Bill Description: Senate Bill 1082 would place new restrictions on who may run for election to the office of county sheriff. 

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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?

Senate Bill 1082 would amend Section 34-618, Idaho Code, to place new restrictions on who may run for election to the office of county sheriff.

Specifically, it would add that a candidate for sheriff "has not been convicted of a crime for which the person could have been imprisoned in a federal or state penitentiary."

This restriction limits voters' choice in deciding who should be their sheriff. Additionally troubling is that there is no time limit on this restriction, which means that a single youthful indiscretion would prohibit someone from running for sheriff many decades later.

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Additionally, Senate Bill 1082 would require that a candidate for sheriff "has never been decertified by the Idaho peace officer standards and training council or any equivalent state peace officer or detention officer certification body and has never resigned such person's certification."

This is yet another restriction on voters' choice in deciding who should be their sheriff. This restriction could be triggered by someone voluntarily resigning their peace officer certification, which doesn’t inherently indicate any accusation of wrongdoing, let alone a disqualifying conviction. Various members of the law enforcement community have raised concerns about the focus and priorities of the POST certification. There may be good-faith reasons why competent candidates have resigned their certification. Some may have even been decertified over legitimate philosophical differences.

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