On Monday the Senate passed HB 214 which amends and strengthens Idaho’s paternity statutes. The legislation is intended to make sure that at the end of an adoption all parties can feel contentment and a sense of peace. The Senate Education Committee had a busy afternoon passing a slate of bills: H 206, H 221, H205 and S 1148. All of these bills were sent to the amending order on the Senate calendar.

Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee heard public testimony on HB 248 (the House bill on the state exchange). After public testimony the bill passed the Committee on an 8-1 vote. The bill now moves to the floor of the Senate for debate. The full Senate passed S 1136. This bill bans the formula of two new forms of synthetic cannabis and aims to keep Idaho’s citizens safe from harmful substances.

Wednesday morning the State Affairs Committee heard testimony on the “Add the Words” legislation. This legislation would ban workplace and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation. The actual legislation is not going to come up this session. The Senate unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 019. HCR 019 is intended to showcase the problem of physical inactivity and poor eating habits and increase awareness of the role of nutrition and physical activity in a healthy lifestyle. This HCR will also aid in writing and securing grants and foundation dollars for needed projects, interventions and research to improve the health and reduce healthcare costs for citizens in Idaho. Later in the evening the Senate voted on several amendments relating to education bills HB 206, HB 221, SB 1147 and SB 1148. The bills will be amended and returned to the reading order to be voted on at a later date.

Thursday, the Senate took up HB 248 (state exchange). After meaningful debate and conversation the bill passed.

Friday, the Senate passed SB 1149. SB 1149 would require that both sides show good faith in school contract negotiations by proving they have majority support of their members. In everyday life for a business to survive it must have the support of its employees and customers and this is no different.