The House and Senate tax committees are holding an unprecedent joint hearing this morning on what can be done to stimulate Idaho economic conditions, including through tax cuts; eight presenters are scheduled to speak. You can watch live here; the joint hearing is in the…
There was pretty hot debate in the House State Affairs Committee this morning on HB 444, Rep. Dennis Lake's bill to repeal a 1990 law that allows longtime state legislators who take higher-paying state jobs late in their careers to count all their legislative service…
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d'Alene, introduced a resolution this morning in the Senate State Affairs Committee to launch an interim study committee to look at how Idaho can attain primacy on wastewater permit regulation, which would mean NPDES permits could be issued through the state…
Yesterday I was on a panel speaking to a session of the Idaho Association of Counties Midwinter Conference, and during a discussion of election laws, the assembled county officials sent a remarkably strong message: They want vote-by-mail to improve how Idaho's elections work. It's an…
Idaho's projected year-end balance at the end of the current fiscal year June 30 - the state surplus - is now up to $113.6 million, according to the latest edition of the General Fund Budget Monitor, which is published by the Legislature's budget office; you…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's endowment trust would be forced to sell a self-storage business in Boise that's ignited criticism that the state inappropriately meddled in the private sector, under legislation introduced today. Rep. John Vander Woude…
The House Resources Committee has unanimously backed the new Idaho State Parks Passport program, the AP reports, which would allow people registering their vehicles to voluntarily add a $10 sticker to their car entitling them to entry into Idaho's 30 state parks. If 20 percent…
Sen. Shirley McKague, R-Meridian, has announced she won't run for another Senate term, and instead has endorsed Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Meridian, who landed in the same new legislative district as her. McKague served five terms in the House and is in her third term in…
On Jan. 19, House Speaker Lawerence Denney ordered the doors to House members' basement office areas locked down and open by card access only. "Anyone without a House State ID badge will not be allowed into those spaces until the security guard has cleared it…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's proposed budget got a little boost from the latest tax revenue collections that were $6.3 million above projections. Tuesday's release of figures for January point toward continued economic strengthening.…
Rep. Julie Ellsworth, R-Boise, said she was surprised when she was targeted in a recall attempt last year, and found that the state's Sunshine Law, which requires campaign finance reporting, doesn't apply to recall elections. "I found out that I had no mandate to record…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A stiff anti-federal wind again gusted through the House this week as a Republican-dominated committee opposed allowing Medicaid to pay for anti-smoking remedies for pregnant women and children. The 2010 federal health care…
The Idaho Senate has put off consideration of amendments to HB 404, the anti-Occupy Boise bill. "It's definitely certain it's not going to be today," said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder, R-Meridian. The reason: Though two proposed amendments have been submitted, others are still…
After Idaho's first execution in 17 years in December, the state could see another one this spring and more next year, state Corrections Director Brent Reinke told legislative budget writers this morning as he made his budget presentation. He said the execution of Paul Ezra…
A deeply divided House State Affairs Committee voted this morning to introduce legislation proposed by Rep. Julie Ellsworth, R-Boise, to amend House rules to say that any member of leadership who is convicted of a DUI or drug offense would lose his or her leadership…
Idaho Labor Director Roger Madsen says his department is committed to continuing to pick up the funding for the Idaho Human Rights Commission with its various federal funds, though those are becoming increasingly tight. Next year will be the third year of the four-year phaseout…
A group of severely disabled Idahoans is suing the state after the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare cut their Medicaid benefits by as much as 40 percent, then refused to tell them why, saying its formula for the benefits is a "trade secret," and…
The Idaho Republican Party has announced that five candidates have qualified for the ballot for its March 6 presidential caucus: Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Buddy Roemer. Roemer is the former governor of Louisiana and served four terms in Congress in…
The House Environment, Energy & Technology Committee has voted to introduce Rep. Shannon McMillan's non-binding memorial calling for the EPA to pull out of the Silver Valley and halt its Superfund cleanup there within five years, with two "no" votes, one abstention and some concerns…
House Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, introduced legislation today to disable all the parking meters on streets adjacent to the state Capitol Mall during the legislative session, to ease citizen access to the session. "It'd make it so all the parking meters ... are…
Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, is proposing an "Idaho Farm Freedom Act" that would exempt from any licensing, certification or inspection requirement the sale of farm products at farmers' markets, roadside stands, or directly to consumers, including for a "traditional community social event" like weddings, church…
Dalton Gardens Rep. Vito Barbieri proposed legislation this afternoon to ease Idaho's rules on sales of raw milk, and ran into opposition in the House Agriculture Committee, whose members noted that extensive work was done just last year to revise Idaho's rules for raw milk.…
Rep. Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton, will ask the House Environment, Energy & Technology Committee this afternoon to reintroduce a measure she proposed last year: A resolution demanding that the EPA be removed from Shoshone County, along with its Superfund designation, within five years, because allowing continuation…
Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, sponsored legislation in the House today to add Special Needs Recreation of Coeur d'Alene to the list of charities and youth rehab organizations to which donations are eligible for a tax credit. Nonini praised the group, which provides recreational opportunities…
Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, spoke out in the House today against HB 371, which would allow parents of a military member who is killed while serving to live in Idaho's veterans' homes; federal law now allows states to offer that option. "We have a ...…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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