Dene Thomas, president of Lewis-Clark State College since 2001, is resigning effective July 1 to accept a new position as president of Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colo. Prior to heading LCSC, Thomas was the Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Idaho. She…
The House has now adjourned until 10 a.m. on Monday. So ends the legislative session's 75th day; when lawmakers return on Monday, it'll be Day 78.
The Senate is adjourning for the day. "We have quite a bit of work ahead of us on Monday," said Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls.
The Senate has voted 27-8 in favor of HB 701, the Medicaid budget for next year, which includes $22 million in cuts that, in turn, sacrifice tens of millions in federal matching funds. "This is an ugly budget - no one likes it, no one…
The House has voted 51-16 in favor of HB 729, the new version of the texting-while-driving bill. The new bill, which makes first-time violations a $50 infraction and subsequent violations a $100 infraction, still needs Senate passage and the governor's signature to become law. In…
Majority leaders on both sides have huddled, and as hard as they've been pushing, it's not looking like they can complete this year's legislative session today. That means lawmakers will be back at work on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, just told…
After just a brief break for the Ways & Means Committee meeting, during which other House members milled around, the House went back on the floor and passed a couple more bills before going into its amending order, amending several bills including the CAMP bill,…
The House Ways & Means Committee just gathered for a hastily called meeting, and introduced a new version of the texting-while-driving bill that earlier passed the Senate and has been awaiting amendment in the House. The new version makes a first violation an infraction with…
The House has voted unanimously, 62-0, in favor of HB 727, the bill revising the oversight of the Idaho Education Network in response to concerns from legislators and others about the way the development of the $60 million statewide broadband network to link Idaho's schools…
Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, told the Senate just now that while it appeared yesterday there was a chance the legislative session could wrap up today, "I don't know how to call it right now - I'm hopeful, I'm not optimistic." The Senate…
Gov. Butch Otter is pitching another amendment to the United States Constitution. This morning, just after the Senate State Affairs had approved, on a voice vote, a call to amend the Constitution to broaden the 10th Amendment and narrow the Commerce Clause, Otter's legal counsel,…
The Senate State Affairs Committee has voted along party lines to back HB 692a, the amended version of the pay bill for the state's top elected officials for the next four years. Senate President Pro-Tem Bob Geddes, R-Soda Springs, said it provides "what I consider…
The House is back on the floor this morning, and as the business opened, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle apologized that things will be "hectic" today. "We're gonna do everything we can to try to get done today," he said. With that, the House began…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
