On Wednesday, Idaho Freedom Foundation Chairman Brent Regan and eastern Idaho attorney Bryan Smith filed a legal challenge to Proposition 2, alleging that constitutional problems plague the law’s language.
“Proposition 2 would give federal politicians and bureaucrats immense power over Idaho,” said Regan on Wednesday. “Said federal power would very likely violate the state constitution.”
The Freedom Foundation asserts that Proposition 2 gives federal bureaucrats power to write state law, which is a clear and flagrant violation of the Idaho Constitution. Under the state’s founding document, only the Legislature (or voters via the initiative process) can write Idaho’s laws.
By referencing federal code without any limits or conditions, Proposition 2 allows Congress to decide who participates in Idaho’s Medicaid program. Any alteration Congress makes in eligibility could be big or small. Either way, the decision isn’t Idaho’s. Proposition 2 would give some of Idaho’s decision-making power to the federal government.
Just as troublesome, Proposition 2 grants the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare the authority “to take all actions necessary to implement the provisions of this section as soon as practicable,” another unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority.
Smith, an Idaho Falls attorney and leading conservative voice, took on the case to protect the Idaho Constitution.
"If you pass legislation that is unconstitutional, it ought to be stricken,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter if it comes through an initiative or through the House and the Senate."
To review the brief, click here.
