JFAC has voted unanimously to set a budget for the state catastrophic health care fund for next year that matches SB 1158, which reforms the program to both raise the deductible for counties from $10,000 per case to $11,000, and institute cost-saving measures. Now, they're…
JFAC members gathered in an early-morning workshop today to hear from Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane on legal implications of proposing a 3 percent across-the-board pay cut for higher education. Essentially, they learned that they can't order that, but they can request it. The state…
A third finalist for president of the University of Idaho, Dr. David Dooley, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Montana State, has withdrawn his name from consideration, leaving just two of the original five finalists in the running. The two: UI College of…
The Senate Education Committee spent an hour debating HB 252, the consensus bill to allow cuts in school funding when school districts declare financial emergencies, before finally approving it this afternoon by a single vote. The measure passed the House last Tuesday on a 69-0…
When Idaho voters enacted the Sunshine Law by voter initiative in 1974, the ballot statement in favor (there wasn't one against) had this to say: "A serious threat to our country is the lack of confidence in our elected officials. The people's trust in politicians…
The House will take up amendments tomorrow morning to HB 135, House Transportation Chairwoman JoAn Wood's bill to raise Idaho's gas tax by just two cents next year. The word is there are now nine possible amendments pending on the bill. The bill, whatever it…
SB 1111, which would help permanently disabled law enforcement officers like Mike Kralicek of Coeur d'Alene with health insurance costs for their families, has passed the House unanimously and now heads to Gov. Butch Otter. Kralicek actually isn't covered by the bill - it's only…
Legislation placing new requirements on the state Tax Commission when it reaches large secret settlements with taxpayers has passed the House unanimously, and now goes to Gov. Butch Otter. The bill, SB 1128, earlier passed the Senate, also on a unanimous vote. "While it may…
Here's how the House voted on HB 216a, the pharmacist conscience bill that passed 48-21: All but two of the 18 House Democrats voted against the bill; the exceptions were Reps. Mary Lou Shepherd, D-Prichard, and Branden Durst, D-Boise. All but five of the 51…
The House has voted 48-21 in favor of HB 216a, the "pharmacist conscience" bill, after an hour-long debate. Rep. Sue Chew, D-Boise, who is a pharmacist, said, "This bill really makes things much more complicated for us in a world that's already much too complicated."…
The Senate State Affairs Committee has voted unanimously in favor of SB 1156, the Sunshine Law amendment to require Idaho's first-ever financial disclosure of income sources and assets for elected officials and candidates. Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, expressed some doubts. "I'm not convinced at…
Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, who is co-sponsoring legislation to give Idaho its first financial disclosure requirements for public office-holders and candidates, told the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning that not only was it a priority for both the minority and majority…
Here's a link to a slide show of the 11th week of the Idaho legislative session in photos. It was an eventful week, with major budgets set, and major legislation debated in both chambers, both on the floor and in committee. My favorite photo of…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's historic public school budget-setting, in which public schools were given their first ever cut in funding from the amount they received the previous year, and here's a link to the final figures on the…
Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick has tabbed Dick Rush to be the new Idaho director of the USDA Farm Service Agency, and Wally Hedrick to be state director of the USDA Rural Development Agency. Minnick held an open application process and had a committee chaired by…
If you look at the public school budget set this morning in general funds, it's $109.3 million less than this year's general-fund budget for schools. The cut is that large, in part, because Rep. Cliff Bayer successfully led a move to shift $20.5 million in…
At a press conference after the public school budget vote, state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna misspoke, accidentally telling reporters, "No one wants to cut education more than me." When his press secretary corrected him a moment later, Luna said, "That's what I thought I…
State Schools Superintendent Tom Luna called the public school budget set by lawmakers this morning "a very manageable number," despite including historic cuts. "I think one of the telling things we learned this morning is that both the Democrats and the Republicans realized that education…
The bottom line on the public school budget set this morning is that the 2010 appropriation for Idaho's schools was set at $1.3092 billion in general funds, down 7.7 percent from this year's budget of $1.4185 billion. In total funds, including federal stimulus money, some…
The final JFAC motion on the public schools budget, on facilities, came from Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, and passed unanimously, 19-0. Over the whole budget, the difference between the various motions was mainly over how much federal stimulus and state reserve account money to plug…
There was only one motion for the children's programs division, from Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum. It passed unanimously, 19-0. It's one of the smaller divisions of the five in the public schools budget as far as state funds, but it includes the increased federal funds…
Rep. Cliff Bayer's motion for operations shifts $20 million in general funds out of schools, and replaces it with stimulus money. "In my judgment, it makes very little difference," said Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, strongly objected to the move, saying it…
Now come the motions on public school operations. Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, made a budget motion that eliminates the cuts in transportation funding that passed the House this week; it hasn't yet passed the Senate, she noted. The proposal reduces a 5 percent base pay…
The GOP motion for teachers for next year passed 16-4, on a straight party-line vote.
Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said, "Today's a very painful day. ... The motions that are before you are difficult choices." Both reduce teacher pay, he noted; they just do it in different ways. Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, urged support for the larger cuts. "We have…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
