Conservative North Idaho Sen. Steve Vick has only been on the Legislature’s joint committee for a week, but on Monday, he said he saw a budget request that he views as more justified than others: Slightly raising Idaho’s low-ranking foster care reimbursements. “It seems to…
Click below for AP reporter John Miller's full report on how lawmakers in both the House and Senate balked today at voting on proposed new rules for use of the state Capitol grounds and surrounding areas, aimed at restricting public protests. The 39 pages of…
Boise State Public Radio is hosting a “Community Conversation About the Future of Idaho’s Schools” Tuesday night at Salt Tears Noshery, 4714 W. State St. in Boise, starting at 6 tonight. Reporter Adam Cotterell and Morning Edition host Scott Graf will lead an informal community…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador says he's waiting to see what happens in Congress and efforts to reform immigration before deciding whether to run for Idaho governor. Labrador is among several Republicans who have…
The feud that's broken out into the open between Idaho GOP Congressmen Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador - detailed in a Sunday story in the Idaho Statesman by reporter Dan Popkey - is the top political news of the day in Idaho. Click below for…
The House State Affairs subcommittee on rules of the state Department of Administration, chaired by Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, took public testimony this morning on the proposed new rules for use of the Capitol grounds, and then voted to refer the rules to the…
Idaho’s Department of Health & Welfare, the state’s largest agency, has faced record caseloads, reduced workforce and cuts in benefits in recent years, Director Dick Armstrong told JFAC this morning as he gave an overview of H&W division budget hearings to come. Two-thirds of department’s…
Amid many questions, the Senate State Affairs Committee has wrapped up its hearing this morning on proposed new use rules for the Capitol and its grounds without a vote, postponing that until its next meeting on Wednesday. Chairman Curt McKenzie said before voting, he’d like…
Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, questioned state Department of Administration Director Teresa Luna as to why the department didn't conduct negotiated rulemaking on its controversial new capitol grounds use rules. "That to me seems like an abdication of the responsibility of the agency," Siddoway said. Luna…
Trends in Idaho’s catastrophic health care fund show a big jump in reported cases in 2012, CAT fund Director Roger Christensen told JFAC this morning. The new case load was 4,363 cases in fiscal year 2010, 4,590 in 2011 and 6,491 in 2012. Mental health…
Idaho Senate State Affairs Chairman Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, says there are several people who have signed up to testify on the capitol grounds use rules this morning, but he doesn't plan to allow any testimony. "Typically when we do rules review, we do not take…
JFAC has opened this morning with its hearing on the Catastrophic Health Care fund, the program that pays for catastrophic medical bills for Idahoans who can't pay. "We're getting affected by the local economic conditions, because we are the safety net, as this is designed,"…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
