An Idaho Senate committee chairman apologized Tuesday for violating Senate rules a day earlier by convening an impromptu–and likely illegal–closed meeting of his committee, over a move to force a hearing on House-passed legislation to legalize medical use of CBD oil in Idaho. Meanwhile, all three leading GOP candidates for governor weighed in...
Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little, asked this evening about the brouhaha over the House-passed CBD oil bill that hasn’t had a hearing in the Senate, said, “Every bill that’s in every single committee chair’s office is subject to a call – that’s the rules.” As…
Both Raul Labrador and Tommy Ahlquist, rivals for the GOP nomination for governor in the May primary, have issued statements on the brouhaha over the CBD oil bill in the Idaho Legislature, which passed the House but hasn’t had a hearing in the Senate. The…
Senate Health & Welfare Chairman Lee Heider apologized today for violating Senate rules yesterday by convening an impromptu – and likely illegal – closed meeting of his Senate committee. “The chair acknowledges violation of Senate Rule 20, in that an unnoticed and unapproved executive session…
An Idaho House panel has advanced legislation allowing people with mental disabilities to use a service animal. Currently, Idaho law only allows people with visual, hearing and mobility disabilities to use a service animal. SB 1296 would expand that definition to include mental disabilities, aligning state law more with...
A federal judge says Idaho can't keep automatically rejecting applications from transgender people seeking to change the gender listed on their birth certificates, the AP reports. U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale says rules by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution...
A long fight between cities and counties, particularly in the Treasure Valley, over funding magistrate courts is resolved by compromise legislation that passed the House today on a 53-17 vote. HB 643, the product of a collaborative working group of city and county officials and...
Legislative budget writers today approved a boost in funding for medical residencies in Idaho next year, exceeding Gov. Butch Otter’s recommendation, but stopping well short of a larger boost requested as part of a new 10-year plan from the state Board of Education for graduate…
After an emotional debate, the House, on a 31-39 vote, has rejected legislation to mirror federal law by barring those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence against an intimate partner from possessing guns for two years. Rep. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, the sponsor of HB 585, noted...
After much debate, the House Education Committee has voted narrowly in favor of the Opportunity Scholarship bill, SB 1279, sending the measure to the full House with a recommendation that it “do pass.” The Senate-passed bill includes a clause allowing up to 20 percent of…
Lawmakers set a budget for the state’s community colleges this morning that’s slightly more generous that Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal, which would have resulted in a cut to North Idaho College’s budget and stopped the expansion of the Coeur d’Alene college’s popular new computer science…
An effort to ban government entities from using public money to hire contract lobbyists failed in the House State Affairs Committee on Monday, the Lewiston Tribune reports. No one testified during the public hearing on the legislation, HB 636, which was sponsored by Rep. Priscilla...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
