House Speaker Lawerence Denney told the Idaho Press Club today, “I think we're at the point where we're ruling out the independent ethics commission.” A bipartisan House-Senate working group couldn't reach agreement, and there were separation of powers issues with the question of whether a commission could oversee both the legislative and executive branches, Denney said. However, both Denney and Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill said they still expect some moves toward ethics reforms in this year's legislative session, including, at the very least rules changes in both houses adjusting how ethics committees work and requiring annual ethics training for lawmakers/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Are you surprised that early ethics push by Legislature apparently has fizzled out?