Eddie Trout, from "Partners for Clean Water," visits the state Capitol today as part of a "Be Outside" celebration by the Idaho Children and Nature Network. There are displays, kids, a storyteller and more in the fourth floor rotunda as part of the event, and…
Sen. Gary Schroeder's resolution to overturn a Panhandle Health District rule on behalf of a Pullman, Wash. resident whose new Lake Coeur d'Alene cabin doesn't meet sewage requirements had been up for a hearing this afternoon in the Senate Health & Welfare Committee, but now…
HB 391, the "Idaho Health Freedom Act," has just been moved to general orders for amendment by unanimous consent of the House. Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, said the problem is that the bill, as written, would outlaw a requirement lawmakers enacted into state regulations…
The state Department of Lands is proposing to increase its timber harvest on state endowment lands by 35 million board-feet a year, from 212 million board-feet a year to 247. Income to the state endowment would rise by 20.2 percent, Director George Bacon told JFAC.…
Yvonne Ferrell, who headed Idaho's state parks system for 15 years and served as deputy director of Washington's state parks system for a decade before that, attended the parks budget hearing today and said she supports current Director Nancy Merrill's plan for parks. However, Ferrell…
Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, asked how Parks Director Nancy Merrill expects to make Idaho's parks system self-sustaining, when "there are no states that have really been able to create an environment of sustainability." Merrill said it's all in her new business plan for the state…
Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, asked state Parks Director Nancy Merrill how much the RV registration fund brings in each year. The answer: $3.8 million to $3.9 million. The idea is to tap about half of that fund each year for the next two to five…
Idaho's state parks department took a 17 percent cut in general funds in fiscal year 2009, and a 56 percent cut with the fy 2010 holdbacks, state Parks Director Nancy Merrill told JFAC. Now, she said, "We have proposed that we begin the process of…
Nancy Merrill, state parks director, has begun her first budget presentation to JFAC. Her department's budget request has changed significantly from the one first submitted; now, as a result of a deal announced last week by Merrill and Gov. Butch Otter, it calls for cutting…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press about the campaign finance reports filed over the weekend in the 1st District congressional race:BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick outraised Republican rivals in Idaho's 1st Congressional District during the final three months of…
This morning, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has started out by hearing a report from the joint legislative task force that was tasked, over the summer, with coming up with a new funding source for parks and the Idaho State Police to replace a slice of…
Three ceremonies for major highway construction projects on I-84 over the past summer ran up tens of thousands in bills after Gov. Butch Otter's office ordered that they be the governor's "signature events," Idaho Statesman reporter Cynthia Sewell reported Sunday; you can read her full…
Former Idaho state Sen. Atwell Parry, R-Melba, passed away today after suffering injuries a one-vehicle accident on Jan. 14 that left him in critical condition. Parry, former co-chairman of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, was released from St. Alphonsus Hospital on Jan. 27 to go home…
Here’s a link to the third week of Idaho’s legislative session in pictures, as a slide show. Let your cursor hover over the bottom part of the picture frame, and the captions will appear as the slide show plays. Tonight, on Idaho Public Television’s "Idaho…
Idaho Human Rights Commissioner Joe B. McNeal came up for a confirmation hearing this morning before a Senate committee, and he told the senators, "As you all know, 40-plus years ago the state of Idaho passed a law making it clear that Idahoans would not…
Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, chairman of the Senate State Affairs Committee, said his plan is to hold a hearing, likely in mid-February, on three immigration bills: the new one introduced today from Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake; another already introduced by Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell,…
Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, this morning introduced sweeping legislation aimed at punishing Idaho employers who knowingly employ undocumented immigrants, along with other measures including denying recognition of out-of-state driver's licenses to those without legal immigration status. "The key language is 'knowingly hire,'" Jorgenson said.…
The Senate State Affairs Committee has voted unanimously to approve HB 379, the measure from Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, to eliminate a tax return checkoff that allows taxpayers to donate $1 of their taxes to the political party of their choice; the bill, which already…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on state schools Supt. Tom Luna's proposal for education funding unveiled to lawmakers today. Tapping into the state's public school endowment earnings reserve fund for more than $50 million, as Luna proposes, would require a vote…
Here's a news item from the AP: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Hours after President Barack Obama renewed his call for Congress to overhaul health care in his State of the Union speech, a state House committee passed a bill meant to scuttle that effort in…
The co-chairs of JFAC questioned state Schools Supt. Tom Luna today about the latest numbers on student enrollment, which affect state funding. Luna's finance expert, Tim Hill, told JFAC that the number of support units, which is roughly a classroom's worth of kids, was anticipated…
An Idaho lawmaker upset that regulators refuse to bend the rules for a Worley-area cabin owner with an inadequate septic system is proposing legislation that threatens to undermine the Panhandle Health District’s ability to keep sewage out of North Idaho lakes and streams. “I’m just…
Here's a news item from the AP: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Legislature is considering limiting the length of sessions to just 90 calendar days to save money, conserve the time of government workers and encourage a more diverse legislature. The House State Affairs…
State lawmakers are excited about state schools Supt. Tom Luna's proposal to tap the state's school endowment earnings reserve fund for more than $50 million to help balance the school budget. "I give him credit for coming up with it," said Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert,…
In response to a question from Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, state schools Supt. Tom Luna said the public school earnings reserve fund he wants to tap to avoid deeper school budget cuts was set up specifically to ensure payments to schools. "Remember that 10 years…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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