Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Generous pensions for former legislators who win more-lucrative state appointments may become tougher to come by, if a southeastern Idaho Republican gets his way. Rep. Dennis Lake of Blackfoot is pushing to end…
The House State Affairs Committee this morning voted along party lines, with just the committee's Democrats objecting, in favor of HB 298, the latest version of legislation to nullify, or declare unconstitutional and bar for one year from taking effect in Idaho, the federal health…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the public school budget set by JFAC today, the single largest slide of the state budget and the focus of much angst in this year of budget-cutting. Idaho's public schools would see a $47 million…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The future of Idaho's sales tax rebate for wind power developments is in limbo after a lawmaker introduced a measure to scuttle a deal that industry and utilities worked out last Friday. Republican…
The Senate has voted 27-8 in favor of HB 260, the Medicaid cuts bill, sending it to the governor's desk. All seven Democrats and Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, voted against the bill.
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The House voted overwhelming to send a bill banning helping somebody else commit suicide to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter for signature. Monday's 61-8 vote came after brief debate on the chamber's floor. Republican…
The Senate has gone at ease, after Democrats mentioned a "minority report," but Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, noted that report hadn't yet been spread upon the pages of the journal of the Senate. It's a rules and procedure question, which is now…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republicans introduced a bill in the Senate to close their GOP primary to all but registered party voters starting in 2012. Under Monday's measure, Republicans would vote in GOP primary races, while Democrats…
The Senate has begun debating HB 260, the House-passed bill to cut $108 million out of the state's Medicaid program, including $35 million in state general funds. "Suggestions were received and heard, adjustments were made," Senate Health & Welfare Chairwoman Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, told…
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna had this reaction this morning to the public school budget set by JFAC: "It's considerably better than what we were anticipating and talking about before the Legislature came to town, but it's still the third year in a row…
JFAC has set a new budget for the state Department of Insurance, after the previous one was pulled from the House because some House Republicans objected to accepting $2.5 million in federal grants for the state to do preliminary planning work on setting up Idaho's…
JFAC has voted 14-6 to pay $100,000 to reimburse the attorneys for the Idaho Republican Party for the party's closed-primary lawsuit against the state, since the state lost the case. The plaintiff's attorney fees and costs were set at $143,900, but they agreed, after negotiations,…
JFAC has voted 7-13, defeating a motion from Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, to shift $10 million from a $25 million unused fund balance at the state Division for Veterans Affairs into higher education, to fund unfunded enrollment growth costs at the state's universities and community…
Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, has proposed shifting $10 million from unused fund balances identified in an earlier state audit into higher education and community colleges, to cover part of the unfunded costs for their enrollment growth. "To me, this is probably the best investment that…
In the first unanimous vote for JFAC today, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has voted 19-0 to approve a "surplus-eliminator" bill to address federal maintenance-of-effort requirements for schools and higher education. Those rules require the state to spend certain amounts of its available revenue in exchange…
JFAC is now looking at the federal "maintenance-of-effort" requirements that came with federal stimulus funds. Those require that if the state gets additional revenue in the current fiscal year, portions of it would have to go to schools or higher ed, where stimulus money went…
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, offered a substitute motion on the "intent language" that accompanies the public school budget, making just one change: Requiring a report tracking how much is spend for dual enrollment next year, as required by SB 1184. Dual enrollment is when high…
Among the provisions in the extensive "legislative intent" language that accompanies the public school budget is a clause to suspend the state's "maintenance match" requirement to school districts for next year, which saves the state $1.8 million. Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said a separate piece…
The final division of the public schools budget, for educational services for the deaf and blind, has passed on a party-line, 15-4 vote, with Democrats objecting. It calls for a 1.3 percent cut in total funding next year. Now the committee is moving on to…
In the facilities division of the public schools budget, there's a proposal to, for a third year, shift $17.6 million in lottery funds out of the the facilities division and into discretionary funds. Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, said, "My comfort level isn't real high with…
In the Division of Children's Programs portion of the public school budget, Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, offered a substitute motion to shift $963,500 targeted for paying for college entrance exams to school district discretionary funds. Ringo said those exams still would be required to be…
The Democrats' attempt to add $10 million to discretionary funds for school districts next year, tapping an unused balance in a school facilities fund, has failed on a 6-14 vote, with GOP Sens. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, and Mitch Toryanski, R-Boise, joining the four Democrats on…
Democrats on JFAC are offering a substitute motion on the budget for the division of operations within the K-12 public schools budget. The difference: They want to plug in another $10 million to go to discretionary funds for school districts. Under the original motion from…
The second motion in the public school budget, for the teachers division - which includes a cut in base salaries - passed on a 14-6 vote in JFAC, with two Republicans, Sens. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, and Mitch Toryanski, R-Boise, joining the committee's four Democrats in…
The first motion in the public schools budget, which is divided into six divisions, has passed JFAC on a 16-4 party-line vote, with the joint committee's four Democrats voting no. Included in the next budget division, which covers teachers, is permanent elimination of the $2,000…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
