Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An eastern Idaho lawmaker says many restaurants in tiny resort cities like Driggs are suffering because they can't sell cocktails. Republican Rep. Marc Gibbs of Grace began his bid to change that Tuesday,…
It was an icy morning in 2009 when Richard W. Wright slid off a North Idaho road and hit a speed limit sign. But the retired Florida police officer and then-Kootenai County coffee shop owner didn’t expect to be charged with the misdemeanor crime of…
Even as Gov. Butch Otter pushes to help create new state-funded rancher groups to fight wildfires in this year's legislative session, one such existing group in Idaho is under scrutiny by federal safety investigators following a fatal firefighting accident last summer, Associated Press reporter John…
The Senate Education Committee has voted 6-2 in favor of SB 1089, to eliminate the early retirement incentive program for Idaho teachers. Sen. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, said doing away with the incentive will save the state money. “Please, committee, realize the implications to the budget…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — After 45 years of paying jurors no more than $10 daily, Idahoans called for jury duty could soon be paid up to $50 for each day they serve in court. The House Judiciary,…
Idaho’s senior senator and congressman both said today that they expect the automatic federal budget cuts required by sequestration to kick in as scheduled on March 1, forcing devastating cuts. “The one thing I’ve discovered is for every complex problem, there is a simple solution…
The chess pieces have kind of been all over the board on the health insurance exchange issue, but now they’re moving into formation and the game plan is becoming more clear: The Senate announced today that it will take up SB 1042, the governor’s state…
The Senate has voted 35-0 in favor of SB 1049, legislation to set up a new governor-appointed oil and gas commission; that role currently is filled by the members of the state Land Board, who are the state’s top five elected officials. Under the bill,…
The House debated hard over HB 180, the supplemental appropriation bill for the next phase of “Medicaid readiness,” or federally required changes to Idaho’s existing Medicaid program. Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, said, “We’re opening the door for Medicaid expansion, which can be a dangerous…
HB 65, the bill to restore the $30 million to the current year’s public school budget that was put in limbo when voters repealed the “Students Come First” laws in November, has passed the House unanimously on a 69-0 vote – with no debate. “I…
After setting the first seven agency budgets this morning, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee unanimously agreed to urge state agencies to grant raises to employees if they can find the money through salary savings. “The Legislature finds that investing in state employee compensation should remain a…
A budget for the state Department of Environmental Quality that generally matches the governor’s recommendation – including the addition of $300,000 for a fish consumption study to stave off potentially more stringent water pollution rules from the EPA – has won JFAC approval, though Sen.…
Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, proposed a budget for the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, which gets no state general funds, that largely matches the governor’s recommendation, but Eskridge trimmed out funding for six of 18 computers planned to be replaced, and for one chair and two…
There were unanimous votes in JFAC this morning on the budgets for the Division of Building Safety, state lottery, and endowment fund investment board; none include any state general funds, and none added funding for raises for state employees. In the building safety budget, Sen.…
The first budget up for consideration in JFAC this morning was the Department of Finance, which receives no state general tax funds; it operates entirely with fees on the industries it supervises. Rep. Rick Youngblood, R-Nampa, who noted that he is a banker – an…
Today is the first day of agency budget-setting for the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, with the PUC and Department of Environmental Quality among those on the agenda. First, though, the joint committee is considering a final supplemental appropriation request, this one a negative. The Catastrophic Health…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
