Corey Surber, chair of the governor's Medicaid expansion working group, said, "At this point I'm sensing consensus, but I'd like to do one more check." She asked working group members, if they didn't agree with Option 3 - expand Medicaid - with the identified caveats…
Here are some of the working group members' comments as they debate options for Medicaid expansion in Idaho: Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, said, "This would be good for our people in Idaho. But we also ... don't know what the future's going to hold,…
Gov. Butch Otter's Medicaid expansion working group is now considering what recommendation to make to Otter. Member Mike Baker spoke out in favor of expansion. "There's financial benefits, there's the opportunity to do something right here," he said. "From the state perspective, you look at…
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held a hearing today in Portland on Idaho's state roadless plan; Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, who attended the hearing, said a decision will follow in the coming months. Risch wrote the Idaho plan in…
With current state tax revenues, Idaho's state budget is on track for a substantial ending balance July 1 of as much as $37 million, according to figures presented to lawmakers today by legislative budget chief Cathy Holland-Smith. That doesn't count $18.3 million in supplemental budget…
Legislative Budget Director Cathy Holland-Smith prefaced her presentation to the Legislative Council with a caveat: Many of the numbers will change from what she's prepared. That's because voters rejected the "Students Come First" school reform laws, meaning state Superintendent Tom Luna's budget request for next…
Idaho state tax revenues came in $10 million below projections in October, for a year-to-date $6.9 million below forecast, a 0.8 percent lag. After accounting for amounts the Legislature must reimburse deficiency accounts for fires, pests and hazardous material incidents, the state now looks on…
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d'Alene, says he doesn't want teachers to lose the $38.8 million in performance-pay bonuses that the state is scheduled to send out to school districts on Nov. 15th - he just wants it distributed differently than the voter-rejected "Students Come First"…
Gov. Butch Otter's Medicaid expansion working group is receiving a report from consulting group Milliman this morning on the potential impacts to the state. "On a purely financial basis, it would make sense to expand," Justin Birrell of Milliman told the working group. "You save…
Legislative analyst Eric Milstead briefed lawmakers on how the repeal of the Students Come First law will work. "As of today, the Students Come First legislation is still in effect," Milstead told the Legislative Council. "The Board of Canvassers will meet on Nov. 21 to…
The Legislative Council, the Legislature's leadership group that meets outside the legislative session, is gathered in the House Majority Caucus Room this morning; so far, it's heard reports on interim committees and task forces and discussed training sessions planned for new legislators this year -…
The Idaho Supreme Court is deciding just how much of each death penalty case they must consider under Idaho's mandatory review law, and the ruling could dramatically change the landscape of capital punishment in Idaho, reports AP reporter Rebecca Boone. The issue came up in…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) ― Idaho prosecutors in Pocatello have decided not to file criminal charges against Idaho State football coach Mike Kramer after a player complained that the coach shoved him to the turf during practice. City…