This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

OK. Maybe, weatherwise, Utah is still pretty weird today. How many inches of snow fell in the middle of April?

But, in terms of politics, our friends to the north have the corner on wacky this week. (If only because their Legislature was still in session through last week, while ours quit for the year weeks ago.)

Apparently, a bill the state needed to keep millions of dollars flowing to, and through, its child support system was killed in a legislative committee late Friday.

Because, wait for it, some members of that body were afraid that hewing to national and international conventions for collecting and distributing child support payments — and not allowing parents to dodge their responsibilities by skipping town, or the country — would invite the imposition of Sharia law, an extreme form of Islamic jurisprudence, on the people of Idaho.

Really.

Legislators, not Feds, the Real Threat to Idaho — Twin Falls Times-News Editorial

" ... Congress passed a law last year requiring every state to become compliant with a federal compact made with mostly European nations. Essentially, it keeps parents from failing to pay child support by moving out of state or overseas.

"Approving the compact should have been a slam dunk. But inspired by the fear-mongering John Birch Society, Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll of Cottonwood raised alarms that the compact would subject Idaho to Sharia law – a hard-liner, religious based rule system sometimes used in predominately Muslim countries to settle divorce and child-custody disputes.

"Idaho child support program director Kandace Yearsley was flabbergasted by Nuxoll's interpretation. The Attorney General's Office assured lawmakers that none of the countries in the compact is under Sharia law.

"Let us pause for a moment to note that Nuxoll is the same senator who in 2013 tactlessly compared the Affordable Care Act to the Holocaust. This year, she boycotted a Hindu prayer in the Capitol, saying the United States is a Christian nation and the Hindu religion honors false gods.

"By now, lawmaker should know to stop listening when Nuxoll and her cohorts open their mouths, but a House panel was swayed by the paranoia and killed the child-support bill on a 9-8 vote. ..."

Otter must intervene on child support decision — Idaho Statesman Editorial

"Some weeks ago we applied the maxim that 'nothing good happens after midnight' to our Idaho Legislature, fearing some last-minute maneuvering might produce a rash or regrettable outcome. Well, it happened.

"Before midnight Friday in the waning hours of the 2015 session the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted 9-8 to reject federal child support rules – which has had the effect of putting the state system in limbo and jeopardizing '$46 million in direct federal aid and more than $200 million in child support collections the state processes annually,' according to Bill Dentzer's report in the Idaho Statesman Tuesday.

"We get the rationale of those who voted against these federal mandates, but we don't buy it. Some members on the committee feared Idaho would have to enforce child support decisions by foreign jurisdictions – perhaps even having to accept Sharia law. ..."

" ... It was irresponsible for the Legislature to take this action without making a provision for interim funding or administration – something, anything before assigning the matter to fate.

"Gov. Butch Otter is on cleanup and needs to fix it – even if that means calling a special session to get it done.

"Anti-federal ideology and principle make the world go 'round when it is convenient. This action on SB 1067 stopped it."

Legislative committee's action threatens Idaho child support system — Spokane Spokesman-Review Editorial

" ... Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, among those who made this feeble connection, dismisses notification that Idaho will be cut off from the child support grid as a bluff. That's what Washington's Legislature thought last year, when they assumed the U.S. Department of Education would waive a requirement that teacher evaluations be based in part on student performance.

" It didn't, and Washington school districts lost control of $40 million. ..."

"A Christian pastor who was formerly Muslim said he encouraged a handful of legislators to table a child support bill, possibly costing Idaho $46 million in federal funding. ..."