An earlier decision by JFAC to cut positions at the Office of Species Conservation was reconsidered in the joint committee this morning and reversed. Some of the backers of the original cut said they were mistaken, and apologized. "I'm thinking that the motion that passed…
The budget set in JFAC this morning for the Idaho State Police makes up a $2.8 million revenue shortfall at ISP that wasn't covered in the governor's budget recommendation by shifting around dedicated funds in the department. The result is a budget for next year…
There was no debate and no discussion on the equally bare-bones budget for community colleges that followed the university budget-setting this morning. Community colleges will take an 11 percent cut in their state general funds next year, under the budget, but see a 5.4 percent…
Legislative budget writers have approved a "bare-bones" budget for Idaho's four-year colleges and universities that cuts 14.7 percent from their state general-fund money for next year, but gives them a 5.8 percent cut in overall funding, thanks in part to plugging in some federal stimulus…
JFAC members are wrestling with another thorny issue now: It turns out it's not so simple to apply the 3 percent across-the-board pay cut they've approved for all state employees to those at state colleges and universities. That's because for colleges or universities to cut…
Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, won unanimous support from the House Resources Committee today to amend his bill regarding liability for attacks on humans by wolves or other dangerous animals. "What the bill attempts to do is to create a criminal and a civil liability if…
All but one of the House's 18 Democrats voted against HB 256, the measure to cut state reimbursements to school districts for student busing costs. The lone exception: Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd, D-Prichard, voted for the bill. All but three of the House's 52 Republicans…
The House has voted 50-20 in favor of HB 256, the measure to cut state reimbursements to school districts for student busing costs. Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, the bill's sponsor, said in his closing debate, "We've heard that this whole piece of legislation is…
The debate is back on in the House. So far, a number of Democrats have spoken out against HB 256; a few Republicans have voiced doubts as well. "I just can't vote for a bill that singles out a single school district to take the…
House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said his caucus will use the means it has to take a stand on education cuts. "We as a minority have limited procedural powers, and it's important when we have these issues that are really of monumental impact, like…
In the midst of what was shaping up to be a hot debate on school funding, and already 10 minutes into the noon hour, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, stood and asked to recess the House until 1:30. House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston,…
House Democrats are speaking out against HB 256, the bill to cut $4.1 million from reimbursements the state sends to school districts for busing. "I think this is an unnecessary bill, and it's likely the first of several we'll see that cuts money that goes…
Opening debate in the House on his bill, HB 256, House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, said, "The purpose is to make districts be as efficient as possible." Transportation costs are "overhead," he said. "Each dollar spent on transportation is a dollar that doesn't…
When Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, asked unanimous consent of the House to waive further reading of HB 256, the bill to cut state reimbursement to school districts for student busing costs, House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, objected. That forced the reading, out loud,…
Rep. Marge Chadderdon's flag-manufacturing bill was sidelined to the House's amending order today, after several representatives objected to the bill's requirement that if any political subdivision of the state of Idaho purchases a state or U.S. flag that was manufactured outside the United States, it…
Clete Edmunson, Gov. Butch Otter's transportation adviser, said, "The governor believes that $82 million still allows him to accomplish his goals, which is, we started these projects, we need to finish 'em." The $82 million GARVEE bonding plan that JFAC just approved this morning on…
Sen. Jim Hammond's $82 million proposal has passed, 14-6.
There are at least three ways JFAC could go this morning, as it considers GARVEE bonds, the special type of bonding that allows the state to borrow against its future federal highway allocations to fund big projects up-front, and that's funding several big projects across…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has big things on its plate this morning - running from the departments of Labor and Administration, through several complicated pieces of the Health & Welfare budget, to the Idaho Transportation Department and the fight over GARVEE bonding. Several lawmakers are…
Here's a puzzle: The House Transportation Committee is meeting this afternoon, but nowhere on its agenda is the governor's latest motor vehicle registration fee increase bill. The reason? "We asked them to hold off of the registration fee bill, until we know what's happening with…
Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, told the House Agriculture Committee today that quagga and zebra mussels should be thought of as a "biological wildfire" right at Idaho's border. He and Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, were promoting SCR 109, the resolution to allow the state…
Consensus legislation allowing unprecedented cuts in public school funding in Idaho has passed the House on a 69-0 vote. House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, sponsor of HB 252, called the bill "a piece of work that a lot of people spent a lot…
The House will come back on the floor at 1:30 today to continue today's floor session, after getting bogged down in amendments this morning and making little progress on its 3rd Reading Calendar, which stretches for five pages. This is the first time this session…
Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, today persuaded the House to vote 61-9 in favor of his legislation, HB 229, to declare that during a state of "extreme emergency" including martial law, invasion or insurrection, "No government authority will have the right to come and pick…
Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, took some ribbing this morning from fellow JFAC members for his far-reaching trimming in the Division of Veterans Affairs budget, which included eliminating the replacement of a van that had 125,000 miles on it. Eskridge said the division assured him they…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
