John Miller of The Associated Press reports that House Speaker Bruce Newcomb rescinded his punishments for Reps.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 final legislative session.

Newcomb later told the chamber he was retracting the letters, saying he didn't want to leave the session on a sour note. Since Thursday morning, lawmakers including House Majority Leader Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, had been trying to get Newcomb to reconsider what would have been one of his last acts as speaker. Newcomb is resigning from the Legislature after 20 years."

The revoking of the committee seats was 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. Loertscher was the only other lawmaker to support Sali's appeal.

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