Just 15 of the 70 members of the Idaho House gathered in their chamber on Wednesday, in what some legislators billed as an attempt to gather enough lawmakers to convene the House to oppose vaccine mandates.
The House is currently in recess at the call of the speaker, so it would be up to Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, to reconvene lawmakers, not to a small group of House members.
As the Idaho Press reports, Bedke has told anxious House members that in order to reconvene the Legislature, whose regular session this year wrapped up in May after running for longer than any other session in state history, there would have to be proposed legislation with wide support among a majority of the members of both the House and the Senate.
Bedke said he strongly opposes President Biden’s newly announced COVID-19 vaccine requirements, which would affect up to 100 million Americans. Among them are plans for employers of 100 or more workers to require either vaccination or weekly testing. He said the next step is for the Legislature’s joint committee on federalism to meet to consider the issue; it’s planning to meet Sept. 28.
