Here's a news item from the Associated Press and Idaho State Journal: POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Faculty leaders at Idaho State University claim administrators violated their free speech rights when blocking the provisional faculty senate from sending emails to the campus community. The Idaho State…
The Idaho Democratic Party has issued its second correction in two weeks, this time correcting a guest opinion it distributed earlier today from party Chairman Larry Grant that said proceeds from former Congressman Bill Sali's proposed special license plate "would go to Sali's recently formed…
Sen. Denton Darrington, presenting SB 1263 to the Senate today, which imposes a $10 one-time fee upon conviction of a misdemeanor or felony to raise funds for the state's victim notification system, had this answer to the question of whether the state wasn't piling fees…
The House has adjourned for the day without taking up HB 464, the oil and gas regulation bill that would pre-empt local county regulations. That means the next time the measure could come up for a debate and full House vote is tomorrow.
The House has begun its page program, including skits; that may mean HB 464, the controversial bill asserting state authority over local government regulation of oil and gas drilling, may not come up today, depending on how long the program takes. It's the next bill…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Leaders in Washington County now have a new set of rules that require energy companies to get local approval before drilling for natural gas or building refineries. The Idaho Statesman reports that the…
Nearly 1,300 Idaho teachers left the profession in 2011, the AP reports, up from about 700 the year before. More than half of the educators who abandoned teaching last year left for "personal reasons," according to data from the state Department of Education. The number…
A rare meeting of the Senate Finance Committee - the Senate half of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee - convened this morning to consider a bill proposed by Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, to make a significant change to the "Students Come First" school reform…
It's "Buy Idaho" day in the state Capitol today, which means that three floors of the rotunda are crowded with displays, information booths, products and freebies galore, all highlighting Idaho businesses and products made in Idaho.
After JFAC this morning unanimously approved a $671,200 supplemental appropriation to the Department of Environmental Quality for continued cleanup at the Bunker Hill Superfund site - the money comes from a settlement with Hecla Mining and is part of continuing cleanup within the 22-square-mile "box"…
JFAC has approved a $13 million supplemental appropriation for the Catastrophic Health Care program for the current year, down from the original request of $17.6 million. Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, said that will be enough to bring the total ongoing funding for fiscal year 2012…
Idaho's election laws have changed dramatically for this year's primary election, due to the Legislature's passage of HB 351 last year to allow the Republican Party to close its primary to anyone who's not a registered Republican; Idaho's never before had official party registration. So…
Rick Santorum's campaign rally in Boise drew an overflow crowd to the 1,300-seat Capital High School auditorium tonight. "The bigger the government is, the smaller you become," Santorum told the enthusiastic crowd. "It is a zero-sum game." Most of his remarks were aimed at President…
The EPA will unveil plans tomorrow to scale back its Coeur d'Alene Basin Superfund cleanup from a 100-year, $1.3 billion deal to more like about 30 years and $730-some million, in response to public comments from the state and local residents. Idaho DEQ Director Toni…
The Senate Transportation Committee has approved SB 1274, Sen. Jim Hammond's bill to ban texting while driving. The bill defines texting as, "Engaging in the review of, or manual preparation and transmission of, written communications via handheld wireless devices." Law enforcement, fire or emergency medical…
Seven more people have now testified in favor of SB 1274, the bill to ban texting while driving, including lobbyists for insurance companies and law enforcement, who were in favor; a Meridian police sergeant, in favor; several teens in favor; one teen against, who said…
Idaho State Police Capt. Ryan Zimmerman told the Senate Transportation Committee that SB 1274, the anti-texting while driving bill, is strongly supported by the ISP. "It is very cleanly written easy to understand, and easy for us to enforce," he said. Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur…
Shauna Sauer of Caldwell told the Senate Transportation Committee this afternoon that her 18-year-old daughter, Taylor, died on Jan. 14 of this year from a texting-while-driving accident. "Taylor slammed into the back of a tanker truck that was doing 15 mph on the freeway that…
There's a full house for this afternoon's hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee on SB 1274, Sen. Jim Hammond's bill to ban texting while driving; seated in the front row are the parents and four surviving siblings of 18-year-old Taylor Sauer of Caldwell, who was…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — With the 2012 session half over, opposition from the Legislature's conservatives has all but ended Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's plan for using a $20.3 million federal grant for a state-run insurance exchange required…
On the very day that GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum is campaigning at two rallies in Idaho - in Coeur d'Alene right now, and in Boise tonight - rival Mitt Romney's campaign has announced that Romney will appear at a rally Friday in Boise, at…
House Resources Chairman Bert Stevenson, R-Rupert, has decided not to seek a ninth term in the Idaho Legislature, the Twin Falls Times-News reports today. Stevenson, 76, a semi-retired farmer and Army veteran, landed in a legislative district with two other House incumbents when legislative district…
The Senate has voted 26-9 in favor of HB 404a, the anti-Occupy Boise bill, which would evict the encampment from state property on an emergency basis. The bill now goes back to the House for a vote on it as amended in the Senate, which…
As senators debate HB 404a, the anti-Occupy Boise bill: Sen. John Tippets, R-Montpelier, said he stopped in at the Occupy Boise encampment one evening. "I sat down by the wood-burning stove for about an hour, and talked to them," he said. Tippets said it was…
As the Senate debate on the anti-Occupy bill, HB 404a, continues, here are some more of the comments: Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, told the Senate, "Folks, this bill is aiming at a group of people who are just simply exercising their rights. That's…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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