Bill Description: Senate Bill 1300 would make the directors for the Idaho Department of Transportation, Fish and Game, and Parks and Recreation subject to gubernatorial appointment with the advice and consent of the Senate.
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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?
One of the cornerstones of both the Idaho and US Constitution is the separation of powers. Each branch is to operate within its own sphere. The Founders believed that a unitary executive, meaning one that had the ability to hire and fire its subordinates, was key to pushing back against encroachments by the other branches and maintaining the balance of power, as well as ensuring that the laws were executed faithfully.
Article II, Section 1 of the Idaho Constitution:
“The powers of the government of this state are divided into three distinct departments, the legislative, executive and judicial; and no person or collection of persons charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any powers properly belonging to either of the others, except as in this constitution expressly directed or permitted.”
A notable U.S. Supreme Court decision stated thusly: “Removal of executive officials from office is an executive function; the power to remove, like the power to appoint, is part of “the Executive power,” — a conclusion which is confirmed by the obligation “to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” (Myers V. U.S., 1926) Without the ability to hire and fire his subordinates, the executive cannot be fully in control of the execution of the laws and this imperils his oath to faithfully execute the laws.
This presents numerous problems beyond the most obvious problem of what the remedy is for an insubordinate official. It also obscures responsibility and transparency, as blame is easily shifted away from the head executive because they did not appoint the department head. It divides the executive against itself, eating away at its core duty: a stable and continuous execution of the laws. The executive must be able to appoint (with advice and consent of the Senate) as well as remove agency heads to maintain the separation of powers.
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