Idaho Transportation Department Director Pam Lowe told legislative budget writers this morning that a state audit is right that deteriorating roads should be fixed long before they've gotten so bad, the so-called "worst-first" approach to road maintenance. But, she said, "Because of the lack of…
It failed last year, but the Otter Administration is pushing forward again with legislation to cut back health benefits for state retirees. It got a chilly initial reception yesterday in the House State Affairs Committee, but the bill's not dead yet. Click below to read…
Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Idaho is being delayed a few hours due to bad weather, the AP reports. Biden is leading a Presidential delegation that is expected to arrive in Boise today, and the schedule features several events affiliated with the Special Olympics…
It's Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday, and Idaho has a celebration planned featuring the unveiling of its newly restored and relocated statue of the 16th president, “The Emancipator,” which shows Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation. Idaho’s statue, first placed in 1915, six years after the introduction…
The Millenium Fund Committee met today, and lawmakers on the joint panel sent a message to Gov. Butch Otter, the AP reports: Idaho should raid its tobacco-settlement fund only as a "last resort" if tax revenue collapses. Here’s the news from AP reporter John Miller:…
Here's a surprise: Idaho actually has more women legislators than the national average. Even though just 25 percent of Idaho's legislative seats are held by women - eight of 35 in the Senate and 18 of 70 in the House - the figure's even lower…
Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett, R-Challis, had this to say today as she pitched a memorial about wolf delisting to the House Resources Committee: "If you need to whack a mule across the head with a 2-by-4 to get his attention, and all you have in…
Final state tax revenue figures for January and an agreement between the governor, JFAC leaders and legislative leaders on a new budget target - and a plan to get there - are tentatively scheduled to be announced Friday during that morning's JFAC meeting. "We have…
The House Education Committee has voted 9-8 against a bill proposed by Rep. Rich Jarvis, R-Meridian, to raise the high school dropout age from 16 to 18. “This committee is pretty well split,” said House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene. Click below to read…
Former state Rep. Wayne Meyer, who represented North Idaho in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2004, died Monday of colon cancer. He was 59. Meyer, a Republican, was a bluegrass seed farmer from Rathdrum and served as a high school basketball referee for…
When Gov. Butch Otter’s transportation bills were introduced yesterday, the numbers in the fiscal notes didn’t match up to his description of the program. For the first year, it appeared the package would raise only $42.9 million instead of $47 million, and in the fifth…
The Idaho Women’s Commission had its budget hearing this morning, with legislation pending by one JFAC member, Sen. Joyce Broadsword, to eliminate the commission entirely; Broadsword sees it as obsolete. But director Kitty Kunz got not a single question from the joint committee after giving…
Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, noted that the Legislature has “been very generous when we’ve had the money to be proactive on milfoil, and with the leadership of Rep. Anderson and others, made some great strides.” But now, she said, “Obviously, in our economic downturn we’re…
Here’s a link to my full story in today’s Spokesman-Review about Gov. Butch Otter’s pitch to raise taxes to fund more road work, and here’s a link to my full story about how cuts in rural economic development grants upset Idaho lawmakers. And over in…
State Agriculture Director Celia Gould described her department’s zero-based budgeting exercise in her budget presentation to lawmakers this year, stressing frugality. “I planned to cover budget highlights,” she told JFAC. “However, highlights is probably not a good word to use for anything headed our way…
Gov. Butch Otter, arm bound in a sling after shoulder surgery but vigorously greeting supporters, shaking hands (with his left hand) and touting his top priority - fixing Idaho roads - spoke out on the steps of the Capitol Annex today, urging lawmakers to pass…
The vote was unanimous on all five bills, as the House Transportation Committee voted to introduce Gov. Butch Otter's transportation proposals. Some lawmakers made it clear, however, that they're not yet sold on the governor's plan. "I'm going to vote to print these today, but…
PERSI, the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho, dropped from $12 billion to $8.5 billion in the past year, losing $3.5 billion. "We're down 25 percent for calendar year '08," Jody Olson, chairman of the PERSI board, told JFAC this morning. In fiscal year 2008,…
Liquor sales in Idaho are actually up 4.7 percent over last year, state Liquor Dispensary Superintendent Dyke Nally told lawmakers this morning. That puts it at a record $135.4 million in sales, up from $130.8 million last year, $78 million in 2003 and $58.1 million…
Lawmakers are none too happy about how the state Department of Commerce had dealt with its budget cutbacks in part by sharply cutting into state funding for rural economic development grants. "We're in tough times, and every agency has had to deal with holdbacks in…
Last year, Idaho passed an incentive program to attract film production to the state, but didn't fund it. This morning, Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, asked state Commerce Director Don Dietrich whether that ended up helping us or hurting us as far as attracting such businesses.…
Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, left, and Boise School District Superintendent Stan Olson, right, discuss the impact of proposed state budget cuts on the Boise school district. Boise-area legislators invited Olson and other local district officials to the Capitol Annex for the discussion. House Education Chairman…
Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise, who cast the only "no" vote in the House today on HB 61, the bill that makes the 4 percent holdbacks permanent plus adds to them, said he voted against the bill for two reasons. First, "I didn't think it was…
The Idaho Fish & Game Department has revised its proposed fee increase to make it more "modest," the department announced today. "In the light of tough economic times, Idaho Fish and Game has scaled back a proposed revenue increase to an overall 15 percent instead…
Gov. Butch Otter, who a week ago had shoulder surgery and who's been out recovering, is back at work now, at least part-time. Today, he's meeting with the co-chairs of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee about the latest state revenue figures; he's scheduled to meet with…