The Associated Press reports that Gov. Butch Otter has confirmed that Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, has submitted a letter of resignation to Idaho Senate. Click below for a full report from AP reporter John Miller.
House Republicans have emerged from their closed-door caucus after just a few minutes, and would acknowledge only that it was on a Senate matter. "We have no comment collectively over here," said House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis wasn't…
House Republicans also are heading into what they say will be a brief closed-door caucus, even though there are people waiting for committee meetings that were noticed as starting more than an hour ago; at this time of the session, the House pushes back committee…
The Senate Resources Committee has voted 7-2, along party lines, to pass SB 1305 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it "do pass." The bill would let livestock owners whose animals are molested by wolves shoot the wolves from motorized vehicles, powered parachutes,…
After much debate, the House has voted 57-11 in favor of HB 398, legislation proposed by Norm Semanko of the Idaho Water Users Association to exempt owners of "a ditch, canal, conduit or other aqueduct" from liability for "wasting water or damage to others that…
The Senate Republican Caucus, which is holding a 3:30 closed-door caucus today that Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis earlier warned would be "very important," has now announced that it'll hold a press conference immediately after the caucus, a highly unusual move. The press conference will…
Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, sponsored a bill about the Idaho plumbing code in the House this afternoon, and told the House that last year, the bill, proposed by the state Division of Building Safety, passed the House 69-1, but "it got over to the Senate…
House Speaker Lawerence Denney says the leadership-backed resolution introduced Tuesday to zero-fund raises for state employees next year is more about process than a disagreement that could stall budget writing and delay adjournment, reports Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey; you can read his full post…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Call it a bailout bill for Boise County. This mountainous, sparsely-populated county north of Boise faces a $5.4 million court judgment, after a jury ruled in 2010 it broke federal laws by blocking…
Legislation designed to relieve Pennsylvania-based Crown Holdings from liability for millions in old asbestos claims has passed the House on a 47-22 vote, after much debate; after the vote, the House recessed until 1:30 p.m. The asbestos bill got strong opposition, including from Rep. Lynn…
The Senate has defeated SB 1283, Sen. Jeff Siddoway's bill to let landowners sell special "landowner appreciation" hunting tags on the open market for profit, on a 17-17 tied vote after much debate. Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, who was presiding over the Senate at the…
Idaho's senior U.S. senator, Mike Crapo, is addressing both the Idaho House and Senate today, and much of his message is very similar to what he told lawmakers a year ago: The nation's fiscal situation is "the greatest danger facing our country right now," with…
U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo is being escorted into the Senate chambers to address the Senate; when Crapo served in the state Senate he was president pro-tem. As he arrived, Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, told him, "Sen. Crapo, welcome home."
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A Senate committee has introduced legislation that would allow Idaho's governor to assign to the lieutenant governor the same security protection afforded to other high ranking public officials. Idaho Falls Sen. Bart Davis…
The Senate has voted unanimously in favor of SCR 116, Sen. Jim Hammond's resolution to launch an interim study committee to look at how Idaho can take over primacy on NPDES wastewater permits from the EPA. "This is not an effort to diminish the criteria…
The House Education Committee has voted 12-5 in favor of HB 481, Rep. Bob Nonini's bill to lift all caps on creation of new charter schools in Idaho. Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, spoke out against the bill. "We have opposition from the school boards…
Among those testifying so far on HB 481, the bill to lift all of Idaho's caps on creation of new charter schools each year, was David Meyer, administrator of the Monticello Montessori Public Charter School in Bonneville County, who said his school lost $233,000 this…
Rep. Bob Nonini, House Education Committee chairman, said there is a page and a half of people signed up to testify on HB 481, the bill to lift the charter school cap. Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, immediately made a motion to send the bill…
HB 481, Rep. Bob Nonini's bill to lift both of Idaho's current caps on creation of new charter schools - the six per year total statewide, and the one new one per year per school district - is up for a hearing in Nonini's House…
Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, proposed a resolution this morning for neither a state-run health insurance exchange nor a federal one. Instead, he'd tell the health insurance industry that if they want an exchange, they can set one up and fund it themselves. "I'm not…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning voted unanimously, 20-0, to set a $36.5 million budget for next year for the Catastrophic Health Care program, the program that pays the rest of the cost for indigent medical care after counties pay the first $11,000 for each…
Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, will run for a Latah County commission seat rather than seek a ninth term in the Legislature, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports today; click below for a full report from Daily News reporter Brandon Macz.
Members of Occupy Boise today filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court, and U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill scheduled a hearing on it for 3 p.m. Friday. Bryan Walker, attorney for the group, said the group is trying to…
With Gov. Butch Otter's signing of the HB 404a today, banning camping on certain state lands, state Department of Administration Director Teresa Luna says she's sent notice to participants in the Occupy Boise encampment that they must be off the vigil site across from the…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's $5 million proposal to speed commercialization of university research into commercial products that boost Idaho's economy won a House committee's blessing. The Commerce Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to send…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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