A Message from Rep. Matthew Bundy

Every floor session in the House of Representatives starts with a short thought from the House Chaplain, a prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance. I can’t think of a better way to start the legislative process. We start the process of legislation with words of encouragement, words of spiritual benefit, and words of patriotism. On the floor, we debate bills and sort through the process of laws, budgets, and policies. I have had the opportunity to be involved in many great debates about policy, but the other main responsibility of the legislature is the work of budgets and finance. In the Appropriations committee, we have reviewed all budget requests and we are in the process of building the budgets.

I have already had the opportunity to debate and present appropriations bills on the floor of the House. As a Representative, I team with a member of the Senate and we combine efforts to present the bills in both chambers to send the approved bills to the Executive Branch for implementation. I have had the opportunity to work on the Military Division and Division of Veterans Services budgets. I have also worked on and presented budgets for the Commission on Aging, Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, State Independent Living Council, and the Idaho Lottery on the House floor. I have about eight more budgets that I will present over the next two weeks. I am also in the process of running supplemental bills dealing with Agricultural Education and water issues.

The Idaho economy has been resilient during the past year and the Idaho ideals of hard work and ingenuity have really helped us throughout the past year. Tax bills to lower taxes and tax relief bills are on the horizon. The proper role of government and how to best utilize taxpayer money and resources are duties that I take very seriously. I always like hearing from constituents and hearing what they think and what topics are important to them. I want to thank you all for what you do to make our communities better.