Do the actions of the Legislature in the State of Idaho have an impact on your life?

Yes! One of the most surprising discoveries I have made since I began serving in the Legislature is just how quickly and effectively the Legislature can identify an issue and start to work to address it. Of course, there are issues that cannot gather consensus and may take longer to work through, research and resolve. The majority of ideas, however, can be addressed in a short period of time and lead to very successful outcomes that improve Idaho.

For example, at the beginning of the 2014 session, I became aware of a growing problem nationwide with an extortion trend known as "revenge pornography." This trend, much like the recent hacks involving private cell phone pictures, turns everyday people, a majority of whom are women, into victims of heinous behavior. Offenders use pictures that are shared privately between two people and make them public to shame, extort money or sexual favors from, or make a profit off of posting the pictures on pornographic websites. The story of a suicide of a young lady who became a victim of such a scheme brought the issue to my attention. A short investigation showed that the behavior was happening in Idaho.

Working with my colleagues in the Legislature and representatives of groups that would be affected by changing Idaho law, I helped draft a bill to address revenge pornography and make it illegal. The bill became law on July 1, 2014, just a few short months after it was introduced during the legislative session. It is now illegal in the state of Idaho for someone to "disseminate, publish or sell any image or images of the intimate areas of another person ... without the consent of such other person or persons [when] he knows or reasonably should have known that one or both parties agreed or understood that the images should remain private," per Idaho Code 18-6609.

This past fall, I was contacted by law enforcement. They let me know that the law had been used to protect a victim for the very first time.

Serving in the Legislature is an honor. Those of us who are fortunate enough to represent our neighbors meet in Boise for three months every year. There is an undeniable feeling that we are part of something so much larger than ourselves. The experience is something those of us serving will carry with us long after these halls have forgotten who we are. The halls themselves are filled with pictures of citizens just like us who have come together for the 62 two-year sessions that preceded the one currently underway. There are very few people who recognize the majority of those pictures now, and even fewer who can recall the battles, losses and successes of our predecessors.

However, the work of the Legislature is not about those doing the job. The work and contributions of those who have gone before, just as those who are serving now do have a profound impact in shaping the way we live our life in Idaho. Some impacts are large, and some are smaller.

There are hundreds of bills that pass the Legislature, and each has an impact. Many have an effect on your life. I encourage you to speak with your legislators about issues that are of concern, whether great or small, and bring suggestions of how our laws could work better. Involvement of citizens invariably makes for better laws.

To find out who represents you in the Legislature, go to: http://legislature.idaho.gov/who'smylegislator.htm.

Rep. Luke Malek is a Coeur d'Alene Republican.