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A plump little slice of moon hangs in the sky next to Idaho's state capitol as March 8th dawns, the 57th legislative day and the opening of the filing period for all state offices - including every seat in the Legislature.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee gather for a 7 a.m. workshop meeting on Monday, before their 8 a.m. budget-setting session - at which the state parks budget is among the items on the agenda. Lawmakers urged parks supporters to buy a $35 annual state parks passport now to help support the park system in the current economic crunch.
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Before start of immigration hearing in Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday morning, lawmakers and advocates greet committee members.
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Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, addresses the Senate State Affairs Committee to open a hearing on his controversial immigration bill, SB 1303, on Monday morning. The hearing was held in the Capitol's largest hearing room.
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Kris Kobach, a University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor who drafted sweeping anti-immigration legislation proposed this year by Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, testifies to the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday morning.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Brent Olmstead, lobbyist for a coalition of business and agriculture groups, testifies against SB 1303, Sen. Mike Jorgenson's immigration legislation.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, objects Tuesday morning to cuts in substance abuse treatment as part of budget deliberations in JFAC.
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JFAC Co-Chair Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, center, said Tuesday morning that there's "enough hurt to go around" in the budgets the joint committee is setting.
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Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, proposes an unsuccessful motion to add $5.7 million back in to the much-trimmed budget for higher ed for next year; it failed on a party-line vote.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, lower left, proposed the successful budget Tuesday morning for community colleges, which reflects a 9.2 percent cut in state general funds and a 12.6 percent reduction overall from this year's level. The move came as the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee set budgets for higher ed for next year.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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The House Ways & Means Committee holds a hastily scheduled meeting on Tuesday to introduce six new bills.
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Reps. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, left, and Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, get into the spirit as they hear a raccoon-nuisance bill in the House Resources Committee on Tuesday afternoon. The bill, SB 1286, won unanimous support and went to the full House; it's already passed the Senate unanimously.
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Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, proposes her conservation permit bill, HB 532, to the House Resources Committee on Tuesday afternoon. The panel voted to amend the bill, to require just one such permit per family, rather than one for each person.
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The Idaho Senate debates the "Health Freedom Act" late Tuesday, to ban enforcement of any federal requirement that individuals or businesses purchase health insurance. It passed, 24-10, and headed to the governor's desk.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Temporary Sen. Darrell Kerby, R-Bonners Ferry, center, made the budget motion for the lieutenant governor's office on Wednesday morning in JFAC; it passed unanimously. At right is Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, who also worked on the budget.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, proposed new legislation in JFAC on Wednesday to create a fund to hold non-state donations to the Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan, or CAMP, from water users and others; the joint committee unanimously backed the bill.
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Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane answers questions from Senate Majority Caucus Chair Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, on Wednesday morning at a hearing on three constitutional amendments regarding public debt; all three already have passed the House.
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Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, answers questions from Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake,about the streamlined sales tax bill he's co-sponsoring to position Idaho to eventually be able to collect sales taxes on Internet sales. The bill - identical to another that earlier passed the Senate unanimously - was introduced in the House Rev & Tax committee Wednesday on a 10-8 vote.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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The House State Affairs Committee takes testimony on Wednesday morning on SB 1353, the Senate-passed "conscience" bill on abortion, emergency contraception and end-of-life care. The hearing drew a full house.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, sponsor of the bill to ban texting while driving, received at least six other senators' cell phones during the debate on the bill - delivered by Senate pages - after he offered in the debate to adjust another senator's smart-phone. The bill passed, 29-5, and now moves to the House.
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A special hearing was convened by Senate Education Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, on Wednesday, to air questions about costs of the Idaho Education Network.
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Mike Kennedy of Intermax in Coeur d'Alene addresses a special hearing Wednesday convened by Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, on questions about the Idaho Education Network and concerns raised by local Internet service providers around the state.
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Gov. Butch Otter makes a fundraising appearance on Idaho Public Television on Wednesday; at left is IPTV General Manager Peter Morrill, at right is IPTV's Bruce Reichert.
Courtesy Photo Idaho Public Television
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The Idaho House voted unanimously Thursday in favor of legislation to temporarily expand a tax credit for donations to Idaho Public Television and other state agencies facing budget cuts. The bill, co-sponsored by Gov. Butch Otter, now moves to the Senate.
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Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, speaks out for HB 493, the education 'mastery' bill, in the Senate on Thursday; the House-passed bill would set up a pilot program to offer incentives, including scholarships, to students who move through school more quickly and graduate at least a year early. In mid-debate, Fulcher pulled the bill, saying he couldn't find the clause showing that the program was temporary; it was sent to the Senate's amending order to clarify that.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Helo Hancock, legislative director for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, opens the hearing Thursday on HB 500, the tribe's legislative proposal on tribal law enforcement. The hearing attracted lots of county sheriffs, uniformed officers, tribal representatives and others.
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Lobbyist Bill Roden explains the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's law enforcement legislation, HB 500, to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Mike Kane, lobbyist for the Idaho Sheriffs Association, testifies against HB 500, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's law enforcement bill. Kane told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, "There is no good guy and bad guy," and said he thought Benewah County and the tribe could work out their issues without legislation.
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Reps. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, left, and Darrell Bolz, R-Nampa, right, listen to testimony at the hearing on HB 500, the tribal law enforcement bill, on Thursday.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne testified against HB 500, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's law enforcement legislation, to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
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Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police Chief Keith Hutcheson testifies to lawmakers on Thursday.
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Clearwater County Commissioner Don Ebert testifies against tribal law enforcement legislation Thursday, saying his county gets along fine these days with the Nez Perce Tribe and he doesn't want those conditions to change.
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Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, tells lawmakers Thursday that "bad guys" are actually getting away on his reservation because of the current situation between Benewah County and the tribal police. He urged the House Judiciary Committee to back HB 500 to put more officers on the street and fight crime on his reservation.
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House Judiciary Chairman Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, right, talks with Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, after the four-hour hearing Thursday on the tribe's proposed law enforcement legislation.
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The crowd at a four-hour hearing Thursday on the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's law-enforcement legislation included tribal representatives, lots of uniformed law enforcement officers, county sheriffs, lobbyists, county commissioners, legislators and more.
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Douglas Payne, Benewah County prosecutor, said after a four-hour hearing on tribal law enforcement legislation on Thursday that the county still is willing to negotiate with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe regarding cross-deputization.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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JFAC gathers for its 7 a.m. workshop meeting on Friday. Members were enthusiastic about a plan from two lawmakers to help balance the state budget by increasing state tax auditors to collect a net $16.4 million in now-uncollected taxes.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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JFAC Vice-Chair Rep. Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell, helped craft a plan to add more tax auditors next year to help collect more of Idaho's uncollected tax revenues. He and Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, proposed the plan to JFAC on Friday morning.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, helped craft a plan to add more tax auditors next year to bring in more of Idaho's uncollected, but already due, taxes, something the Otter Administration and its Tax Commission calls the "tax gap." The plan passed JFAC unanimously on Friday morning.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Friday morning made a series of transfers from the state's reserve funds to balance both the current year's and next year's state budgets. It marked the end of most of the state agency budget-setting for the year, though the committee still must return next week or the week after to set the delayed budget for the state Department of Administration.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
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The Senate State Affairs Committee hears from attorney Maria Andrade midway through a long hearing Friday on SB 1271, the last remaining immigration bill this session, which drew extensive opposition. The committee sent the bill to the Senate's 14th Order for amendment.
Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review