Governor receives petition signed by 1,620 registered Idaho voters to veto a bill intended to remove the Idaho Women’s Commission from state code.

Boise Idaho – April 1, 2026. In a single day, members of several Idaho organizations advocating for women and families collected 1,620 signatures statewide on a petition to the Governor asking him to veto S1236. If made law, the bill would remove the Idaho Women’s Commission from state code. Organizations carrying petitions included the League of Women Voters of Idaho, local branches of the American Association of University Women and the National Organization of Women, and Idaho Women Forward. Additional volunteers included members of 2C and Beyond and Idaho Women in Action. Signatures, from registered Idaho voters, came from Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Nampa, Caldwell, Boise, and Moscow.

“Every one of the volunteers I talked to after the few hours we had to do this, all said the same thing. ‘This was the easiest effort we'd ever participated in,’” Victoria Young, a member of the League of Women Voters of Idaho and leader of the Caldwell/Nampa signature drive, said, “Everyone who was asked [to sign], signed. We ran out of petitions — totally underestimating the enthusiasm for this effort. It was an exhilarating experience for every one of us.”

Senator Brian Lenney (R-Nampa) and Representative Heather Scott (R-Blanchard) sponsored the bill after the state’s version of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) committee targeted the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs (ICHA) and the Idaho Women’s Commission (IWC) for elimination. The move to dissolve these bodies was, in part, because they were suspected of advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Supporters of the ICHA fought back the attempt to dissolve that commission. Neither was subject to a bi-partisan review of reports on the groups’ ongoing costs, benefits, and impacts -- standard in the decision to disband a governor’s board or commission.

“Idaho prides itself on government transparency,” Mary Mosley, president of the Boise branch of AAUW, said. “The decision to eliminate ICHA and IWC does not appear to have been grounded in a thorough and open review. Many of the people we approached said they were outraged by the process.”

Sponsors and supporters of the move to dissolve the Women’s Commission indicated that the intent was to purge state code of unnecessary sections. Lenney and Scott said “housekeeping” was behind the move since the commission had not been funded since 2009 and had not functioned since 2016. In 2016, the Legislature elected to kill the commission based, in part, on a lack of bi-partisan representation. Only Republican women had been appointed to the body, and these members were among those who recommended its defunding and dissolution.

"I voted [to disband it] because it had become only one party represented on the board," then-Rep. Elaine Smith (D-Pocatello) said in 2016. "There weren't any Democrats on it."

NOW member Marsha Bravo, a signature gatherer who testified in the House State Affairs Committee the day the bill was pushed through, said committee members appeared to blame testifiers for not speaking up sooner. “They said it was up to the stakeholders to defend the commission. Many of us didn’t know it still existed. It does not appear on the list of governor’s boards and commissions. If they had asked for public input at the beginning of the process, they would have received plenty,” Bravo reported.

Participating organization members said those who signed the petition offered a litany of reasons why a state-sponsored women’s commission is needed as much now as it was at its inception in 1965. Challenges women and families face are as intractable as they were then, Kathy Dawes, chief signature gatherer from Moscow, said. First among these challenges is the women’s incarceration rate in Idaho that is among the highest in the free world.

“Our state leads the nation, actually the world, in women's incarceration with a 5000% increase since 1980, according to a 2024 Idaho Justice Project report. The numbers have a generational effect since over 80% of incarcerated women are mothers, and 67% lived with their children before arrest. These children therefore have suffered one of the most devastating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) that will have a generational effect on their lives and future generations. This is one issue an Idaho Women’s Commission could address and make policy recommendations to the Idaho Legislature that would result in stronger, more stable families across the state.”

Signature gatherers and signers listed other issues a reanimated commission could address including women’s access to health care, the ongoing gap in political representation and advanced education attainment, barriers for married women resulting from the state’s voter identification laws, the high cost of childcare, income disparity, economic, job, and retirement insecurity, and fewer business, industry, and entrepreneurial opportunities than men.

Female legislators supporting IWC elimination indicated that they did not need a state-sponsored commission to achieve their positions, and shared their belief that Idaho women, in general, would feel the same. If challenges for women still exist, female legislators supportive of the bill said, private organizations should be able to address them.

NOW’s Marsha Bravo begged to differ. “The way I see it, women need an actual functioning Idaho Women's Commission within the governor's office to provide the necessary infrastructure, support, and power to affect change. I belong to many women's organizations, but when the rubber meets the road--- we do not have the legal support to improve conditions for women and families. The commission should be the necessary institutional bridge to coordinate support and amplify all efforts.”

Policy-related challenges are best addressed within a government structure, Pam Ward, president of the League of Women Voters of Pocatello, agreed. Without it, most Idaho women are on the outside looking in.

“Recent legislative efforts to eliminate the Idaho Women’s Commission from state code sends a clear message to Idahoans that women outside of the Legislature are no longer valued as advisors, contributors, or advocates for political and social change. It will truly be a sad day if SB1236 becomes law —overturning 60 years of efforts in Idaho to empower women’s participation in public policy.”

Many of the 200-plus boards and commissions under the governor’s office are inactive or unfunded. “It makes a statement that commissions for Hispanics and women were the only ones on the chopping block, Jean Henscheid, LWVID president, said. AAUW’s Mosley concurred. “Idaho has a Potato Commission, a Pea and Lentil Commission, and a Sheep and Goat Commission. Are sheep and goats more important than Idaho women?”