The state of Washington won today in the U.S. Supreme Court - and so did Idaho - as the high court upheld Washington's Public Records Act and its requirement that signatures on a referendum petition be public, not secret. Idaho has similar laws, and joined…
The Idaho State Police will begin using an electronic system to issue traffic citations starting July 1, with the result that the process of writing out a citation for a stopped motorist will drop from 5 minutes to less than a minute. "E-Ticketing will bring…
Here's a news item from The Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's four top tax collectors will still get paid for furlough hours they took to save money and show solidarity with state workers getting their pay cut, because the law forbids them from…
Close to 70 women turned out for Gov. Butch Otter's “Women’s Day in the Capitol” today, at which 32 female officials of Otter's administration explained what they and their agencies do, and then the governor and officials took questions from the audience. Questions ranged from…
It may seem like it's taken an awfully long time for the process to go through of appointing Idaho's new U.S. Attorney - after all, the Obama Administration has been in office for a year and a half. But Carl Tobias, a law professor at…
A quarter of Idaho's 200 cities lost population from July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009, according to the Idaho Department of Labor and the U.S. Census Bureau. That's higher than the previous year, but still well below the number of Idaho cities that lost…
Here's a news item from The Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho leaders attended a ribbon-cutting to officially open a new $50-million drug treatment prison near Boise. Inmates will start moving into the 432-bed minimum security Correctional Alternative Placement Program in July. The prison…
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Wendy Olson as Idaho's new U.S. Attorney, replacing current U.S. Attorney Tom Moss, who has served since 2001. Olson was recommended by Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick and nominated by the White House in March; her confirmation was applauded today by…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter will host a "Women's Day in the Capitol" tomorrow, featuring an array of female state officials in an open forum from 4-7 p.m. and guided tours of the state Capitol. "Women's Day in the Capitol is actually Capitol for a Day…
The Kootenai County Democratic Central Committee issued a press release today calling on Idaho elected officials to say where they stand on Rep. Phil Hart's tax woes, which are the subject of pending House ethics committee; the committee will look into whether Hart had a…
KTVB-TV, in a special "Viewpoint" program entitled "Plagiarism in Politics" that aired yesterday, did extensive analysis on unsuccessful GOP congressional candidate Vaughn Ward's January announcement speech and reached a startling conclusion - the whole speech was plagiarized, not just the final paragraph in which Ward…
Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart on Friday defended his long tax fight against the IRS and the state Tax Commission, and said he looks forward to going before a House ethics committee. "I would welcome the opportunity to tell my story," said Hart, R-Athol, a…
Idaho Rep. Phil Hart, in his first public comment since House Speaker Lawerence Denney said yesterday he'd appoint an ethics committee to investigate Hart's conduct, sent a guest opinion to newspapers this afternoon defending his fight against income taxes, but making no mention of his…
Here's a news item from The Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republican congressional hopeful Raul Labrador failed to include his past role as president of a company that sold self-help kits on legal immigration to America in a U.S. House of Representatives filing this…
Personal income in Idaho rose during the first quarter of 2010, marking two straight quarters of increase after declining or remaining stagnant for five quarters. The Idaho Department of Labor termed the news "another signal the state's economy may have started to recover from its…
The Idaho Transportation Department has scheduled an additional public meeting in Moscow June 28 to provide information and hear public comment on plans by Imperial Oil to truck up to 200 large pieces of equipment on U.S. Highway 12 from Lewiston to Montana; that route…
Idaho's State Board of Education, meeting yesterday in Idaho Falls, backed upgrades in the University of Idaho's athletic facilities but was leery of a UI proposal to establish a new nonprofit research lab in Post Falls; that proposal was delayed until the board's August meeting.…
House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said he discussed Rep. Phil Hart's case with "many" members of his House minority caucus, and also heard lots of comment from the public about it, before deciding to formally call for a House ethics committee to be convened.…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how the Idaho House will convene a rare ethics committee to look into a complaint regarding Rep. Phil Hart.The last time the Idaho House convened an ethics committee was in 2003, when then-Speaker Bruce Newcomb…
House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, has filed a formal request for the Speaker of the House to convene an ethics committee to look into two issues regarding Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol: Hart's invoking of legislative privilege from civil process in his personal tax disputes…
Idaho's State Board of Examiners made it official this week - no further holdbacks will need to be imposed to balance Idaho's state budget by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. Instead, following legislation passed this year and signed into law by…
According to the latest statistical report from the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, the top cause of death for Idahoans is cancer, which crept ahead of heart disease in 2008 to claim the top spot. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, including emphysema, asthma and chronic…
Here's a news item from The Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred says he's grateful a campaign website has deleted material attacking his stance on Idaho's state budget, but the business group behind the Internet page says it sticks by…
Idaho's top state elected officials have voted unanimously to sign a 29-year lease of state lands for a proposed feldspar and quartz mine and mill near Bovill, Idaho, though the Canadian firm proposing the project has generated no operating income and is deemed financially "high-risk."…
Here's a link to my full story today on how Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, has used the legislative session to hold off the tax man four times in the six years he's served as a state lawmaker, starting his first year in office; and here's…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
