The House has voted 52-15 to kill SB 1080a, on early childhood and early intervention; only the House's 13 Democrats and two Republicans, Reps. Nesset and Trail, voted in favor of the bill. There was no debate; the vote appeared to be in retaliation for…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Drivers who fall out of compliance with auto emission testing rules could get their vehicle registrations reinstated at no cost, under legislation advancing in the 2011 session. The Idaho House voted 57-10 on…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how action in the Idaho House slowed to a near-standstill today, as House Democrats made good on the threat they issued a day earlier to use whatever means they have available to stall the session…
So far today, House Democrats have forced the full reading of numerous bills in the House chamber, but not of a few appropriations bills that came up. Asked why, Minority Leader John Rusche said in an email, "It might be deemed cruel to have the…
The House has approved a new budget bill for the state Department of Insurance, HB 324, without $2.5 million in federal grants for a state health insurance exchange that aroused the ire of some House members and caused the original, Senate-passed budget bill to be…
SB 1198, the primary election bill, has passed the Senate on a 28-7, party-line vote. "This hasn't been an easy year," Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, told the Senate. There have been "Republican against Republican" disputes, he said. "Some feelings have been hurt. Some…
HB 298 has passed the House on a 50-17 vote, with all 13 House Democrats joined by four Republicans - Reps. Smith, Trail, Wood and Nesset - in opposing it. Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, told the House, "We're just targeting the discretionary aspects of…
The House just voted 56-12 to suspend its rules to take up HB 298, latest bill seeking to stop implementation of the federal health care reform law in Idaho. Then, the sponsor, Rep. Vitio Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, asked to waive further reading of the bill;…
The House Health & Welfare Committee began an informational hearing on HB 19 today, Rep. Tom Trail's bill to legalize medical marijuana for limited use by the chronically ill, but ran out of time, and will continue the hearing on Monday. Trail told the committee…
The Senate has just suspended its rules and taken up SB 1198, the primary election bill. It just came out of committee this morning on a party-line vote; the bill would give Idaho its first-ever voter registration by party, and would allow parties to prevent…
House Republican leaders held a press conference this afternoon to decry House Democrats' stalling tactics in protest of the lack of hearings for two bills they want heard. "Republican legislators have kept their promise to balance the budget without raising taxes this year," declared House…
Wind energy developers with projects nearing completion are closer to winning tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks, the Associated Press reports, after the House Rev & Tax Committee voted today to send a bill backed by Idaho Power Co. and other utilities to…
House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said, "There's not a lot of ways we can bring protests to the system up in front of everyone." Forcing full reading of bills, as required by the Idaho Constitution, is one of them, he said. Rusche said House…
It's an Idaho Statehouse showdown: Despite spending practically the entire morning House session reading one bill, House Speaker Lawerence Denney says he's still not inclined to allow hearings on two bills that minority Democrats want heard, a cigarette tax hike and an advisory vote on…
The full reading of HB 310 has concluded in the House. Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, told the House, "This is good legislation, one that's been developed over a year's work with the catastrophic fund and the counties." The bill will save the state $1.6 million…
Action in the Idaho House has come to a standstill, as House Democrats made good on their threat yesterday to use whatever means they have available to slow down the session in protest until majority Republicans allow hearings on two bills the Democrats want heard:…
HB 236, the bill to allow the Kootenai Technical Education Campus, a joint project of three North Idaho school districts, to start construction a year earlier by lifting a requirement to wait until all money from a tax levy has been collected first, has passed…
House Democrats have followed through on their threat to slow down the session in protest over the majority's decision not to allow hearings on the Democrats' bills. First up was HB 310, legislation proposed by the counties in regards to the catastrophic health care fund,…
Two "trailer bills," or bills that follow after and amend other bills, were introduced in the House Education Committee this morning to amend already-signed SB 1108, the teacher contract bill, and SB 1110, the teacher merit-pay bill. They make a series of mostly minor changes,…
The House has just concurred, by unanimous consent, in the Senate amendments to HB 95a, the urban renewal bill. "When the Senate got it, they added some stuff to it and they took some stuff away," Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, told the House. "While…
The House State Affairs Committee has voted along party lines to pass SB 1165, the 20-week abortion ban, sending it to the House with a recommendation that it "do pass." Rep. Carlos Bilbao, R-Emmett, said, "Anyone, anyone who denies the existence of life at the…
Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, moved to send SB 1198, the primary election bill, to the full Senate with a recommendation that it "do pass," and his motion carried on a voice vote, split along party lines. Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, said he has…
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa said he wanted to correct Allen on the cost of party registration; the figures submitted in the lawsuit were on a mail-in changeover system, he said, while this bill anticipates voters would register for the first time simply by…
Larry Grant, chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party, told senators, "The Idaho Democratic Party believes in open primaries. ... This is essentially a Republican intramural fight." He said, "We as Democrats would prefer you spend your time on something other than what I see as…
Gary Allen, attorney for a group of independent voters, told the Senate State Affairs Committee, "I'm here on my 50th birthday, and I can't think of any better way to spend it than talking about democracy." He said he and his clients disagree with the…