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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Senators reject bill to repeal legislative pension perk; full Sun. column

Idaho senators shot down a bill last week to repeal a 1990 law that allows longtime state legislators to get big lifetime pensions after they are appointed to high-paying state jobs late in their careers; here’s a link to my full Sunday column. Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, who proposed the bill, said, “I’m disappointed. We’ve had a problem for a long time of treating legislators differently from the rest of state workers, and I don’t think that it’s appropriate. I think the concerns of those who voted against it are likely constitutional concerns. But we screwed this up in 1990, so it’s up to us to fix it. And when we have our compensation commission requesting us to fix it and we refuse, the problem will continue to exist.” He added, “We will keep at it.”

Also in my Sunday column: Climate change, school standards, and Idaho’s “confusing” administrative rules process; and JFAC’s unanimous decision to fund 3 percent CEC in every state agency budget it builds; budget-setting for next year starts tomorrow.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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