The Idaho Legislature has made it official – Gov. Butch Otter has won his biggest legislative victory in his seven years in office, persuading reluctant GOP lawmakers to approve his plan for a state-based health insurance exchange. After more than three hours of debate, the Idaho Senate voted 23-12 in favor of the bill Thursday and sent it to the governor’s desk; the measure, HB 248, had earlier passed the House on a 41-29 vote. Despite the long debate, no senators changed their votes from a month earlier, when they passed an earlier version of the bill by the exact same vote; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.