Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on four bills dealing with gun rights or gun safety – not gun control – that were debated in the Idaho Legislature today. The bills include HB 565, Rep. Heather Scott’s bill to allow retired law…
Idaho lawmakers on Monday proposed a measure with strong Republican support that would dramatically change the state's independent commission in charge of re-drawing congressional and legislative maps every decade. Redistricting is important because it can decide which party gets the majority of congressional and state legislative seats...
Rep. Heather Scott says she has an answer to school shootings: More retired law enforcement officers carrying concealed guns when they pick up their grandkids from school. “Mass shootings in society seem to be on the rise, especially in the schools, as we saw this…
The House has passed legislation from Rep. Jason Monks, R-Nampa, to restrict the use of public funds in campaigning; it passed on a 58-9 vote. Monks spent the past year working with stakeholders including cities and school districts to refine the idea; this year’s bill...
The House has voted unanimously – 67-0 – in favor of expanding the Idaho Open Meeting Law to cover boards, commissions or agencies that are created by executive order of the governor. Similar legislation passed the House unanimously last year, but didn’t get a hearing…
An alternative health care bill from Reps. John VanderWoude, R-Nampa, and Bryan Zollinger, R-Idaho Falls, went down to defeat in the House Health & Welfare Committee this morning, after testimony that it would boot elderly and disabled people, including nursing home residents, off of Medicaid,…
The Senate State Affairs Committee has approved SB 1313, Sen. Todd Lakey’s “castle doctrine” and “stand your ground” bill, on a party-line vote, after more than two hours of heartfelt testimony both for and against the bill. Lakey said Idaho has had those policies in…
In a series of unanimous votes this morning, JFAC set budgets for the state’s Judicial Branch, Public Defense Commission, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction and more. Like budgets set in earlier unanimous votes on Friday, the budgets agreed on by the joint committee closely…
The Senate State Affairs Committee is holding a hearing this morning on legislation regarding “stand your ground” and the “castle doctrine” on shooting in self-defense; SB 1313, sponsored by Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, would write standards on those issues that already are present in case…
The House State Affairs Committee voted 13-1 this morning to approve a new version of Rep. Heather Scott’s bill to limit repeat bond and levy elections – this time limited just to bonds. “This is the exact same bill we dealt with last week –…
Here’s a link to my full column from Sunday’s Spokesman-Review, on Rep. Vito Barbieri casting the sole vote against funding for rape kits; the ISP budget adding seven state troopers and an executive protection officer for the governor, but not an additional 10 troopers that…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
