Gov. Dirk Kempthorne put out a press release today declaring that he’s “put into place a number of provisions ensuring that the success of his Generation of the Child initiatives – a central focus of his two terms as Governor of Idaho – will continue…
Now that Gov. Dirk Kempthorne is spending most of his time – including all of last week and part of this week – back in D.C. preparing for his confirmation hearings as the nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch is serving…
Greg Hahn, Statehouse reporter for Boise’s Idaho Statesman newspaper, has been on an ugly tie vigil for the past two weeks, trying to convince lawmakers to wrap up their session and head out of town. (Idaho Statehouse tradition, started by former AP correspondent Bob Fick,…
The Senate has passed its final bills – the Idaho Transportation Department budget, which passed 34-0, and HJM 26, a non-binding memorial encouraging the peace process in the Basque country that passed on a voice vote – and completed its business for the session.
The highway bonding bill just passed the Senate 34-1, with lots of praise for all those who worked on the $200 million compromise plan between lawmakers, the governor, and the Idaho Transportation Department. The bill, which now goes to the governor, includes major upgrades for…
House members have sent a delegation to the Senate and the governor informing them that they’re done with their business and ready to adjourn sine die, but the Senate is still debating House amendments to SB 1501, and that debate is stretching on…
The Senate has voted unanimously, 35-0, in favor of a new bill, SB 1502, that sponsor Sen. Brad Little, R-Emmett, described as “déjà vu all over again.” It’s the advisory vote measure that the Senate passed earlier, to ask voters if they want to remove…
The House has taken a recess to allow its Transportation Committee to meet – that’s the committee where the “Connecting Idaho” road funding bill has been parked all this time, held hostage to political trade-offs on other issues. Now, the bill has its chance to…
The House just voted 60-8 in favor of HB 421a, the bill to increase the homeowner’s exemption from property tax. The bill now goes to the governor. It raises the exemption’s top amount from $50,000 to $75,000, adds in the value of land as well…
Senate Republicans finished up their closed-door caucus more than an hour ago, but they’re not back in session yet – they’re just milling around. “We’re waiting – we don’t have anything on our calendar except for one bill,” said Senate GOP Caucus Chair Brad Little,…
The House has amended SB 1501 to leave in place an advisory vote on reducing property tax while raising sales tax, but to also add in a 3 percent cap on growth in the school operations levy. It would be effective this year, so the…
The House Rev & Tax Committee met, and members were surprised to see a new bill in front of them – one that looked oddly familiar. It was Rep. Dell Raybould’s proposal to remove the indexing for inflation from the bill to expand the homeowner’s…
House Speaker Bruce Newcomb just announced to the House that there’s an agreement on the water issue, “So that issue is taken care of. The two issues left are taxes and roads.” Then the House got the word that the Senate had killed its amendments…
The Senate is back in, and is debating a motion from Sen. Brad Little, R-Emmett, to not concur in the House amendments to SB 1404. Meanwhile, the House is just now convening for the day.
The House has just voted 53-16 in favor of a new property tax relief bill – this one amended into SB 1404, an unrelated bill about school bonds that already had passed the Senate. The newly amended bill now matches up with HB 678, a…
The House has recessed until 3 p.m., at which time both the Republicans and Democrats are planning short caucuses before they return to the floor. No committee meetings were announced before the House recessed – not even Rev & Tax – so it doesn’t look…
SB 1492a, the amended bill to preserve the Idaho Open Meeting law but add a provision that legislative committee meetings can be closed in certain “extraordinary” circumstances specifically laid out in House or Senate rules, passed the House on a 64-1 vote, with just Rep.…
The House has approved HJM 26, commending and congratulating all sides in the Basque homeland for moving toward peace, on a unanimous 66-0 vote. But House Speaker Bruce Newcomb had to caution after the vote that he still remembered the last time the House passed…
Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis just told the Senate that, contrary to what some of them appear to believe, no agreement has been reached on aquifer recharge. “It would be less than fair for me to characterize to the Senate that a resolution has been…
Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, just told reporters that a deal has been reached on aquifer recharge and the session will adjourn Monday, likely without the major property tax relief North Idaho wants.
The House adjourned in the middle of debate on the informed consent abortion bill, SB 1482, after House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet of Ketchum and the other Democrats walked out in protest of comments made by bill co-sponsor Rep. Bill Sali, R-Kuna.“It’s kind of an…
John Miller of The Associated Press reports that House Speaker Bruce Newcomb rescinded his punishments for Reps. Bill Sali, R-Kuna, and Tom Loertscher, R-Iona.Miller reports:"The Burley Republican yielded to advice from colleagues who advised him against such a move in the waning days of his…
House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley, stripped Rep. Bill Sali, R-Kuna, of his committee seats today, an apparent attempt at revenge for Sali’s challenging Newcomb’s ruling on Wednesday that the combination property tax bill, HB 876, can’t be divided into separate votes.Sali, a candidate for the…
I’m off Thursday and Friday for a long-planned family gathering, but Spokesman-Review reporter Meghann Cuniff will be keeping an eye on Boise in my absence, and posting updates to this blog. Got tips for Meghann? Contact her at meghann.cuniff@gmail.com
The big combo property tax reform bill, HB 876, just cleared the Senate Local Government & Tax Committee on a 5-4 vote, after more than an hour-long hearing in a surprisingly packed Gold Room – the Capitol’s largest hearing room – despite just moments of…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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