Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com about how, on the eve of a big do-or-die vote on Gov. Butch Otter’s transportation tax package, the governor’s office discovered a $10 million math error in its main bill and a citizens group released a…
The House Ways & Means Committee will hold its first meeting of the session in the morning, to introduce another new version of the governor's key transportation bill, to raise car and truck registration fees. The leadership-dominated committee, which rarely meets, has a proposal from…
The Coeur d'Alene Lake Management Plan will be funded one way or another, Idaho state lawmakers declared today. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted unanimously in favor of a budget for the state Department of Environmental Quality for next year that includes an either-or: Either the…
The governor's office says there was a math error at the Idaho Transportation Department in calculating the revenue raised by his new vehicle registration fee proposal, and it actually will raise $10 million less than originally thought. Instead of $43.7 million after three years, "The…
There was lots of testimony this morning on the big election consolidation bill, HB 201, but the Senate State Affairs Committee ran out of time and had to end its meeting before finishing the hearing, so there was no vote today. The committee next meets…
A rare meeting of the Senate Finance Committee - the Senate half of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee - was held today to consider introducing legislation from Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, regarding the state's catastrophic fund. The fund, which picks up costs for medically indigent patients…
Hoping to avoid a $2.1 million cut in funding for statewide substance abuse treatment, Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, this morning proposed filling the gap by dipping into the $45 million in discretionary federal stimulus funds that Gov. Butch Otter wants to direct into road and…
Funding to operate the state Office of Drug Policy would come from the Millenium Fund, which holds the proceeds from a tobacco settlement, under a budget set this morning in JFAC. Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls, tried to take the money from the general fund…
Legislative budget writers have set a budget for the state Department of Revenue and Taxation that restores funding for 31 of the 47 temporary tax auditors who were laid off as a result of this year's budget holdbacks. "When you take a look at this,…
A non-binding memorial declaring Idaho's sovereignty from the federal government cleared the House State Affairs Committee this morning, at the urging of Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries. Harwood said the federal government shouldn't pressure states to do this or that or face losing federal funding.…
Rep. Tom Loertscher's bill to give pharmacists or "any person" the right to refuse to fill a prescription for a patient on the basis of conscience is headed for the House's amending order, to revise the bill so it applies only to pharmacists - not…
Legislative budget writers have set a budget for the state Parks Department that's a 57.9 percent cut from their current year general-fund level, and 18.8 percent overall. "They've limped along - it's sad," said Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum. The vote in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
