Idaho House Dems disclose personal finances

BOISE – After the House State Affairs Committee overwhelmingly voted on Jan. 17 to kill the Financial Disclosure Bill – a bill to require state and local elected officials and candidates to disclose personal financial information – the House Democratic Caucus voted unanimously to immediately disclose their own personal financial information.

The bill – sponsored by Committee Chair, Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, and supported by the only two Democrats on the committee, Elaine Smith, D-Pocatello, and Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer – is unanimously supported by the Campaign Finance Working Group looking at reforms to Idaho’s Sunshine Law.

The legislation would have required candidates for state, legislative, county and city office to file annual reports identifying their primary employer and occupation or job title; all entities they own or for which they are an officer; every entity that has paid them $5,000 or more in income in the past year; each entity in which they own stocks or bonds (not mutual funds) valued at more than $5,000; any boards on which they serve; and their spouse’s name, occupation and employer.

“To me, a ‘yes’ vote was a no brainer,” said Rep. Elaine Smith, D-Pocatello. “Idaho voters deserve transparency and disclosing financial information is the only way for a voter to know where a legislator has potential conflicts of interest on particular issues and votes.”

Rep. Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, said the House Minority vote is more than symbolic.

“Once again, Democrats are leading with our values,” said Erpelding. “Hardworking Idaho families have a right to know of conflicts of interest. Transparency is one of the best ways to guarantee that our state government focuses on the right priorities to create a brighter future for all Idahoans. After all, the votes we take today directly affect tomorrow’s opportunities for our kids and grandkids.”

The only House Democrat in Idaho who has not yet disclosed her personal finances is Rep. Paulette Jordan (D-Plummer) who is running for governor. Jordan will reportedly release her financial information as part of her gubernatorial campaign.