McCann doesn't flinch on libraries

Nov. 16—Idaho Rep. Lori McCann, who was censured by the Latah County Republicans this past summer for her voting record, said Wednesday she will "stand strong" on her views about public libraries.

McCann joined fellow District 6 Rep. Brandon Mitchell to preview the coming Idaho Legislative session during a forum organized by the League of Women Voters of Moscow.

The forum took place at the 1912 Center, where McCann had been censured in August by Latah County Republicans.

McCann said her views on protecting librarians has not changed even though her vote on last session's library bill conflicted with the Idaho Republican Party Platform.

She voted against HB 314, which would have restricted children's access to materials deemed harmful in libraries, and allowed parents to sue libraries and school districts if their child obtained these materials.

For this and her votes on other bills, she has been rebuked by Republicans in Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce counties.

McCann said that if she is presented with the same library bill this session, "then you're going to get the same vote."

McCann said she views the Republican platform only as a guideline, and her main priority is to represent the 52,000 people in her district.

"When they get down in the nitty gritty now to say you will vote for this, this and this, I have a challenge with that because that doesn't fit everybody," she said.

She believes issues with library materials should be handled by local library boards, school boards and parents.

Mitchell said he wants to do his part to protect children from harmful materials on the internet this session. He said constituents are concerned about internet pornography and want him to model legislation after a Utah bill that requires people to verify their age if they go to a pornographic website. This age verification would be based on IP addresses.

Education is another topic on the lawmakers' minds.

McCann said one of her goals this winter is to address the shortage of large animal veterinarians by working with universities to incentivize students to work in this field. She also wants to find funding that would allow Latah County high school students to regularly use the Lewiston High School's A. Neil DeAtley Career Technical Education Center. Additionally, McCann wants to find more money to support bilingual instructors in public schools.

Mitchell said the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality was given millions in federal dollars and wants to put that money toward schools. He is trying to persuade them to direct some of that money toward addressing the aging school buildings in his district.

"We've got old schools that need to have some things fixed," he said.

McCann and Mitchell disagree about whether public schools should be funded based on enrollment or attendance. Idaho's school funding is currently based on attendance.

McCann said she would prefer it to be enrollment-based, but Mitchell said he worries that would lead to more students staying home instead of attending class.

When asked about doctors leaving the state because of Idaho's abortion and transgender care laws, McCann stated it is a crisis that needs to be addressed.

McCann said she is part of an unnamed group of Republican women that was formed to advocate for women's health. She considers herself "pro-life," but believes there should be larger exceptions in Idaho's abortion laws.

"I will support that we have to look at protecting these women and we have to do a better job," she said.

McCann said protecting women's health care, as well as funding more seats in the WWAMI program for students who want to go to medical school will help alleviate the doctor shortage.

Voting rights was another topic Mitchell brought up. Mitchell said he wants to tighten laws regarding what federal IDs can be used to register to vote.

"The problem we have is that we now have an administration that's actually pushing to give IDs to those who are not here legally, and so we've got to kind of protect our voting rights for that as well," he said.

Video of Wednesday's forum will be posted on the League of Women Voters of Moscow YouTube channel.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.