Representative Charlie Shepherd’s Reflections on the 2024 Legislative Session
At the close of this year’s Idaho Legislative Session this week, Charlie Shepherd, one of our two State Representatives from District 7, said when contacted by phone that it was the most productive of the four years he’s held office in passing conservative legislation.
He said he was pleased with the passage of House Bill 521, which added an additional 75 million dollars for property tax relief, and which provides 125 million dollars annually over the next ten years for school districts to use for building upkeep, repair and or construction. That money is doled out to individual school districts based on their enrollment figures.
He is also pleased with the passage of a bill that now allows parents to teach their children how to drive rather than forcing them to attend and pay for drivers’ education classes.
Shepherd said the passage of the fentanyl bill, which requires those convicted of trafficking the dangerous drug to serve a minimum of ten years is also something he believes will help Idahoans.
The bill that allows both police officers and teachers as well as all other state workers not to use a person’s preferred pronoun is also something he thinks will help those officers and teachers and state employees. He said while they may choose to use a person’s preferred pronoun, officers, teachers and state workers cannot be compelled to do so.
Shepherd said that everyone living in Idaho now pays a slightly lower state income tax, a flat rate tax of 5.69%, which is lower than what they paid last year.
He was disappointed with the funding of the Launch Bill. The bill was passed last year but funded this year and it provides $8,000 per graduating high school senior to use on furthering their education, whether that be by attending an instate college or trade school.
“I would have liked to have seen that money go elsewhere. Tax-payers shouldn’t be paying to train workers for big business,” he said.
He was disappointed that a bill that would have allowed the state to deport undocumented people who committed a crime (other than the crime of being in this country illegally) failed to pass.
Shepherd will face challenger Larry Dunn of White Bird in the Republican Primary on May 21st.
