Colleen Smith: Idaho officials waste millions of taxpayer dollars by passing unconstitutional laws

Source: Idaho Statesman

Idaho officials waste millions of taxpayer dollars by passing unconstitutional laws

Colleen Smith
Sun, July 31, 2022 at 6:00 AM·3 min read

On June 8, the U.S. District Court for Idaho ordered the state to — yet again — pay over $320,000 in attorneys’ fee to plaintiffs after it unsuccessfully defended an Idaho law prohibiting individuals from changing the gender markers on their birth certificates.

I was a member of the legal team that successfully challenged that anti-transgender birth certificate law. I am also a native, tax-paying Idahoan.

I am incredibly proud of the result my team achieved for our clients and all those affected by the law. I am also proud of the fees we were awarded, which will help my colleagues at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund continue fighting for the rights of LGBTQ individuals. But I am also disheartened to know my family and my neighbors will be the ones to — yet again — pick up the tab for the state’s poor legal decisions.

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Then, before passing the anti-transgender birth certificate law (House Bill 509) in 2020, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office advised the Legislature not only that the law was unconstitutional, but that the law would be challenged, the state would lose and the defense “will likely result in substantial costs to the state.” Ignoring that direct legal advice, the Legislature passed the bill on party-line votes, Gov. Brad Little signed it in to law, and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare commenced efforts to implement it. Finally, when my team stepped in to block the law from taking effect, the Attorney General’s Office, going against its own prior advice, defended the law.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/idaho-officials-waste-millions-taxpayer-100000357.html