On May 16, 2020 Rep. Chaney spoke with Shawna and Kelen, owners of Grit 2C in downtown Caldwell, about their big reopening after a COVID-19 closure.

On May 9, Rep. Chaney hosted a Virtual Town Hall and had as his special guest Canyon County Commissioner Leslie Van Beek:  Watch (Duration 29:59):

 

 

On May 2, Rep. Chaney hosted a Virtual Town Hall and had as his special guest Caldwell City Councilman John McGee:  Watch (Duration 38:36):

 

On April 25, Rep. Chaney hosted a Virtual Town Hall and had as a special guest Sen. Jim Rice.  Watch (Duration 38:36):

On April 18, Rep. Chaney hosted a Virtual Town Hall where he answered questions he’d been getting about the coronavirus response.  Watch (Duration 15:54):

 

On April 4, Rep. Chaney hosted a Virtual Town Hall and had as a special guest Sen. Todd Lakey (R-Nampa). Sen. Lakey is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and sits on the Senate Taxation and Local Government Committee; Rep. Chaney is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and sits on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. Therefore, the two have a lot of interaction as their committee assignments run parallel to one another.  Watch (Duration 24:19):

Rep. Chaney on the importance of reducing the amount of property tax collected and not just shifting it from one taxpayer to another

When unelected bureaucrats ignore the legislature and disregard statutes to do whatever they want irrespective of the law, the only mode of accountability left is through the budget setting process. For that reason, yesterday the House defeated the Idaho Tax Commission budget 21-48. As I told the House in debate, “this is a dangerous budget because it is a budget for an agency gone rogue” since the agency has shown “open contempt and open apathy for what the statute says.” Since this agency has been given the power to take money away from citizens, it “is an incredibly dangerous agency to be unconstrained.”

 

Comments on internet safety and the November meeting of the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission.

Spending the morning attending the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission meeting #idleg #idpol

On Monday, Rep. Greg Chaney toured Witco’s Caldwell facility.  Witco is a leader in helping those with developmental challenges achieve independence and job skills. Special thanks to Larry Halverson for the tour!

On Thursday, March 22, 2018, Governor Butch Otter signed into law H638: the Abortion Complications Reporting Act (ACRA). (For more about the ACRA, click HERE).

On Thursday, March 22, 2018 Rep. Greg Chaney and several of his fellow members of the House Judiciary, Rules, & Administration committee were given a tour of the Idaho State Correctional Center in Kuna, Idaho by Idaho Department of Corrections Director Henry Atencio and several members of the IDOC staff.

 

The last two bills worked on and sponsored by Rep. Greg Chaney will be heard in the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee Monday, March 19, 2018.  In addition to co-sponsoring other bills on issues such as taxation, occupational licensing, and criminal justice reform, Rep. Chaney took the lead on four pieces of legislation during the 2018 legislative session:

Legislation Number	Title/Description	Current Status
HCR36	Designates May 17th as DIPG Cancer Awareness Day in Idaho	Passed both House & Senate (No signature required by the Governor)
H638	Abortion Complication Reporting Act	Passed by House & Senate; awaiting action by Gov. Otter
H554	Prevents people who cause auto accidents from getting out of reimbursing victims for their injuries based on a technicality.	Hearing in Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee 3/19/2018
H599	Reclassifies certain misdemeanors to infractions, removes approximately 7,000 misdemeanor cases per year from the court system.	Hearing in Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee 3/19/2018

UPDATE: The Senate this week approved the resolution unanimously on Monday.  Thanks to Sen. Mary Souza (R-Coeur d’Alene) for carrying the bill on the floor.

 

 

(Boise) — On Friday, February 16, 2018 Rep. Greg Chaney (R-Caldwell) presented a resolution before the House Health & Welfare Committee to designate May 17th as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) Awareness Day in Idaho.  Idaho would be the 21st state to designate May 17 as DIPG Awareness Day.

“The purpose of this resolution is to…let those facing the disease know that…they are not alone…to let them tell their story,” Chaney said.

After Chaney’s presentation, the father of a child fighting DIPG gave emotional testimony about the experience his son and their family have had with the disease. The committee voted unanimously to send the resolution to the full House. Representatives from Camp Rainbow Gold, a camp for terminally ill children, were also on hand to express their support for the resolution.

DIPG is a brain tumor that affects 200-400 children annually in the United States.  It is a tumor that appears on a part of the brain called the pons.  The text of the resolution (HCR36) is below:

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 36

BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND DESIGNATING MAY 17 AS DIFFUSE INTRINSIC PONTINE GLIOMA AWARENESS DAY IN IDAHO.
Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control, brain tumors now rival leukemia as the leading cause of cancer-related death in children; and
WHEREAS, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is the second most common malignant brain tumor in children; and
WHEREAS, DIPG affects 200 to 400 children in the United States each year, many between the ages of five and nine; and
WHEREAS, DIPG is a brain tumor found at the base of the brain; they arise from the brain’s glial tissue, which consists of cells that support and protect the brain’s neurons; and
WHEREAS, these tumors are found in an area of the brainstem called the pons, which controls many of the body’s most vital functions, such as breathing, blood pressure and heart rate; and
WHEREAS, children with DIPG often exhibit signs of facial weakness, abnormal eye movement, loss of muscle control, difficulty walking, imbalanced limb movement, trouble chewing or swallowing, hearing issues, insomnia, loss of bladder or bowel control, trouble breathing, nausea and headaches; and
WHEREAS, while these children lose control of most of their bodily functions, they still retain the ability to comprehend their situation; and
WHEREAS, DIPG symptoms appear suddenly and are often misdiagnosed, but these tumors are highly aggressive and grow rapidly; and
WHEREAS, the causes of DIPG are unknown; and
WHEREAS, there is no known cure for DIPG; and
WHEREAS, most children diagnosed with DIPG survive for only nine months after diagnosis; and
WHEREAS, DIPG has a zero percent survival rate; ultimately, children with DIPG fail to breathe or their hearts stop beating; and
WHEREAS, DIPG is a devastating childhood cancer that has tragic consequences for the young lives it seizes; and
WHEREAS, increased awareness will encourage crucial research on discovering a treatment for children with DIPG.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-fourth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that May 17 of each year be designated as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Awareness Day in Idaho.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature recognizes those whose lives have been touched by DIPG and encourages all Idahoans to become more informed about DIPG and pediatric brain cancer, so that more may be done to care for these children and to find a cure.

 

Chief Justice Roger Burdick of the Idaho Supreme Court visited the House yesterday to deliver his annual State of the Judiciary address.

Rep. Chaney (1/16/2017):

“We heard a presentation today from the Idaho State Tax Commission on the effects of the Trump Tax Cuts on state taxation.  If we do nothing, the federal cuts would actually increase state taxes by nearly $120M.  Will be working with others on the tax committee to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

While at the statehouse this month, Rep. Chaney and Attorney General Wasden ran into a group touring the statehouse.