JFAC has set a budget for the Idaho Attorney General's office for next year that reflects a 5.8 percent increase in state general funds and fully funds Attorney General Lawrence Wasden's $400,000 request to refill two vacant attorney positions and head off unpaid furloughs for…
Budgets for the offices of the governor and the lieutenant were quickly approved by JFAC this morning on unanimous, 20-0 votes; neither contains any new line items, and the only increases are for the 2 percent raises for state employees and statutorily required increases in…
Lt. Gov. Brad Little had to break a 16-16 tie in the Senate this evening, as senators deadlocked over HB 391, which removes the presidential preference primary from Idaho's May primary election ballot. Both parties are now using caucuses to select their presidential convention delegates,…
Six-term Idaho Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, has decided to end his 12-year legislative career after this year. "I'm not going to run," Harwood said Thursday. "My wife's family's not doing well. ... She needs me to be there." After 12 years in the Legislature,…
The House Commerce & Human Resources Committee voted this afternoon to kill HCR 41, which would have zero-funded state employee raises next year, and passed HCR 40, setting raises at 2 percent; the committee voted to send the measure to the House's amending order for…
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has reviewed the sexual harassment allegations against former Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, and handed the case over to the Idaho State Police. "He determined it was appropriate to provide to ISP," said Attorney General's office spokesman Bob Cooper, who said…
The Idaho House has voted 53-15 in favor of HJM 10, Rep. Carlos Bilabo's non-binding memorial to Congress backing legislation to allow employers to exclude contraceptive coverage from the health coverage they offer their employees. "If you want to go and lend yourselves to buying…
Both the Republican and Democratic caucuses of the House are headed into closed-door caucuses, as they adjourn their afternoon session; that means House committee hearings that were scheduled for 1:30 today will be pushed back further (it's already almost 2 p.m. Boise time). House GOP…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Land developers could see a tax break on improvements to their properties that remain idle, under a measure that cleared the Idaho House. Rep. Steve Hartgen's measure passed the chamber on a wide…
Here's how Idaho House members voted on HB 480, the bill to shut off parking meters around the Capitol during the legislative session, which passed 41-27: Voting in favor: Reps. Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bateman, Batt, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Block, Bolz, Boyle, Collins, Crane, Denney,…
The Idaho House has voted 41-27 in favor of HB 480, the bill from House Transportation Chairman Joe Palmer to turn off all parking meters around the Capitol during the legislative session, despite warnings from House members from Boise that it won't work. "I don't…
The Senate has voted 31-1 in favor of SB 1303, the animal cruelty felony bill proposed by Idaho's livestock industry. "It seems to be a bill not to like," said sponsor Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson. "On the one hand, many who think we should do…
This morning's public memorial service for the late Micron CEO Steve Appleton has begun at Taco Bell Arena; you can watch live here or here, courtesy of TV stations KTVB-7 and KBOI2.
The House State Affairs Committee has voted 9-8 to introduce legislation to require motorists to stay 3 feet away from bicyclists as they pass them on the road, and also requires bicyclists to ride single-file and stay as far to the right as possible safely,…
Framed through a third-floor window of the state Capitol, it's a blue-sky morning; the tiny white decorative lightbulbs inside the rotunda are reflected in the window against the sky...
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has approved a budget for the state Department of Insurance for next year that leaves out a $20 million-plus federal grant to plan for a state-run health insurance exchange. "There's no mention of anything like that in there," Rep. Wendy Jaquet,…
Former state Rep. Jim Kempton, R-Albion, has been named to the Idaho Transportation Board by Gov. Butch Otter, to replace Gary Blick as the Region 4 member on the board. Click below for Otter's full announcement.
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, who authored the federal legislation that removed Idaho wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act, is worried that a wolf-kill bill approved by a Senate committee yesterday goes beyond the wolf management plan Idaho approved in 2002 - and could…
Gov. Butch Otter's budget recommendation for next year calls for zero funding for capital replacement items, but lawmakers are concerned that some equipment replacement needs are too critical to continue to overlook. "I worry about this infrastructure," said Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, co-chair of the…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A bill that calls for putting a two-year moratorium on new wind energy projects has narrowly made its way out of a House committee. After more than three hours of testimony Wednesday, the…
Here's a link to the full story at spokesman.com on today's resignation of Senate Majority Caucus Chairman John McGee, in which AP reporter John Miller notes that McGee's resignation amid allegations of sexual harassment of a female Senate staffer capped a political free-fall that began…
Sen. John McGee's resignation letter will be spread across the pages of the official Senate Journal tomorrow, said Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. Hill said he spoke with McGee several times this morning, and after this morning's Senate session, "When I came off the…
Here is the text of Sen. John McGee's resignation letter: The Honorable Brent Hill President Pro Tempore Idaho State Senate State Capitol Boise Idaho 83720 Dear Brent, Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the office of State Senator for the 10th Legislative…
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill said on Saturday, Feb. 18, he and Majority Leader Bart Davis were notified of confidential allegations of sexual harassment against Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell. "The Idaho Senate takes all allegations of sexual harassment seriously," Hill said. "At leadership's request, the…
The three remaining Senate GOP leaders - Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, Majority Leader Bart Davis, and Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder - have announced to a packed press conference that Sen. John McGee has resigned from the Senate in the wake of allegations of…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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