BOISE, Idaho — At 1:30 p.m. on Monday, the Idaho House of Representatives Committee for Local Government heard testimony and public comment regarding the recently proposed House Bill 557 (HB-557).
Introduced by Rep. Bruce D. Skaug (R - District 10), HB-577 would prohibit local governments from adopting or enforcing anti-discrimination ordinances that go beyond what's already established by state law. As the bill is currently written, state law would preempt any local ordinances regarding cases of discrimination. The Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative advocacy group, helped draft the proposed legislation.
WATCH: Differing opinions as House Bill 557 moves forward inside the Statehouse
At the meeting's end, the committee voted 13-3 to advance the bill to the House floor. The only republican to vote against the bill was Richard Cheatum of District 28, Seat A.
"If this bill passes, then I'll be less safe," said April Hoy, a neighbor who testified against the legislation.
WATCH: Idaho House of Representatives - Local Government Committee holds hearing for House Bill 557
Across the Gem State, more than a dozen cities and counties have local rules and protections based on sexual and gender identities. According to the ACLU, those local governments include Ada County, Boise, Ketchum, Moscow, Coeur d'Alene, Pocatello, Lewiston, Victor, Driggs, Hailey, Bellevue, Meridian, and Idaho Falls.
Supporters argue the bill would simplify rules and make them consistent across the state.
"If you've got businesses in multiple places, all of a sudden, you've got all kinds of different rules that you have to follow for your business or just for individuals. And that's complexity at its worst," said Craig Campbell, Committeeman for Precinct 2009.
HB-557's sponsors claim that those ordinances create unnecessary conflicts for private business owners with strongly held religious or moral beliefs. The Idaho Family Policy Center's president, Blaine Conzatti, says that "Government officials have forced bakers, photographers, florists, graphic designers, and wedding venue operators to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies and pride festivals."
"Somebody said, 'hey, I want you to make this for essentially an LGBTQ event for me' I think it was a wedding, and he said, 'as a Christian, I can't do that,'" Campbell said. "One person's rights shouldn't override another person's rights. We ought to be adults and go, hey, go find someplace else to get a cake."
Hoy disagrees, she said that once businesses open their doors to the public, they must follow civil rights laws.
"I don't have any more sympathy for them than I would for people who want to discriminate on the basis of race, but once you enter the marketplace, you need to abide by civil rights laws," Hoy said.
In 2013, Coeur d'Alene passed an ordinance that prohibited for-profit businesses from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2014, following the federal legalization of same-sex marriage, that ordinance was challenged by the owners of the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel in Coeur d'Alene, who said that the ordinance forced them to go against their religious beliefs.
The City of Coeur d'Alene ultimately backed down from enforcing the ordinance, and the lawsuit challenging the ordinance was dismissed. The owners of the Hitching Post were subsequently awarded damages for business lost during litigation.
Rep. Richard Cheatum, who voted against the bill moving forward, calls it an example of government overreach.
"I think some of the things we're talking about here are moral issues rather than law. We hear it all the time here in the Capitol. The feds are fooling with the state of Idaho, and we turn right around and try and do the same thing to local government," Cheatum said.
City officials in Boise said their anti-discrimination ordinance hasn't caused problems since it was enacted.
"I was curious to see if we had had any complaints filed with the city in particular around business complaints against the ordinance, we've just not seen them in the city since the ordinance has been enacted," said Kathy Griesmyer, director of policy and government affairs for the city of Boise.
In Sandpoint, Mayor James Grimm testified that local issues did arise, including a transgender woman using the female locker room at the YMCA, which prompted complaints. Other concerns included housing discrimination.
The Idaho Family Policy Center, which helped draft the bill, says landlords will still follow federal fair housing law, and those protections will remain in place.
In 2023, the Supreme Court decided via 303 Creative vs. Elenis that no American should be compelled to share messages with which they disagree.
