Bill Description: House Bill 601 (H601) prohibits public officials from allowing school district funds, personnel, and other resources to be used in support of teachers’ unions and expands the list of “official actions” subject to the Ethics in Government Act.
NOTE: House Bill 601 is similar to House Bill 98 from the 2025 legislative session and House Bill 602 from the 2024 legislative session.
Rating: +3
Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?
Public sector unions seek to have the government serve its own interest at the expense of the common good. They lobby for increased government spending through teacher salaries, stem efforts to remove employees for malperformance, hinder government efficiency, and leverage their funds for political activism. It is improper for the government to subsidize activities that are directly opposed to the public interest and thus also improper to subsidize public sector unions.
In recognition of this fact, H601 would amend Section 74-402, Idaho Code to state that "it is in the public interest to … ensure that taxpayer funds are not used to support teachers unions." This prohibition includes but is not limited to directly “contributing public funds to, or expending public funds on behalf a teachers union or its affiliate” and “increasing a professional employee's compensation” with the intent of paying “teachers union or affiliate dues, fees, assessments, fines, or contributions”
(+1)
H601 likewise prohibits “providing any form of compensation or paid leave to a professional employee, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of engaging in teachers union activities.”
(+1)
Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?
The Idaho Constitution is premised upon the fundamental principle that “all political power is inherent in the people.” H601 acknowledges that “unlike private sector labor relations, collective bargaining between government entities and labor unions representing public employees is an inherently political process with significant implications for the size, cost, operations, transparency, and accountability of government.” In effect, government unions undermine the principle of popular sovereignty by diminishing the people’s control and influence over their government. H601 would help to restore that balance that by declaring it the policy of the state that “special interests” must “be prevented from unduly influencing governmental action,” that “governmental functions and policies reflect, to the maximum extent possible, the public interest,” and that “public funds and taxpayer-funded facilities, systems, and resources should not be used to preferentially aid or subsidize, directly or indirectly, the operations or advocacy of government unions.”
(+1)
