BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho measure that would invite Oregon to begin talks with the Idaho Legislature about relocating their common state line was awarded a bill number, HJM 1, by an Idaho House of Representatives committee on Wednesday, Feb. 1, after a short discussion, according to a press release from Greater Idaho.

The bill was then read on the floor of the House. A full hearing before the Idaho House’s State Affairs Committee was scheduled for Monday, Feb. 13, at 9 a.m.

The bill, introduced Feb. 1, mirrors a measure introduced into this session of the Oregon Legislature by Sen. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls.

The Oregon measure, Senate Joint Memorial 2, became public Jan. 9, and notes that, of the 15 rural, conservative counties of Eastern Oregon that are proposed to become parts of Idaho, 11 already have approved ballot measures indicating support. It notes that Oregon slightly relocated its border with Washington in 1958.

Wallowa County will put the measure before voters for the second time in May. Local voters narrowly rejected the measure in 2020.

A spokesman said SJM 2 was assigned to the Senate Rules Committee but has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. The Greater Idaho backers believe that after the Idaho House passes the bill, they will have a better chance of getting a hearing in the Oregon legislative committee.

The measure lists several reasons that the Democratic majority of the Oregon Legislature should want to relocate the boundary: support for the self-determination of the people of Eastern Oregon, financial benefits of offloading Eastern Oregon and concern about the interference of (conservative) Eastern Oregon into the (progressive) politics of Western Oregon.

Idaho Reps. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, and Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, are the Idaho measure’s lead sponsors, and three cosponsors signed on to the bill after it was printed.

Boyle, whose district shares a border with Oregon, gave the committee several reasons to support the bill. She said that her county has been overwhelmed by drugs since Oregon changed its laws on marijuana and decriminalized hard drugs. She said moving the state line would move the problem farther away.

Boyle cited a forthcoming final report on a major economic analysis that was funded by the Claremont Institute. The study found that relocating the state border would provide a net benefit to the government of Idaho’s budget of $170 million annually.

Lastly, she said that relocating the border would ease the intense influx of people to the current counties of Idaho, as some of the migration is politically motivated. The proposed relocation would increase Idaho’s territory by 74% while increasing the state’s population by 21% according to the Greater Idaho movement’s website, greateridaho.org.

A video of the hearing can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_OkzEENHRE.