Deregulation: It's What's for Dinner.

In January 2023, newly sworn-in Sen. Scott Herndon introduced what he called his "raw milk decriminalization and regulation reduction bill." It did what the label says: struck the misdemeanor penalty for violating Idaho's raw milk law, gutted most of the statute, and loosened the rules on herd shares. It passed the Senate 34-0 and Gov. Little signed it in March. What Herndon's tweet didn't mention is that Bonner County's only Grade A raw milk dairy, Pleasant Meadow Creamery in Sagle, is run by Paul Herndon, his brother. Scott didn't disclose that at the hearing. He didn't have to. Idaho's ethics law only cares about your household, not your family tree, which is a lovely loophole if your family tree has a dairy in it. Since the bill took effect, Idaho has had four separate raw milk outbreaks, including nine people hospitalized with E. coli in February and roughly 60 sickened with Campylobacter this spring. Deregulation: it's what's for dinner.

The Herndon family's commitment to public service doesn't stop at the milk barn. Paul Herndon is also the registered agent for Idaho Freedom Caucus Inc. and signed its most recent annual report as the group's CPA. The Idaho Freedom Caucus PAC, in turn, spent $24,691.78 on radio, TV, internet ads, and mailers for Scott Herndon in the two weeks before the May 2024 primary. These were "independent expenditures," meaning the law requires they not be coordinated with the candidate. We're sure the Herndon brothers were very careful about that over Thanksgiving. Scott lost that primary anyway, which is the one part of this story where Idaho's regulatory system worked exactly as designed.