A House committee was decidedly skeptical this morning of proposed new state rules for big-dollar contracts, saying they don’t go far enough to fix problems with Idaho’s contracting system. In particular, they questioned whether the rules would have prevented the Idaho Education Network contract debacle, the AP reports, and got no assurance that they would have.

House State Affairs Committee members quizzed Sarah Hilderbrand, purchasing manager for the the state Department of Administration. "You couldn't give a definitive answer that this would be a solution to the problem," Rep. Brant Crane, R-Nampa, told Hilderbrand. She responded that it would be "impossible to say" whether the failure of the broadband contract could have been stopped under the new guidelines.  They call for forming a board that would oversee contracts valued at $5 million or more, as well as a review by a third party along with more training for employees at the division of purchasing.

House State Affairs Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, said a committee vote on the rules may not happen for another week or longer. You can read a full report here from AP reporter Ryan Struyk.