The House Health and Welfare Committee received an hour-long presentation Wednesday on the benefits of an innovative set of waivers designed by state agencies to address rising health insurance costs and make cheaper private insurance plans available to those in the Medicaid gap.“This approach will make a difference in thousands...
The Idaho Senate voted 34-1 today in favor of SB 1208, legislation from Senate Judiciary Chair Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, to expand the state’s current program that allows inmate labor to be used by Idaho farmers. Lodge, who also sponsored the original legislation in 2014,…
Concerned about soaring health care costs, Idaho on Wednesday revealed a plan that will allow insurance companies to sell cheap policies that ditch key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the AP reports. It’s believed to be the first state to take formal steps without...
Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Burdick’s voice broke as he announced to the House today that two Idaho judges have recently died – 5th District Judge Randy Stoker on Jan. 8, and 4th District Magistrate Judge William Harrigfeld on Dec. 13. They’re just the latest in an unprecedented string of judicial vacancies in the state...
Singer and actress Cher has endorsed Democratic state Rep. Paulette Jordan in the race to become Idaho's next governor. Cher tweeted Wednesday that she met Jordan at the Las Vegas women's march and said Idahoans would be well served under Jordan's leadership...
When a routine bill from the state Tax Commission came up for a vote in the House today – to conform 2017 Idaho income tax laws to federal changes, which is expected to have only minimal fiscal impact in Idaho – Reps. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg,...
Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, today endorsed conservative activist and end-times author Michael Snyder of Bonners Ferry in the 1st District GOP congressional primary, which already is crowded with a slew of other better-known Idaho Republicans. Snyder held a press conference on the Statehouse steps today...
The two major budget requests for next year from the University of Idaho – for Phase 2 of a library expansion for which lawmakers funded the first phase last year, and for funding and 3.8 positions to address needs of students with mental health issues…
University of Idaho President Chuck Staben told lawmakers in his budget presentation this morning, “The U of I has made great progress as an institution. … My presidency remains focused on growing U of I’s enrollment and leading an improvement in Idaho’s college-going culture.” Staben…
The Idaho Statesman, in a front-page story today, reports that public records requests have revealed that a harassment complaint from a teenage House page last year wasn’t just about “mildly flirty” comments from Rep. James Holtzclaw, as previously reported; it also included complaints about the…
An Idaho Senate panel has narrowly agreed to introduce legislation allowing parents to opt out of vaccinating their children with a simple letter rather than using a state form. Sen. Dan Foreman, a Republican from Moscow, argued Tuesday that the bill clarifies state law...
A special informational hearing on the Idaho Health Care Plan, the dual-waiver proposal from the Otter Administration, will be held Wednesday morning, starting at 9 a.m. MT in the Lincoln Auditorium. All legislators are invited; it also will be streamed live online. No public testimony…
Retiring Boise State University President Bob Kustra, in his final budget presentation to lawmakers today, said heading the state’s largest university for the last 15 years has been “a job of a lifetime.” Kustra is the former elected lieutenant governor of Illinois; served in both…
When Boise State University President Bob Kustra addressed JFAC this morning, lawmakers asked him about the proposal for a higher education CEO. Kustra pulled no punches, saying BSU’s estimates of the savings of consolidating “back-office” services across Idaho’s public universities came in at $6 million,…
A northern Idaho lawmaker says he apologized to seven fellow legislators for an inappropriate comment he made during an anti-sexual harassment training earlier this year. Republican Sen. Bob Nonini from Coeur d'Alene said Tuesday that his remark...
With no debate, the Senate voted unanimously today – 33-0 – to pass HB 335, the bill to lower the unemployment insurance tax and save Idaho employers $115 million over the next three years, without any impact on the state general fund. The bill, which…
Lewis-Clark State College President Tony Fernandez, the second of three outgoing college and university presidents who are making their final budget pitches to lawmakers today, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning that LCSC is marking its 125th anniversary this Saturday. “It seems like we…
Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas, in his final budget presentation to lawmakers this morning, said he supports Gov. Butch Otter’s budget recommendation – though it provides zero funding for Vailas’ top budget request for next year, to add 21 full-time positions and $3.4 million…
The Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning agreed by a voice vote to accept the report from the joint Change in Employee Compensation Committee, which agreed with Gov. Butch Otter that state employees should get merit raises averaging 3 percent next year, but rejected the...
Idaho voters would no longer be required to disclose their sex while registering to vote under a proposal introduced Monday at the Idaho Statehouse. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Tim Hurst told the House State Affairs Committee that information about a voter's sex is unnecessary and that other states have faced potential lawsuits over...
An Idaho House leader says he has set up a security camera in his legislative office to record meetings with fellow lawmakers, lobbyists and constituents in response to the wave of sexual misconduct allegations erupting across the country. House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane, a Republican from Nampa, said Monday he felt the need...
Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, announced today that he plans to retire at the end of his current term – and endorsed his wife, Linda, who plans to run for the seat. “As many of you know, I have had some health issues these past…
Legislative budget-writers began to dig into Gov. Butch Otter’s higher education “CEO” proposal Monday morning, reports Idaho Education News, and honed in on two questions: How much will the plan cost? And how much will it save? The cost is clear enough, at least in…
North Idaho College requested an increase in state funding next year of more than $1 million, but Gov. Butch Otter instead is recommending a small cut in NIC’s budget. That means priorities that the Coeur d’Alene college has identified – from doubling the capacity of…
Idaho would no longer have lower speed limits for commercial trucks on its highways and interstates, under legislation introduced Monday at the request of House Transportation Chairman Joe Palmer, R-Meridian. “There’s a lot of confusion over that,” Palmer told the committee he chairs at a...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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