The Senate has voted 23-11 in favor of HB 695, which sets up a new $200,000 legislative legal fund to be spent at the sole discretion of the Senate president pro-tem and the House speaker, with each in charge of $100,000. The bill already has passed the House, so it heads now to Gov. Butch Otter. Currently, the Idaho Attorney General, an elected official, provides legal opinions and other legal representation for the Legislature; the new fund would allow lawmakers to turn to outside counsel rather than use the Attorney General's staff.