says the Idaho Secretary of State “shall then cause the initiative petition to be once again submitted to the voters at the next general election.”
The governor can veto laws passed by the Idaho Legislature. But state lawmakers can also override gubernatorial vetoes – with two-third support.
The Idaho Constitution lets voters pass laws independent of the Idaho Legislature, through ballot initiatives. But Skaug said the constitution “is silent on the role of the governor.”
“Case law says the people’s right to initiate legislation is essentially the same as the Legislature’s,” Skaug said. “And because the Legislature cannot enact law independent of presentment to the governor for a veto or a signature, should not the initiative process undergo the same: to be presented to the governor for a possible veto or signing?”
Achilles asked if any other state lets governor’s veto ballot initiatives or referendums.
“I do not know,” Skaug replied. “I didn’t bother to look.”
Bill follows years of attempts by Idaho lawmakers to limit citizen ballot initiative process
Skaug is also sponsoring a bill this year that would require ballot initiatives to receive at least 60% of approval votes to pass. To pass now, Idaho ballot initiatives must receive a simple majority of support, or 50% of the vote plus one.
Skaug told the Sun in a text Wednesday he would not pursue the heightened approval threshold bill if the governor veto bill advances to the House floor.
The bills this year follow years of legislative proposals targeting the Idaho ballot initiative process.
In 2021, the Idaho Supreme Court blocked a ballot initiative law that would’ve raised the signature threshold required for initiatives to get on the ballot, ruling that the law violated the Idaho Constitution, the Sun previously reported.
In 2018, nearly 61% of Idaho voters approved a law expanding Medicaid to cover a broader range of low-income earners, after years of stalled legislative proposals to address a health insurance assistance gap in Idaho. Reclaim Idaho spearheaded that effort.
Last week, the Idaho House introduced a bill to repeal that law.
But in November 2024, over 69% of Idaho voters rejected an election reform ballot initiative that would’ve opened Idaho’s closed, partisan primary elections to all voters; create a top-four primary; and allow voters to use ranked-choice voting in general elections.
Reclaim Idaho supported that initiative, commonly called the open primaries initiative, along with a coalition of groups. Out-of-state campaign spending accounted for at least $1.9 million out of $2.8 million raised by a political action committee supporting the measure by October, the Sun reported.
Skaug says that influx of out-of-state spending was part of why he is bringing the initiative bills this year.
“Why, after 100 plus years and only 15 successful initiatives in Idaho history, you would think now is the time to assume that the Constitution was inappropriately silent on the role of the governor?” Achilles asked.
“We just went through an initiative process where the initiative failed. That there were so many lies that were out there, propelled by millions of dollars from out of state, some in state,” Skaug replied.
This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.