After the dust-up over the reading of the sex offender bill, the next bill up in the House was one sponsored by House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston. SB 1100 makes technical changes to child immunization laws; it earlier passed the Senate on a unanimous…
Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, objected to the full reading of the sex offender registration bill, saying its language was offensive - it included wording about crimes of a sexual nature. "Having the clerk have to get up and read that, that's ridiculous," Wood said. "I…
The Senate has adjourned for the day, and indicated it won't be working this weekend; meanwhile, the House has taken up SB 1154a, the "Sexual Offender Registration Notification and Community Right-to-Know Act." Democrats objected to waiving the full reading the bill, and the full text…
The budget bill for the state Liquor Division drew plenty of opposition when it cleared the House just now, passing on a 38-30 vote, after much talk about how the division plans to keep some stores in busy areas open for later hours. The bill,…
The House has voted 47-21 in favor of SB 1181, the budget for Idaho's state colleges and universities, after much debate. The budget bill, which earlier passed the Senate, now moves to the governor's desk; it sets state funding for the state's colleges and universities…
Senators have voted unanimously in favor of HB 213, legislation co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives from throughout the state, to clarify - retroactively to Jan. 1 - that a tip is not part of the sales price for a restaurant meal.…
It could not be more gorgeous outside - it's 66 degrees in Boise, sunny, with light wind. Yet political storms still are raging inside the state Capitol, where it appears that lawmakers still will be in session all next week. Step outside, and it's really,…
The House has moved slowly through its business today, with Democrats refusing to agree to waive full reading of the text of several bills, though they allowed appropriations bills to be debated without full reading. The Dems still are holding out for hearings on a…
The Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee has voted unanimously to send HB 297, the governor's "Hire One Act" job tax credit bill, to the Senate's 14th Order for amendment. Committee members pointed out some technical issues with the bill's wording that they said need…
The AAA of Idaho is decrying HB 314, which it describes as "last-minute legislation introduced just last Friday," that the motorists' group says would "double the cost for the ten thousand families who opt to send their teens to driver training through public schools." The…
Gov. Butch Otter's "Hire One Act," creating a new jobs tax credit bill, is up for a hearing this afternoon in the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee, and so far the senators, who killed an earlier job tax credit bill proposed by the Idaho…
Gov. Butch Otter has issued this statement on today's appointment of Virgil Moore as Idaho's new Fish & Game director, replacing the retiring Cal Groen: “I want to thank Cal Groen for the outstanding job he did as director of the Idaho Department of Fish…
HB 337, the compromise wind energy rebate extension bill, has passed the House on a 41-25 vote, after a debate that stretched through and past the noon hour. The measure now moves to the Senate for consideration. The bill extends the current renewable energy rebate…
Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, debating in favor of the renewable energy rebate bill, told the House, "This is going to be our future. ... Good policy is going to be very important to address." He noted that he co-sponsored legislation several years ago to…
Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, responding to questions from Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, told the House, "Wind is a benefit to the ratepayer, because it costs less." Fuel costs are nil, he said, compared to utilties' current "resource of preference," natural gas, because "wind is free."…
The House is now debating HB 337, the wind energy rebate bill. First, the four-page bill was read in full; now it's being vigorously debated. The bill extends the current renewable energy rebate through Dec. 31, 2014, provided that if it's for wind or solar,…
"In the spat that's become the Idaho House, Democrats and Republicans are still going at each other in a style that befits siblings in the family car's backseat," the AP reports today. "Thursday morning's hearing in the chamber's State Affairs Committee was another good example.…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Public-access TV proponents were the mouse that roared Thursday in the House State Affairs Committee, where they helped scuttle a bill aimed at revamping how video franchises are handed out in Idaho. Telecom…
The Senate has voted 32-2 in favor of HB 210, the right-to-farm law expansion; the bill now goes to the governor's desk. Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, who voted in favor of the bill, said, "What comes to me is something that we all seem to…
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d'Alene, debating in favor of HB 210, the right-to-farm expansion, recalled the field-burning smoke issue on the Rathdrum Prairie. "In fact, the same folks who were fussing about the smoke didn't realize the irony of getting rid of that smoke and…
SB 1180, the budget for Idaho's community colleges for next year, which includes a cut of more 5.6 percent in total funds and no funding to cover enrollment growth, has passed the House on a 53-14 vote, but not without objections. Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise,…
Virgil Moore, the current deputy director for field operations ad the Idaho Fish & Game Department, has been named the department's new director. Moore, 59, will replace Cal Groen, who is retiring. Click below to read an announcement from Fish & Game.
The Senate is debating HB 210, the expansion of Idaho's "Right to Farm" law to protect expansions of ag operations from nuisance claims or local ordinances declaring them nuisances "There really is no one in agriculture, no one, who wants to be found to be…
Full reading of the text of bills is likely to continue in the House today. House Speaker Lawerence Denney said he talked with Minority Leader John Rusche this morning, and, "We'll agree to disagree, I guess." He said, "I suspect that those that have any…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
