Two big bills making up State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna's sweeping reform plan are being presented to the Senate Education Committee this afternoon for introduction. Luna aide Jason Hancock, who is presenting the first bill, making changes in labor conditions from eliminating tenure for…
A new version of a tribal policing bill to replace HB 33 was introduced today on a unanimous vote in the House Judiciary Committee; it's mostly similar to the earlier measure, but makes a couple of changes suggested by the Idaho Sheriff's Association and a…
Last Friday, the governor, Senate president pro-tem and House speaker sent out a letter anticipating a budget shortfall next year of as much as $185 million, including the $35 million in cuts that Gov. Butch Otter already had proposed. Now, that figure is shrinking quickly.…
Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, proposed legislation today to require community college trustee elections to be done by district, rather than at-large - which would change the way elections now work for all three of Idaho's community colleges, North Idaho College, the College of Western…
The House State Affairs Committee has voted unanimously to reject legislation from Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, to sell off Idaho's governor's mansion and shift the money to state parks. Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, said at some point a North Idaho resident will be elected…
As Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, came before the House State Affairs Committee this morning to pitch his bill to sell Idaho's unoccupied governor's mansion and shift funds to the state park system, committee Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, told him, "Good morning - I didn't know…
The Idaho Chamber Alliance proposed legislation this morning for a new refundable tax credit for new jobs, at 4 percent of gross wages. But amid questions in the House Rev & Tax Committee, the bill was held for fixes. The statement of purpose said the…
The first year of a four-year, phased-in tax compliance initiative doubled its goal, state Tax Commissioner David Langhorst told JFAC this morning. In fiscal year 2010, $1.5 million in budget stabilization funds was spent to hire 41 temporary staff in audits and collections, with a…
At the state Tax Commission, "voluntary compliance" means people pay their taxes as required by law, without the commission having to go after them through audits, collections and enforcement to get them to pay up. In 2010, the state collected $2.78 billion through that "voluntary…
Former Idaho Senate President Pro-Tem Bob Geddes is making his first budget presentation to JFAC as the new chairman of the Idaho State Tax Commission. "As you can imagine, I have one foot in the future and that other foot still hanging on to the…
The House Ethics Committee, which has pending before it a complaint filed against Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, has set a meeting for Friday morning at 8, with an executive session to be followed by an open meeting. The panel will meet in room EW 40…
Here's some insight into the late-afternoon turnaround yesterday by the legislative task force on alternative funding for the Idaho State Police and state parks: In the current atmosphere - including yesterday's House rejection of a small fee increase on criminal offenders to help fund the…
Idaho lawmakers are taking aim at urban renewal, introducing a raft of bills to trim renewal agencies' authority; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.
Six of the seven urban renewal bills were introduced on unanimous votes, clearing the way for full hearings; they'll appear online on the Legislature's website with bill numbers tomorrow. The first, a compromise bill from Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, and the Meridian Urban Renewal District,…
Rep. Robert Schaefer, R-Nampa, proposing legislation to repeal urban renewal, said urban renewal was originally intended "to seek out blighted crime infested areas and get rid of them," and he said that's not what projects like the Idaho Center in Nampa achieved. "The majority of…
Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, proposed legislation to require county-wide elections for urban renewal boards. "I can't believe that I'm finally here and I'm finally talking about urban renewal," she told the House Local Government Committee. "It's been on my mind for many years. ...…
Rep. Lenore Barrett, R-Challis, has convened the committee she chairs - the House Local Government Committee - for the first time this session, to consider introducing seven urban renewal bills, many of them challenging the entire urban renewal concept. "Fasten your seatbelts - it's probably…
About 75 protesters gathered on the state Capitol steps today to object to megaloads on U.S. Highway 12 in north-central Idaho, and then filed into the state Capitol, lined up outside the governor's office, and individually presented the governor's office with more than 100 letters…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's January tax revenue likely beat forecasts by about $15 million. The news, which indicates the economy could be picking up steam, may help mitigate concerns that arose last week about a yawning…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's Republican-dominated Legislature is taking aim at a global children's rights treaty the United States has yet to ratify, backing an amendment to the Constitution to protect parental rights as a buffer against…
The proposed general-fund appropriation for the Idaho Department of Water Resources next year is about equal to its levels from 2002 and 2005, interim director Gary Spackman told JFAC this morning. The agency would take another 1.4 percent cut next year, under the governor's budget…
The House Local Government Committee, chaired by Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett, R-Challis, rarely meets. But it's meeting today at 1:30 to consider introducing seven bills aimed at slashing into the authority of urban renewal agencies across the state. House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, has…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — University of Idaho officials say a student is suspected of having bacterial meningitis. The university said Tuesday it is working with public health officials and is notifying students, faculty, staff and parents of…
It's "Pie Day," when the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators brings large quantities of homemade pie, along with displays from and about home-schooled students, to the state Capitol. The event, in the fourth-floor rotunda of the capitol, is scheduled to run from 7:30 a.m. to…
To cope with budget shortfalls, DEQ chief Toni Hardesty has identified a $486,700 balance in the state's hazardous waste emergency fund that could be shifted to the general fund to avoid huge and costly changes, such as losing state primacy over regulatory programs. The use…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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