A small group of activists gathered on the Capitol Annex steps at mid-day today to urge Gov. Butch Otter and lawmakers to make use of the federal economic stimulus funds. Holding signs with slogans like, "It's our $$ Take the Stimulus" and "People not Potholes,"…
The Senate State Affairs Committee just voted down a motion to introduce legislation to extend the Idaho Human Rights Act's anti-discrimination provisions to cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, gave a heartfelt pitch to her fellow senators to introduce the measure,…
Gov. Butch Otter has named the eight-member panel that will help him study how Idaho can make use of federal stimulus money. It includes three former governors and five former state budget directors, and is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Click below to see…
Here's a news item from the AP: 'One Idaho legislator wants to put the state's checkbook online, saying it will make government more transparent and could save money in the long run. Athol Republican Rep. Phil Hart told the House State Affairs Committee Thursday that…
Idaho journalism circles have been buzzing today about the firing of Idaho Falls Post Register Editor Dean Miller, who's been editor there since 1995 and formerly worked as the Statehouse reporter for The Spokesman-Review (at that time, I was Dean's editor, a task both challenging…
Athol Rep. Phil Hart wants Idaho to allow all evidence of a past arrest or trial that didn't result in a conviction to be erased, including trial records and national law enforcement databases of arrests. He brought legislation today to allow a judge to expunge…
Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, proposed legislation today that would ban repeat drunk drivers or those who drive drunk at far above the legal limit from buying or possessing alcohol, for anywhere from five years to life. "Have you ever read in the paper about…
The Senate has given near-unanimous final passage to HCR 10, a measure rejecting a rule from the state Lottery Commission that even the commission said would inadvertently have shut down the three-day-a-week charitable bingo at the Coeur d'Alene Greyhound Park, in an attempt to target…
Sens. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, and Denton Darrington, R-Declo, cast the only "no" votes in a 30-2 vote this morning on SB 1061, a measure from Sen. Lee Heinrich, R-Cascade, to allow counties to ticket motorists who drive onto groomed snowmobile trails. "Too much government," Darrington…
House Transportation Chairwoman JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, is calling for the state to use federal stimulus money to "buy back some of the GARVEE bonds, reduce some of the interest we pay," and "put that into maintenance" in rural Idaho. Wood, giving her recommendations to JFAC…
The co-chairs of the Legislature's joint budget committee have announced a plan to educate lawmakers about the federal economic stimulus money and its possible impacts on Idaho's state budget, even as Gov. Butch Otter convenes his own executive committee to sort through the same thing…
“It costs us an awful lot to take care of those who violate us out in the community,” Sen. Denton Darrington, the Senate judiciary chairman, told the joint budget committee this morning. “… Those who commit horrible crimes, it’s very expensive to take care of.…
Senate Judiciary Chairman Denton Darrington, R-Declo, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations committee this morning, “I think there is a limit to how far we ought to go with our prison beds being in private hands.” Even big prison states like Texas are at about 35 percent…
The fight between the Idaho Republican Party and the state over whether the state's primary elections can be closed to all but registered party members - Idaho has no official party registration - arrived in federal court in Boise for arguments on Wednesday. Click below…
Idaho’s state Tax Commission would be required to hold additional hearings on the controversial secret tax deals a whistleblower exposed last spring and submit annual reports on them to the governor and state Legislature, under legislation a Senate committee unveiled this afternoon. “We’re still awaiting…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the stimulus-mouse flap, and here's a statement from Brad Hoaglun, Sen. Jim Risch's spokesman:"The reality is the stimulus bill is so large and pushed through so fast that no one really knows conclusively what will…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office says there is no truth to Idaho Sen. Jim Risch's contention today that the federal stimulus package contains $50 million to save the "red-breasted harvest mouse" in Pelosi's California district. Drew Hammill, spokesman for Pelosi, called the story about the…
Avista Corp. and the Idaho Public Utilities Commission brought legislation today to allow utilities to voluntarily provide assistance to struggling low-income customers, and seek approval from the PUC to adjust their rates to cover the cost. "The need is urgent - it's real," Neil Colwell,…
It took a bit of explaining, but the Senate State Affairs Committee signed on this morning to a House-passed resolution rejecting a rule from the state Lottery Commission that operators of the Coeur d'Alene Greyhound Park say would force them to shut down their three-day-a-week…
Here's a news item from AP: 'Idaho state government retirees would be moved to private insurance plans according to a measure that cleared a House committee where a similar bill stalled a year ago. The Department of Administration made several changes to the bill including…
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, addressing the Idaho Senate today where he once presided as lieutenant governor and as president pro-tem, hauled out the actual printout of the congressional stimulus bill - all 1,100 pages of it - and slapped it on the lectern. "If you…
House Appropriations Chairwoman Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, just commented, "It seems like all the air's gone out of our balloon." The panel, which wrapped up its agency budget hearings this morning and began hearing from chairs of germane committees on their budget recommendations, normally would move…
Blake Hall, administrator of the state Catastrophic Fund, which helps counties cover medical costs for indigents by covering the bills beyond $10,000 per case, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning that the fund is $2.5 million short for the rest of this fiscal year,…
The Sandpoint area is in "desperate" economic straits, and tourism businesses there aren't getting their fair share of state tourism grants, the local chamber head, Amy Little, told state lawmakers today. She and Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, proposed legislation to give counties a share of…
Gov. Butch Otter has issued an executive order creating a "stimulus executive committee" to study the federal economic stimulus and make recommendations within 30 days on how Idaho should spend the money. That could mean a considerably longer legislative session, as lawmakers must set a…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
