At this week’s meeting, ASUI voted on senate resolution S24-R04, encouraging the Idaho legislature to act on the House bill H0441. Idaho House bill H0441 would redefine drug paraphernalia to not include fentanyl testing strips.
This resolution was authored by Legislative of Affairs Martha Smith and sponsored by Senator Jonathan Morton. The resolution discusses how the opioid crisis poses a significant public health threat, leading to numerous deaths due to unintentional overdoses in Idaho.
“According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, we’ve seen a 33% increase in fentanyl overdose deaths between 2020 to 2022,” said Smith. Idaho alone had around 270 fentanyl deaths, according to Smith.
ASUI urged Idaho legislators to vote in favor of House Bill H0441. They seek to support harm reduction efforts that allow local agencies to make decisions for their communities.
Decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips allows professionals to have an additional avenue to encourage recovery. The ASUI bill was passed.
The next resolution that was up for discussion was Senate Resolution S24-R05, authored by Smith and Bryant Sitts and sponsored by Pro Tempore Emma Scrupps.
This resolution supports Representative Megan Blanksma. Representative Blanksma was recently voted out as the House Republican Majority Leader in the Idaho Legislature.
ASUI supports and stands with Representative Blanksma. This resolution was voted to be amended and passed with an overall vote.
The first order of new business was Senate Resolution S24-R07, authored by Senator Mason Stampfli and Zoha Aqueel and sponsored by Razan Ahmed.
This resolution welcomes international students to Moscow and UI. ASUI is committed to treating international students with the respect and dignity offered to domestic students. This resolution will be up for a vote after spring break.
The next resolution presented on the floor was Senate Resolution S24-R08, authored by Smith and President Tanner McClain and sponsored by Senator Anya Zuercher.
This resolution acknowledges the retirement of Chief Fry and his exemplary service to the Moscow Police Department. This resolution will be up for a vote after spring break.
The next bill for discussion was Senate Bill S24-B03, authored by Senator Jack Schneider and sponsored by Senator Kaylee McCulloch. This act allocates up to $1,250 for the purchase of tickets to the Vandal hockey game against Idaho State on March 23.
This is intended to purchase up to 250 student tickets for the upcoming Club Hockey rivalry game. This bill will be up for a vote after spring break.
The last bill for discussion was Senate Bill S24-B04, authored by Vice President Peyton Loffer and sponsored by Senator Schneider. This is an act approving the appointment of Lexly Macias and Shakil Salim to the ASUI senate.
This bill’s purpose is to fill the two vacant seats by appointing Macias and Salim to serve for the spring and fall 2024 semesters. This bill will be up for a vote after spring break.
Grace Boehland can be reached at [email protected]