The Idaho House has voted 58-11 in favor of HB 155, the bill to increase fines for violations of the Idaho Open Meeting Law. Fines for violations would rise from the current $50 to $250; fines for knowing violations would rise from the current $500...
Legislative budget writers have declined to fund a $60,000 third-party audit for the Idaho State Treasurer’s office to replace the usual legislative audit in looking in detail at two investment pools, saying a newly appointed investment advisory board for the treasurer’s office should have a…
A survey of school districts that found big savings after the districts secured their own vendors for broadband service to replace the defunct Idaho Education Network showed a cost per megabit of $43.96, compared to the $80.67 the state was paying vendors under the IEN...
The data is in from most of Idaho’s school districts, and it appears that the state is seeing big savings now that the districts have found their own vendors for broadband services to replace the defunct Idaho Education Network, for which the state’s $60 million…
Idaho’s community colleges also would see a 3 percent increase in state funding next year – the same percentage as the state’s public four-year colleges and universities – under a budget unanimously adopted by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning. Gov. Butch Otter had recommended…
On a unanimous vote, legislative budget writers have set a budget for Idaho’s four-year colleges and universities next year that matches Gov. Butch Otter’s recommendation for a 3 percent increase in state funds, and 4.4 percent overall. The budget includes $2.03 million for an array...
Funding for higher education in Idaho is up in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning, with Idaho colleges and universities and communities colleges all on the agenda. Also up for consideration today: Funding for next year for broadband services for school districts across the state,…
The $125 million career ladder proposal to raise Idaho teacher pay appears to be in trouble as major legislative deadlines loom, Idaho Education News reports. The bill, which is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in the House Education Committee, may not have the votes to…
The Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry, a big-bucks lobbying group that touts itself as the “voice of business” in Idaho, is re-evaluating, the Idaho Statesman reports, after a scandal over a profanity-laced email from its president bashing a Senate committee chair and threatening retaliation...
On tonight’s “Idaho Reports,” I join Jim Weatherby, Bill Spence, and co-hosts Aaron Kunz and Melissa Davlin to discuss the events of the eighth week of the legislative session, from party politics to civil rights. Also, Davlin interviews House Majority Caucus Chair John Vander Woude,…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has sent out a statement touting the proposed new teacher “career ladder legislation that was introduced this week, saying, “The new model includes a sizeable infusion of money for significantly higher salaries based on teaching proficiency and student outcomes.” The governor…
Boise City Council President Maryanne Jordan has been appointed to the Idaho Senate to fill the vacancy created when Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, was appointed to the state Tax Commission, Gov. Butch Otter announced today. Jordan was the top choice of three submitted by the…
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll’s refusal to apologize today in response to a call from an array of religious leaders concerned about her comments on Hinduism, which she said has “false gods.” Nuxoll’s comments came after she…
House and Senate Republicans who are working on gun legislation this year said at a press conference today that a comprehensive bill rewriting Idaho’s concealed-gun permit laws is in the works and likely will be introduced in a House committee next week. It will include…
The Idaho Department of Administration has declared an emergency and signed a $1.88 million, six-month contract with CenturyLink to provide internet service to 16 state agencies and five public health districts, the Idaho Statesman reports. The department had shifted the agencies’ internet service to the...
An array of religious leaders, many of them from Nevada, are calling for Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, to apologize for her comments this week that Hinduism “is a false faith with false gods.” Nuxoll made the comments to the news media after she, along with...
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has voted unanimously in favor of funding a second community mental health crisis center next year, after a move by Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, to slice that funding out of the Department of Health & Welfare’s mental health services budget drew…
Just before the start of this morning’s House Ways & Means Committee meeting, Chair Christy Perry, R-Nampa, announced that the agenda had changed and her proposed bill regarding gaming in Idaho would not be considered today. Asked about the proposal, Perry said it would have…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter today issued this statement in response to a federal lawsuit threat from former Govs. Phil Batt and Cecil Andrus over nuclear waste shipments: “The allegation that I am doing anything less than protecting Idaho under the terms of the 1995 Settlement…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The head of Idaho's pro-business lobby has been placed on temporary leave after sending a profanity-laden email criticizing a state senator and suggesting the group introduce retaliation legislation. The Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/1B8ME89) reports…
The Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee today approved HB 75, the bill to remove Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax from prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses, and sent it to the full Senate for a final vote; the bill earlier passed the House, 57-12. The…
A non-binding memorial to Congress urging it to enact national legislation blocking any state from requiring labeling of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, won House support on a 41-24 vote today, after much debate. The memorial says foods containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients “are as...
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A House panel is considering a plan to spend $2.5 million to support school counselors and lay out specific guidelines for their job descriptions. The House Education Committee introduced the bill Thursday. Marilyn…
Former Idaho Govs. Cecil Andrus and Phil Batt fired off a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Energy this morning threatening a federal lawsuit over a deal between the Otter Administration and the Department of Energy to allow a shipment of commercial spent nuclear fuel...
At the urging of state Commerce Director Jeff Sayer, the House Revenue & Taxation Committee has agreed to introduce new legislation allowing counties to greatly expand their use of an optional property tax break they can hand out for business expansions. Currently, the tax break is...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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