The House has voted 42-27 in favor of HB 206, the bill to send state general fund money to charter schools to cover their facility costs, through a per-student formula; the vote came after an hour-plus debate that stretched into the noon hour. “Our charter…
The House Education Committee has approved SB 1089, the bill to end Idaho’s early retirement incentive program for teachers, on a straight party-line vote, with the panel’s three Democrats objecting. Rep. Hy Kloc, D-Boise, said, “This $2 million payment saved the state $10 million.” Jason…
After years of one-time allocations to fight invasive Eurasian water milfoil in Idaho lakes and water bodies, the budget set for next year for the state Department of Agriculture calls for making the program permanent, with next year’s $900,000 appropriation equalizing this year’s, but for…
JFAC has voted 14-5 in favor of a budget motion for the state Tax Commission, defeating an alternative proposal from Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, that sought to send a message to the commission that its auditors are being too harsh on taxpayers. “There’s a…
The House Education Committee has introduced three rewritten versions of school labor bills this morning proposed by the Idaho School Boards association, on leaves of absence, deadlines for teacher bargaining when a district can unilaterally impose its final offer, and school district reductions in force.…
Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, tried unsuccessfully to add $25,000 in state general funds to the budget for the Judicial Branch to cover half the amount requested for additional Guardian Ad Litem training and recruitment. Those guardians represent children in court cases. “It saves the county…
This year’s distributions to public health and substance abuse treatment and prevention projects from the state’s Millennium Fund, a trust fund set up from Idaho’s share of proceeds from a nationwide tobacco settlement, were approved by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning on a unanimous…
Salmon, Challis and Leadore will be going back on the air. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee today set a budget for Idaho Public Television that matches the governor’s recommendation with two additions: It included funding for half the cost of Legislative Live personnel, which broadcasts legislative…
After yesterday’s heavy lifting – setting the public school budget, which accounts for 47 percent of the state general fund – JFAC is behind today, and has a long agenda. First are the budgets they didn’t get to yesterday: The Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Idaho…
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today’s public school budget-setting, under which Idaho would restore a series of cuts to state teacher salary funds made over the past three years that have caused a budget crunch in local school districts. Five…
Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin is speaking out against SB 1117, the bill to allow extra-heavy trucks statewide that cleared a Senate committee by one vote late last week. “Idaho’s geography varies greatly,” Larkin said. “From our perspective, bigger and heavier trucks on northern roads…
For those who are wondering, the Senate State Affairs Committee didn’t vote this morning on SB 1108, the bill from the Idaho Farm Bureau to make it tougher to qualify initiatives or referendum measures for the Idaho ballot, in an attempt to increase the voice…
Finally got a chance to listen to the audio from this morning’s House Health & Welfare Committee meeting, where the new state health insurance exchange bill was introduced. One important note: Not only is the bill scheduled for a public hearing starting at 7 a.m.…
A non-binding memorial declaring the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness a “natural resources disaster area” in an attempt to spur the Forest Service and other federal authorities to do more work on damaged trails there has cleared the House on a 57-13, straight party-line…
The House has voted 58-12 in favor of HB 220, clearing the way for betting on “historical” horse races at three Idaho horse race tracks that already offer betting on simulcasts of live races; Idaho’s horse industry say it’s a new technique, drawing on databases…
The vote was unanimous this morning in the House Revenue & Taxation Committee to introduce the bill to exempt Girl Scout cookies from Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax. “It is a pleasure to introduce this,” Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, the bill’s lead sponsor, told…
Idaho has just wrapped up a sparkling kickoff to its Territorial Sesquicentennial celebration, complete with more than 100 youngsters in blue T-shirts singing and waving Idaho flags, stirring comments from a rather convincing Abraham Lincoln impersonator, native drumming, greetings from the president and mayor, a…
Legislation to ease the restrictions of Idaho’s “do not call” list to allow phone companies to call to pitch products to their existing customers squeaked out of the Senate State Affairs Committee today on a 5-4 vote. The bill, HB 55, proposed by phone companies…
New legislation combining Gov. Butch Otter’s state health insurance exchange bill with measure proposed by 16 House GOP freshmen calling for more legislative oversight, and also adding some additional changes, was introduced on a near-unanimous vote this morning in the House Health & Welfare Committee,…
Public university student groups could restrict leadership posts to those committed to their faith, under legislation that cleared the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning on a party-line vote. The bill, sponsored by the committee’s chairman, Sen. Curtis McKenzie, R-Nampa, also would bar universities from…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Machinery and other equipment that's bolted down could soon be subject to real estate taxes, under legislation introduced today in the House Revenue & Taxation Committee that seeks to intervene in the debate…
The House has voted 68-2 in favor of HB 157, legislation from Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, to provide a sales tax exemption to non-profit homeless shelters. The exemption would expire in two years, to give lawmakers a chance to review it, and would cover…
The Senate this morning voted to approve HCR 5, the resolution to, in honor of the 150thanniversary of the creation of Idaho Territory, name the Capitol auditorium the Abraham Lincoln Auditorium. “Idaho was born out of political conflict, slavery, political disputes concerning Washington’s eastern boundary,”…
In the final three motions of the public schools budget, one, for the facilities division, passed on a 15-5 vote, like earlier motions. The motions on the children’s programs division and the division for educational services for the deaf and blind passed on unanimous, 20-0…
Thanks to reporters Emilie Ritter-Saunders of StateImpact Idaho and Melissa Davlin of the Twin Falls Times-News, here’s an update on some of the other action so far this morning at the Legislature: The new version of the governor’s state health insurance exchange bill, which is…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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