Idaho’s state health insurance exchange, Your Health Idaho, has made the transition to full state operation of its marketplace, state Health & Welfare Director Dick Armstrong told JFAC this morning, and is operating at less than half the cost of most states. “Other states have…
Idaho Health & Welfare Director Dick Armstrong is giving an overview of the giant H&W budget this morning to lawmakers; among the topics he addressed is a replacing the work that Health & Welfare has been doing since 2008 to improve Idaho’s current medical indigency program with a new medical-homes initiative.
President Barack Obama is coming to Boise, for the first time since he appeared here as a candidate in 2008; he’ll speak at Boise State University on Wednesday. His remarks are free and open to the public, but limited tickets are required. They’ll be distributed...
There are festivities to mark the official state Martin Luther King Jr./Idaho Human Rights Day holiday on tap today, but the Legislature doesn’t take holidays, so there’s also a full day of legislative activities on the schedule. Among the most high-profile: 8th grader Ilah Hickman…
More than 1,000 people rallied at the state Capitol on Saturday for the “Add the Words” bill, to add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act and outlaw discrimination on those bases in housing, employment and public accommodations. Among…
On tonight’s “Idaho Reports,” I join Jim Weatherby, Clark Corbin, and co-hosts Aaron Kunz and Melissa Davlin to discuss the events of the first week of the legislative session, from school funding to revenue to state worker pay. The show also includes an interview with…
The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to take up the same-sex marriage issue in a series of cases from the 6th Circuit, opening the door to possible settlement of the issue for all 50 states. You can read the high court’s order here. Idaho Gov....
In a final vote at the Legislature’s joint Change in Employee Compensation Committee, lawmakers have agreed to go along with Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal to fully cover the cost of an increase in health insurance costs for state workers next year, saving state employees from…
Sen. John Tippets, R-Montpelier, has proposed that all state workers who are at just 68 percent of the policy-level pay for their position be moved up to 70 percent, with the exception of pay grade D, which is those at minimum wage or $7.25 per…
Sen. Dan Schmidt’s motion on state worker pay, for 3 percent merit raises plus setting a minimum pay level for state employees of $9.25 per hour, has been defeated on a 2-14 vote, with just Schmidt and Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, supporting it. Then, Rep.…
Three motions are pending at the joint Change in Employee Compensation Committee this afternoon on state worker pay: Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, moved to grant 3 percent in merit-based raises to state workers, with discretion to agency directors. Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, offered a motion…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A U.S. citizen who said he was wrongly arrested when the government rounded up Muslim men after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has settled his lawsuit against the FBI. The American Civil Liberties Union,...
HB 1, the bill to designate the Idaho Giant Salamander as the official state amphibian, will get a hearing Monday morning at 9 in the House State Affairs Committee, sponsors Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking and Rep. Ilana Rubel announced today. The bill’s author and chief sponsor…
The Humane Society of the United States has ranked Idaho 49th out of the 52 (the 50 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico) for its animal cruelty and animal welfare laws, ahead of only Mississippi and Puerto Rico. The advocacy group noted that Idaho was…
Here's some good news for skiers: Almost five inches of new snow has fallen at Bogus Basin, as of 9:15 this morning. It was needed; things were getting a little thin up there. Brundage is reporting 7 inches of new snow; Tamarack is reporting 5…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning voted unanimously to accept the report of the joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee, which, after two days of hearings, voted yesterday to accept Gov. Butch Otter’s revenue forecast for next year which predicts a 5.5 percent increase…
The Legislature’s joint revenue committee has adopted Gov. Butch Otter’s revenue forecast for next year, after learning that the median of estimates from committee members – after two days of hearings last week with public testimony from economists, business representatives and more – came in…
The Legislature’s joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee has gathered in the Lincoln Auditorium this afternoon to set a revenue estimate for the coming year. That figure is key, because it provides a basis for setting the state budget that lawmakers will craft throughout...
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter will have surgery Monday, a hip-resurfacing procedure on his left hip that’s similar to a fairly extensive procedure he had on his right hip in 2008. “So I will be out of the office for a period of time,” he told…
Gov. Butch Otter told reporters today that he meant for former Govs. Phil Batt and Cecil Andrus to be informed before he sent a letter to the Department of Energy regarding nuclear waste on Jan. 9. “If we didn’t reach out to them and let...
Two former Idaho governors – Republican Phil Batt and Democrat Cecil Andrus – called a press conference today to object sitting Gov. Butch Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden’s agreement to accept more nuclear waste at the Idaho National Laboratory, saying it violates Batt’s 1995...
Gov. Butch Otter has named Debbie Field, former chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, former state drug czar, and former chairman of Otter’s re-election campaign, as the new chair of the state Board of Correction. That’s the board that oversees Idaho’s prison system; former chair…
A service audit of the Idaho Education Network presented to legislative budget writers this morning is raising troubling questions about the pricey statewide broadband and videoconferencing network that links Idaho’s high schools. Looking specifically at the videoconferencing piece, the audit found that $3.35 million was...
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has issued this statement on his vote against paying $55,000 of Gov. Butch Otter's legal fees for private attorneys he brought in to help with same-sex marriage appeals: "My view on the use of outside counsel is no secret. I've…
The Constitutional Defense Council has voted unanimously to pay the court-ordered $401,663 in attorney fees and costs to the winning side in Idaho’s same-sex marriage case, and 3-1 to pay $55,000 for costs for outside counsel hired by Gov. Butch Otter in his appeals of…
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