The Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry, a lobbying group that represents the state's biggest businesses, has sent a letter to Gov. Butch Otter praising his decision to apply for federal grant funds to start an Idaho health insurance exchange, and laying out its ideas…
Idaho's Legislative Services Office has won an award from the National Conference of State Legislatures for its new Government Electronic Management System, or GEMS, that handles bill-drafting, processing of bills and votes, journals, calendars and more during the legislative session. Legislative services spokeswoman Sheila Ison…
The Idaho Chamber Alliance, which represents chambers of commerce across the state, hosted a Southwest Idaho legislative summit in Meridian today, one of a series it's doing in regions around the state to settle on its legislative priorities for the 2012 legislative session. In this…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Gov. Butch Otter's decision today to give the go-ahead for Idaho to apply for nearly $31 million in federal grants to start an Idaho health insurance exchange. Otter remains a firm opponent of the national…
Click here for a full report from AP reporter Rebecca Boone on today's settlement of the prison-violence lawsuit between Idaho prison inmates and Corrections Corp. of America, which operates the Idaho Correctional Center state prison south of Boise. CCA doesn’t acknowledge the allegations but agrees…
Idaho's state Land Board, which is chaired by the governor and includes the state Attorney General, Secretary of State, Controller and Superintendent of Public Instruction, voted unanimously today to begin crafting updates to its asset management plan for the state endowment, to reflect recent updates,…
Idaho's Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, which consists of the members of the state Land Board - the state's top elected officials - voted this morning to set the levy on all oil and gas produced in Idaho at the maximum level currently allowed by…
The month of August was "a tough one for the endowment," state endowment fund investment manager Larry Johnson reported to the state Land Board this morning, with a loss of 4.5 percent for the month, for a total loss for the fiscal year, since July…
The fire season on Idaho state lands so far this year has seen only 48 percent of the 20-year average number of fires, while the acres burned are only 7 percent of the 20-year average, the Idaho state Land Board heard this morning. That's the…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A potential class-action lawsuit against the nation's largest private prison company over allegations of violence at the Idaho Correctional Center has been settled in federal court. The agreement between the inmates and Nashville,…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter announced today that he's decided to allow the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare and the Idaho Department of Insurance to apply for federal grant funding to start an Idaho health insurance exchange. “It’s a difficult choice, but one I find…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Imperial Oil of Canada is asking a Montana judge to dissolve or modify his order that effectively stopped huge loads of oilfield equipment from travelling along two-lane roads in Montana. District Judge Ray…
Idaho Democrats have named their three new redistricting commissioners: Former state Sen. Ron Beitelspacher of Grangeville, who served in the Idaho Senate from 1980 to 1992, appointed by state party Chairman Larry Grant; former state Rep. Elmer Martinez of Pocatello, who served in the Idaho…
Much attention has been focused on the fact that 10 years ago, when Idaho's first evenly-split bipartisan redistricting commission settled on a new legislative district plan, L-66, one Republican, former state Rep. Dean Haagenson of Coeur d'Alene, joined with three Democratic commissioners in the 4-2…
It's big news for Boise that Zions Bank plans its new headquarters for the corner of 8th and Main streets downtown - site of the infamous Boise hole, where the historic Eastman Building stood until it burned to the ground in 1987, just as it…
Idaho's state Department of Education is recommendation the state abandon efforts to compete for up to $50 million in federal grant money to improve preschool education programs during the latest round of the "Race to the Top" contest, reports AP reporter Jessie Bonner. "We came…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's unemployment rate dipped to 9.2 percent in August, down from 9.4 percent in July. The state Department of Labor released the latest jobless numbers Friday. While Idaho posted its lowest unemployment rate…
A national survey of "civic engagement" finds that Washington scores well, while Idaho's fair to middling, on such measures as voting, volunteering, participating in a group and working with neighbors to solve community problems. Washington's scores in the new survey by the Corporation for National…
Idaho Transportation Director Brian Ness today denied a petition to intervene and hold a contested-case hearing on a new proposal from Nickel Bros. and Weyerhaeuser Inc. to run nine large oversize loads, including several wide enough to block both lanes of traffic, across U.S. Highway…
Though Idaho achieved the dubious distinction this week of being declared the state with the slowest Internet by the New York Times - a study earlier this year showed Idaho has the nation's slowest residential Internet download speeds, the city with the slowest service anywhere…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Students at Idaho State University have voted to support a proposed smoking ban on the Pocatello campus. The existing university policy requires smokers to be at least 20 feet from buildings. School administrators…
Researchers at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, a partnership between Idaho's three public research universities and the Idaho National Laboratory, have won three different U.S. Department of Energy grants worth a total of $5.3 million. The three are for solar energy, geothermal energy and…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An inmate who sued a privately run Idaho prison over allegations of extreme violence and medical neglect has reached a settlement with the private prison company Corrections Corp. of America. Meanwhile, dozens of…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how both of Idaho's U.S. senators and North Idaho's congressman introduced legislation today to amend the Endangered Species Act to clarify that it's OK to shoot a grizzly bear in self-defense or in defense of…
Derek Goldman, Northern Rockies representative for the Endangered Species Coalition, a national network of hundreds of groups that support species conservation, today blasted new legislation proposed by two Idaho senators and one Idaho congressman to amend the Endangered Species Act. “This is case of politicians…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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