It was Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, who objected to House Majority Leader Mike Moyle's unanimous-consent request to use a previous roll-call to suspend rules and allow the immediate consideration of the amended texting-while-driving bill, which then led to the bill being killed in the final…
The House has adjourned sine die, without passing anything to ban texting while driving, an issue that drew teens from around the state to testify to lawmakers this year and send petitions pleading for such a ban. The House refused to go along with Senate…
The House has failed to get a two-thirds vote to suspend its rules to take up the amended texting-while-driving bill; the vote was 37-30. That's not two-thirds. So now the House is moving to adjourn sine die - without passing anything to ban texting while…
The Senate has voted to adjourn sine die, "in honor of our retiring mninority leaders, Sen. Kate Kelly and Sen. Clint Stennett, and their service." That's at 8:55 p.m. Mountain time.
When so many bills pass in one dayAfter long weeks held progress at bayFor right or for wrongAll that plodding alongWhat was the reason to stay?
It was darn close - and the vote teetered both ways before finally settling down - but the final tally was 37-31, so the House has voted to concur in the Senate amendments to HB 729, the texting-while-driving bill. The measure still needs a vote…
Senators are saying their goodbyes and applauding, while House members are hotly debating whether to concur in the Senate amendments to the House-passed texting-while-driving bill. Several are urging non-concurrence - which would mean Idaho wouldn't pass a texting-while-driving ban this year, though dozens of teens…
The House has received the delegation from the Senate with word that the Senate has completed its business for this year's legislative session and plans to adjourn sine die; House Speaker Lawerence Denney responded that the House expects to send a similar message back to…
The Senate has reached the end of its business, and sent committees to notify the governor and the House that it's prepared to adjourn sine die, or "without a day," the latin phrase used to signify the end of the legislative session.
The Senate has voted 30-4 in favor of HB 729a, the House-passed version of the texting-while-driving ban, as amended in the Senate. "What we've done is a middle-of-the-road approach," said Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, the Senate transportation chairman. The bill still needs House concurrence in…
The House is going at ease for an hour. House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, told the House just now, there there's "one bill here, a couple at the desk, a couple coming from the other side" and then they'll be done. "So our intention…
The Senate is back on the floor, and taking up the bills it just amended, including HB 589a, the Idaho Firearms Freedom Act. At this point, the Senate has just 10 bills left to deal with - before it adjourns sine die.
The Senate has finished its amending order, leaving three bills unamended: SB 1348 and SB 1350 on bicycles, and SB 1271, Sen. John McGee's immigration bill on false documents. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis asked unanimous consent to refer those three bills to the State…
The House has voted 43-26 in favor of SJM 106, the non-binding memorial calling for amending the U.S. Constitution to ban health care mandates. It was a surprisingly divided vote for a measure pushed by Gov. Butch Otter in the heavily GOP Legislature. The memorial…
A number of House Republicans are joining Democrats in debating against SJM 106, the measure calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban health care mandates. "I don't take amending the Constitution lightly," said Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle. "I will not stand still…
The Senate is in its 14th Order for amendments, and has amended HB 589, the "Idaho Firearms Freedom Act," and HB 614, a bill regarding administrative rules. They're now considering amendments to HB 681, a measure regarding the medically indigent.
The House is now debating SJM 106, Gov. Butch Otter's proposal for a non-binding resolution calling on Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban health-care mandates. Among those debating against the measure: Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, who said, "I think we already have the…
The House is back in session, and House Speaker Lawerence Denney announced that HB 730 will be held at the desk. That's the bill introduced this morning in the House Education Committee to require changes in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee budget process, from requiring public…
Gov. Butch Otter has allowed SB 1353 - the health care "conscience" bill - to become law without his signature. In a statement explaining why, he wrote, "Forcing healthcare professionals to provide services they find morally objectionable is unacceptable; however, negatively impacting patients' rights -…
A near-party line vote in the House State Affairs Committee has approved SJM 106, Gov. Butch Otter's proposal for a non-binding resolution calling on Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban health-care mandates. David Hensley, the governor's legal counsel, said the governor has received…
The House is going at ease, and the House State Affairs Committee plans to meet in 10 minutes.
"Nevertheless, the GARVEE bill passed"The evils of going in debtHave many House members upsetWe're already infor $681 millionBut $12 million more on the bet?
The Senate has voted 21-13 in favor of HB 692a, the bill to raise salaries for Idaho's top elected officials three and four years out, after first cutting them 4 percent next year and then restoring them to this year's level in 2012. "It is…
Here's an oddity: Gov. Butch Otter apparently signed a slew of bills into law on Thursday, but didn't bother to tell anyone about it. Among the bills he signed: SB 1286, the measure declaring raccoons to be "predatory wildlife"; HB 561, allowing docks to be…
The Senate Transportation Committee has voted to amend the new House-passed anti-texting-while-driving bill, HB 729, and now it's headed to the Senate's 14th Order for amendment. "The bill that this committee passed out unanimously I think was a much better piece of legislation," said Senate…
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