Bill Description: House Bill 719 would attempt to criminalize free speech by banning any person or organization outside of Idaho from financially supporting any candidate, political committee, or measure within the state.
Rating: -3
Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?
House Bill 719 would amend Section 67-6610D, Idaho Code, which currently prohibits a “foreign national” (as defined in the code) from making a “contribution, directly or indirectly, to any candidate, political committee, or measure” or making “electioneering communications or independent expenditures.”
The bill would add language to apply this same prohibition to any “out-of-state person,” which it would define as any “individual who is not a legal resident of Idaho” or “any entity, such as a partnership, association, corporation, organization, union, or other combination of persons, that is organized under the laws of or has its principal place of business in another state and does not maintain a physical office in the state of Idaho.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that political contributions are a form of protected speech and association, and this kind of blanket prohibition does not fall within the narrowly tailored exceptions that have been allowed.
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Does it violate the principle of equal protection under the law? Examples include laws that discriminate or differentiate based on age, gender, or religion or which apply laws, regulations, rules, or penalties differently based on such characteristics. Conversely, does it restore or protect the principle of equal protection under the law?
House Bill 719 would attempt to create a residency standard for the exercise of basic constitutional rights. There are many individuals who may not be residents of Idaho but who still own property or pay taxes in this state, and have a vested and legitimate interest in Idaho’s political candidates and ballot measures.
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Does it directly or indirectly create or increase penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for non-violent crimes? Conversely, does it eliminate or decrease penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for non-violent crimes?
Any violation of the prohibitions contained in this bill would be criminalized. Even a first offense involving a small donation would be a misdemeanor with possible fines and jail time, but a second offense within 10 years or a first offense involving $1,000 or more in aggregate contributions, independent expenditures, or electioneering communications within a year would be a felony.
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