Rep. Karey Hanks, R-St. Anthony, has objected to waiving the full reading of SB 1138, the Idaho Public Television budget bill, forcing a full reading of the appropriation bill in the House. But it only took a few minutes; the bill wasn't long. The budget bill earlier passed the Senate, 29-4.

No one, including Hanks, spoke against the budget bill in the House. While it shows a 10.1 percent increase in state general funds for next year, Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, noted that 86 percent of the increase is for one-time equipment replacement items. “Some of this is bringing us out of analog into the digital age still,” she told the House.

She also noted that President Trump’s budget proposal would zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but said that’s for the next federal fiscal year, which doesn’t start until October of 2018. “So Big Bird has at least 18 more months,” she said.

With that, the bill passed the House, 49-20. The 20 “no” votes came from Reps. Armstrong, Barbieri, Boyle, Chaney, Clow, Gestrin, Hanks, Harris, Loertscher, Luker, Mendive, Monks, Moon, Nate, Palmer, Scott, Shepherd, Syme, Trujillo, and Zollinger. It now goes to Gov. Butch Otter.