When Gov. Butch Otter's office was asked for a comment late Tuesday on the spat that developed between the governor and lawmakers over replacement of lawmakers' laptop computers, Jon Hanian, spokesman for Otter, said, "Our take is there's gonna be these moments - hopefully fewer…
The Idaho Association of Government Employees, which represents some state workers, is upset that Gov. Butch Otter didn't talk about state employees in his annual State of the State message - though state worker pay has been a major theme for him in past years.…
Marc Stewart, spokesman for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, said the tribe is concerned about Gov. Butch Otter's proposal to drop state funding for Old Mission State Park. "The tribe is disappointed in the decision, and it's really too bad that the budget crisis is going…
The Senate has finished its reshuffling of committee assignments now that Sen. Russ Fulcher is in leadership (majority caucus chair), and Fulcher's former seat on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has gone to Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton. Siddoway's former seat on the Senate Local Government &…
Legislative Democrats are faulting Gov. Butch Otter's priorities, saying he shouldn't be cutting education and other essential state services while leaving hundreds of millions in state rainy-day funds. "Our tax dollars created these rainy-day funds; they're there for a purpose," said House Minority Leader John…
Here's a news item from the AP about one of the cuts contained in Gov. Butch Otter's proposed budget for next year:State officials say budget cuts will force them to cut off funding on July 1 to the Old Mission State Park in northern Idaho,…
Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, says Gov. Butch Otter's line-item veto last year of funds for a legislative computer upgrade was in retaliation for a legislative trim in a DFM budget item. "The governor didn't like it, because there's a long history," Cameron said,…
Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, told Gov. Butch Otter's budget chief, Wayne Hammon, that "some of us have a more pessimistic view" than the adminstration on how state revenues will fare, and said he hopes the governor will work with them. Hammon responded that the governor's…
The generally friendly Wayne Hammon, Gov. Butch Otter's budget chief, delivered a threat from the governor to lawmakers as he was detailing the governor's budget proposal this morning: Otter opposes a $142,000 appropriation to the Legislative Council for laptop computers for the legislative branch -…
Gov. Butch Otter's Division of Financial Management is forecasting that state tax revenues for the current year, fiscal year 2009, will come in 9.5 percent down from the previous year. Then, from that lowered level, DFM is predicting a 1 percent growth in revenue the…
Here's a link to my full story in today's Spokesman-Review on Gov. Butch Otter's State of the State message, with its historic proposal for a cut in public school funding. This morning, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is holding its first meeting, and will examine the…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
