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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

House GOP freshman ‘Gang of 16’ drops to 14 in exchange vote…

The House's freshman 'Gang of 16' dwindled to 14 members on the vote to approve Idaho's state-based insurance exchange, the AP reports. Last month, this group of first-year representatives made a unified showing with reporters, introducing new provisions to the measure setting up a marketplace for online insurance they said would increase legislative oversight and public confidence. But the solidarity didn't survive Wednesday's vote, with Republican Reps. Cindy Agidius of Moscow and Thomas Dayley of Boise peeling off and voting with those aiming to shoot Gov. Butch Otter's plan down, AP reporter John Miller reports. Both Agidius and Dayley were among lawmakers who had concerns that the bill didn't include robust-enough protections on abortion. They also voted to divert the measure for amendments, a failed push that was intended to add prohibitions on insurance coverage for emergency contraception.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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