Biographical Information
Campaign Phone
(208)884-8684
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Representative Jason Monks
1. What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
The single greatest accomplishment I can achieve is to serve the people of Idaho with honesty and integrity. Regardless of political differences, I aim to win the respect and pride of my family, friends, neighbors, and the Idahoans I serve in District 22 and across our great state. Issues aside, it is my ultimate goal to provide a fair system of government that meets the needs of Idahoans and listens to the citizens of our state.
2. What experience has prepared you for this office?
My wife and I have 8 kids, four of whom are grown and married, excelled in school and graduated from college. We also have 4 adopted kids with some special needs. This has given me a unique perspective of the educational needs in our state and an inside view of the foster care system.
I was 1 of only 50 individuals across the Nation selected to attend the State Legislative Leaders Foundation’s Emerging Legislative Leaders Program. I was also honored to attend the Henry Toll Fellowship Program through the Council on State Governments. I currently serve on the Revenue & Finance, Transportation, Ways & Means, Federalism and Foster Care Committees. I was also elected by my legislative colleagues to serve as the Idaho House Majority Leader.
3. What do you see as the most significant challenges Idaho faces that you might be able to address in this position?
I helped to author and sponsor HB292 & HB521 which will put approximately $1.5 Billion into public school facilities. During my tenure, we have also invested Billions of dollars into transportation. Over the last 5 years, we have lowered taxes by more than $3.5 Billion. I will continue to lead the charge to fund educational and transportation needs. However, we must control the runaway costs associated with Medicaid expansion. When Idaho voted to expand Medicaid, we were told that it would only cost $40 million. Since Medicaid expansion was implemented, Idaho’s costs have increased to more than $400 million. If costs continue to escalate, we won’t be able to continue to make historic investments in education and transportation.
4. Would you support legislation to remove criminal liability for physicians and pregnant women experiencing life threatening pregnancy complications and allow for medical and family decisions regarding continuation of that pregnancy. Please explain your response.
I support laws and legislation that provides criminal liability protection for physicians and women in situations of life-threatening pregnancies. As a pro-life supporter, I believe that only in specific and rare circumstances, it may be necessary to terminate a pregnancy to save the life of the mother.
It should be noted that Idaho’s Defense of Life statues do not contain penalties for doctors who perform an abortion in life threatening circumstances. Furthermore, the current laws of Idaho specifically protect women from any criminal liability.
5. What else would you like to tell the voters?
Before I was elected, I promised that I would uphold the constitution, reduce taxes & promote Idaho values. I believe I have kept my promise. Each time I was elected by my constituents, I have also been elected by my legislative colleagues. I was elected to Legislative Council 3x, the Assistant Majority Leader 2x, and now as the Majority Leader. I worked hard to make sure that the cities I represent got its fair share of sales tax revenue when I revamped the sales tax distribution system. I have worked hard to ensure that ACHD received their fair share of transportation funding. I have worked hard to lower taxes for everyone. If I am re-elected, I will continue to work hard for the constituents of District 22 and for the people of Idaho.