Former Oregon House Speaker Mark Simmons recently penned an op-ed in the Idaho Statesman to explain why he supports the so-called Greater Idaho movement. Simmons argues that moving the state line would force drug shops away from most of Idaho's population, help eastern Oregonians, and maintain rural values in the Idaho Legislature.
“These counties would help maintain rural values in the Idaho Legislature, values of faith, family, and self-reliance," he wrote. "All of eastern Oregon voted against marijuana legalization and the decriminalization of hard drugs.”
February 28, 2023
Idaho's House of Representatives passed a resolution earlier this month to call for formal talks between the states' legislatures about relocating the boundary line, although the bill's approval by the Idaho Senate is uncertain.
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February 28, 2023
Proponents of Greater Idaho note that 11 counties in eastern Oregon have voted for ballot measures to explore the movement and that, according to some polling, Idahoans would welcome expanding the state boundary.
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Moving the Idaho-Oregon border would require the approval of both state legislatures as well as the U.S. Congress. Despite the support of Idaho lawmakers, the idea may face greater resistance in the Democrat-controlled Oregon legislature. Oregon state Sen. Dennis Linthicum, a Republican, has filed a similar proposal to begin talks with Idaho, but the proposal is unlikely to make it out of committee.
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While some have expressed doubt, a recent analysis by the Claremont Institute found that the state-line shift could benefit Idaho economically, providing an annual net benefit to Idaho's state government budget of $170 million. The appeal to Oregon means that it would allow it to govern as liberally as it wants without obstruction from its conservative counties.
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The motivation behind the Greater Idaho movement is to preserve a certain way of life and ensure proper representation by the state's lawmakers.
"For a long time, there's been this urban-rural divide," said Matt McCaw, a spokesperson for the Greater Idaho group. "People on the east side of the state have felt like their state-level government has not heard them, has not understood their way of life, their values, their problems, and has enacted policy that doesn't work for us in eastern Oregon."
However, some critics have warned against "self-segregating by ideology," saying the creation of a Greater Idaho would fuel division and that disgruntled residents can move if they're unhappy with how their state is governing. Others say Idaho legislators should be focusing on their own state rather than helping Oregon residents. Another concern is that sparsely populated areas have high rates of Medicaid enrollment, which could be an added expense to Idaho taxpayers.
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