After 40 minutes of debate, the House State Affairs Committee voted 14-1 this morning to introduce “stand your ground” legislation proposed by Rep. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, though numerous committee members had questions about the bill’s wording and how it would work. “I think it’s appropriate…
Idaho is down to 34 children in its “expanded access” program that’s currently treating children with severe, intractable epilepsy with a commercial version of CBD oil through a drug trial. Elke Shaw-Tulloch, administrator of the Division of Public Health Services in the state Department of...
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among Idaho youth, according to Elke Shaw-Tulloch, administrator of the Division of Public Health Services, which had its budget hearing before lawmakers this morning. From 2012 to 2016, Shaw-Tulloch said, Idaho lost 105 school-age children, aged 6-18, to…
JFAC is opening a week of budget hearings on Health & Welfare related issues, with hearings Monday, Wednesday and Friday focusing on the budget for the Department of Health & Welfare, which currently has a budget of $706.1 million in state general funds, and $2.86…
Three Republican leaders who challenged Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's grocery tax veto last summer recently were disinvited to the weekly meetings he holds with the majority leadership team each session. However, after push-back from the speaker and pro tem, Otter reversed course...
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal to add a high-paid new CEO of higher education next year to oversee consolidating business functions among the state’s universities drew heavy flak in the state Legislature last week; you can read my full Sunday column here. Otter is proposing…
On tonight’s “Idaho Reports” on Idaho Public Television, host Melissa Davlin interviews outgoing JFAC Co-Chairs Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, and Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome; producer Seth Ogilvie reports on bail and pretrial issues and a possible constitutional amendment that’s in the works; and Davlin interviews...
A state board charged with contracting to have problem wolves killed asked state lawmakers for another $400,000 on Friday, though the board has received that amount from the state each of the past four years and currently has $1.4 million in the bank; you can read my...
The Ada County Assessor’s Office is still awaiting a response from Idaho Rep. Priscilla Giddings as to why the White Bird Republican deserved the $1,200 tax break she received in 2016. The office sent Giddings a “notice of intent” last November, saying it intends to collect back taxes after she erroneously received a homeowner’s exemption...
“Last year was a year of plentiful water, sometimes too plentiful, particularly across southern Idaho but also other areas of the state,” Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Gary Spackman told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning. Reservoirs are at historic levels, he said, and...
A light but widely felt earthquake has shaken southern Idaho, northern Utah and western Wyoming. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 4.3 quake at about 8:30 p.m. was centered about 8 miles southeast of Soda Springs, Idaho...
The University of Idaho and other state-funded entities would be prohibited from hiring lobbyists or attempting to influence state lawmakers under legislation introduced Thursday in a House committee. Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, told the House State Affairs Committee her bill...
A decade ago, the Idaho School for the Deaf & Blind in Gooding served a limited number of Idaho children. But since its reorganization in 2009 into Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and Blind, the program has now expanded into a statewide network that...
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today’s public school budget hearing, in which Sherri Ybarra, Idaho’s state superintendent of schools, made a strong pitch to lawmakers increase state spending on schools by 6.8 percent next year, with the biggest portion of...
Idaho lawmakers will once again be asked to consider joining fellow Republican-dominated states calling for a constitutional amendment to limit federal government power. The House State Affairs Committee introduced legislation Thursday calling for a convention of states...
While many education leaders spent Thursday morning listening to state superintendent Sherri Ybarra’s budget pitch, other news broke on the K-12 beat, writes Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News: One to redefine and update sex education in Idaho schools; and another to wean Idaho off…
Rep. Dorthy Moon, R-Stanley, successfully introduced a bill this morning to legalize cannabidiol oil, also known as CBD oil, in the House Health & Welfare Committee, writes reporter Marissa Morrison of KIVI-TV. The legislation sets up a registration system under the state Board of Pharmacy,…
An Idaho House panel has introduced legislation banning state agencies, universities and school districts from hiring lobbyists to influence state lawmakers. Rep. Priscilla Giddings, a Republican from White Bird, says taxpayer dollars should not be used to advocate for a bill's passage or defeat. Multiple taxing districts across the state hire...
Republicans on an Idaho House panel have once against agreed to introduce anti-Sharia law legislation designed to prevent Idaho courts from making decisions based on Islamic or other foreign legal codes. This is the third year in a row Rep. Eric Redman, a Republican from Athol, has backed legislation...
After her budget presentations to lawmakers today, state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra said, “The feeling was good.” She wasn’t surprised she didn’t get more questions on her detailed school budget presentation, she said, because, “We do have a good working relationship – I don’t create…
In state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra’s budget request for her office next year, she’s requesting a 6 percent increase in state funding, while Gov. Butch Otter is recommending just a 3.6 percent increase. Otter is going along with Ybarra’s request to cover costs for the…
In addition to highlighting the teacher career ladder as her top request in the public school budget for next year, state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra is highlighting requests for anti-bullying programs under the Safe & Drug-Free Schools program; additional funding for advanced opportunities for students;...
Sherri Ybarra, state schools superintendent, said her top priority for next year – and the top request she heard from education stakeholders across the state – was to continue funding the teacher “career ladder,” which for next year means spending another $41.7 million. It’s already…
Idaho state Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra told legislative budget writers this morning that she is “truly honored to come before you a fourth time on behalf of Idaho’s children.” She’s proposing a 6.8 percent increase in state general funds for K-12 public schools...
It’s another super-busy day at Idaho’s state Capitol today, with the budget hearing on K-12 public schools – the single largest slice of the state general-fund budget, at 48.8 percent – starting at 8 a.m. Also starting at 8 a.m., the House State Affairs Committee…