Monday could be it
Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, just told reporters that a deal has been reached on aquifer recharge and the session will adjourn Monday, likely without the major property tax relief North Idaho wants.
Eye On Boise archive for Jan. 1, 2006
FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2006
House adjourns in the middle of abortion debate
The House adjourned in the middle of debate on the informed consent abortion bill, SB 1482, after House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet of Ketchum and the other Democrats walked out in protest of comments made by bill co-sponsor Rep. Bill Sali, R-Kuna.“It’s kind of an…
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006
On second thought...
John Miller of The Associated Press reports that House Speaker Bruce Newcomb rescinded his punishments for Reps. Bill Sali, R-Kuna, and Tom Loertscher, R-Iona.Miller reports:"The Burley Republican yielded to advice from colleagues who advised him against such a move in the waning days of his…
Newcomb's revenge?
House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley, stripped Rep. Bill Sali, R-Kuna, of his committee seats today, an apparent attempt at revenge for Sali’s challenging Newcomb’s ruling on Wednesday that the combination property tax bill, HB 876, can’t be divided into separate votes.Sali, a candidate for the…
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006
More eyes on Boise
I’m off Thursday and Friday for a long-planned family gathering, but Spokesman-Review reporter Meghann Cuniff will be keeping an eye on Boise in my absence, and posting updates to this blog. Got tips for Meghann? Contact her at meghann.cuniff@gmail.com
HB 876 clears Senate committee on 5-4 vote
The big combo property tax reform bill, HB 876, just cleared the Senate Local Government & Tax Committee on a 5-4 vote, after more than an hour-long hearing in a surprisingly packed Gold Room – the Capitol’s largest hearing room – despite just moments of…
Whoops...
It turns out that the House recessed without first taking the formal step of transmitting the bill it’d just passed to the Senate – which means it hasn’t arrived over there, and the Senate can’t refer it to committee and hold a 2 p.m. committee…
Speaker wins hands-down
The House just voted 65-2 to uphold Speaker Bruce Newcomb’s ruling in a face-off with Rep. Bill Sali, R-Kuna, over Sali’s attempt to split up the various parts that make up HB 876, the combination property tax reform bill. “The decision of the speaker has…
The debate is on
The House is vigorously debating HB 876, the new combo bill that lumps together increasing the homeowner’s exemption, removing the school maintenance property tax levy, and raising the sales tax by 1.25 cents to make up the lost school funding. Among the points brought up…
North Idaho secede from the state? 1
A passing remark in Senate debate yesterday from Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, has prompted talk about North Idaho seceding from the state – though Jorgenson cautioned this morning, “I don’t know of any formal effort to try and do that, but there are people…
TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2006
House Rev & Tax concurs in two bills, adds a new one
The House Revenue & Taxation Committee just got out, after an hour-long meeting in which it reached several significant decisions on remaining property tax reform issues:The panel unanimously agreed to concur in Senate amendments to both HB 421, increasing the homeowner’s exemption, and HB 422,…
AP: One JFAC member often wasn't there, due to gun shows
Here’s an interesting report just in from reporter John Miller of the Associated Press:“BOISE, Idaho (AP) – A state senator from a Boise suburb who sits on the committee that divvies up Idaho's $2.34 billion state budget missed nearly one in three committee votes this…
Senate kills constitutional amendment, 18-17
The Idaho Senate just voted 18-17 in favor of SJR 108, the bill to amend the state Constitution to shift school operations funding off the property tax and raise the sales tax to make up the difference – but that wasn’t enough to pass the…
MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2006
Gold-colored campaign pins back an array of new lt gov candidates
Coeur d’Alene Rep. Bob Nonini was walking around wearing a gold, oval-shaped button today that said, “Cathyanne Nonini for Lieutenant Governor.” And Rep. Eric Anderson had one that said, “Nicky Anderson for Lieutenant Governor.” Nonini joked that his wife would have an edge on Anderson’s…
First hostage bill released
The Senate has moved HB 791 on its way, the bill to impose a two-year moratorium on new coal-fired plants. The measure had already passed both houses, but last week when House Speaker Bruce Newcomb hijacked several other bills and sent them back to House…
Capitol reopened, back in business
The state capitol was reopened at 10:55 a.m. Mountain time, and folks poured back in to start up again a legislative session that's dragged into its 85th day.
FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2006
Unversity Place litigation settled
A settlement has been reached in litigation over the University of Idaho’s failed University Place real estate project in Boise. Under its terms, the UI Foundation will pay $2.5 million and the various parties’ insurers will pay $5.8 million, for a total $8.3 million mediated…
Garvee bill sidetracked, tempers flare – all part of the chess game?
House Speaker Bruce Newcomb has assigned the GARVEE bonding bill – the funding for the first year of the “Connecting Idaho” highway plan, including major upgrades to U.S. Highway 95 – to the House Transportation Committee, though it’s an appropriation bill that’s already cleared the…
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006
Speaker responds to Senate water vote
Here’s how House Speaker Bruce Newcomb responded right after the Senate voted 14-21 against his water recharge bill, HB 800: “I don’t know where you go from here. … I hope it keeps the discussion alive. … The good part of this is there’s an…
Water bill fails on 14-21 vote
After a debate stretching for more than three hours – from 11 a.m. right on through the lunch hour and into the mid-afternoon – the Senate has just voted down HB 800, House Speaker Bruce Newcomb’s water recharge bill. The measure was strongly opposed by…
Senate passes resolution stopping high school redesign
The Senate has just voted 24-11 for SCR 134, a resolution sponsored by Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, that rejects the high school curriculum redesign rule that the House Education Committee accepted last week. There was a long and intense debate, and in the end, the…
Lawmakers honor Bianchi
Legislators filled the Gold Room this morning to honor Carl Bianchi, the director of legislative services who tried to retire before this legislative session – but was prevailed upon by legislative leadership to stay on through June.“When he announced his retirement, we turned into lobbyists,”…
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2006
Punching a $40 million hole…
Here’s Rep. Jim Clark’s explanation of the new House property tax bill that was introduced today: “What this will do is it will punch about a $40 million hole in the budget.”Yes, Clark, R-Hayden Lake, doesn’t like the bill, which eliminates school operations property taxes…
A soft chair and the mice out
When JFAC approved funding this morning for the Capitol renovation project – including moving the Legislature into the abandoned old Ada County Courthouse across the street for at least two future sessions while the work is done, Co-Chair Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, commented as she…
Coal-plan moratorium passes, and coal plant proposal is off
HB 791, placing a two-year moratorium on development of new coal-fired power plants in Idaho, just passed the Senate on a 30-5 vote – but the project that prompted the moratorium is off. Lobbyist Roy Eiguren distributed copies of a letter today from Sempra Generation…
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