If lawmakers can get past jokes about too many lawyers in Boise already, the University of Idaho stands a good chance of doubling its programs in the state's capital, AP reporter John Miller writes. Gov. Butch Otter is supporting a $400,000 measure to add a…
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden filed a motion Thursday seeking to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the state's voter-approved same-sex marriage ban, the AP reports, arguing that courts haven't ruled that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right. Wasden filed the motion as a representative of…
Sen. Russ Fulcher is ripping Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal for a new $2 million wolf control fund. “I don’t know what we need to spend $2 million for,” Fulcher said on the Nate Shelman radio show on KBOI radio this afternoon. Fulcher, who is challenging…
After three days of hearings, a special joint legislative committee is scheduled to vote on possible Idaho state employee raises Friday; the Change in Employee Compensation Committee could pass a resolution, or send a recommendation to budget writers, leaving the final call in their hands.…
The motion to accept the governor's revenue estimate - even though every committee member came up with a lower number - has passed unanimously in the joint Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee. Members said the differences between their numbers and the governor's just weren't…
House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said, “I’ll support the motion, because our differences are not that large at this point in the session.” The motion, from Sen. John Goedde, seconded by Sen. Cliff Bayer, would accept the governor’s revenue projection for fiscal years 2014 and…
Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, has moved to accept the governor’s forecast as reasonable. “If you look at the difference between the committee median and the governor’s, over the course of two years we’re within $30 million. That’s really close,” he said That’s out of…
Derek Santos, chief economist for the state, is presenting his revenue forecast to the joint legislative Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee; Santos said he’s lowered his estimated growth for the current year, fiscal year 2014, to 2.1 percent from the previous 5.3 percent that…
A pilot program to begin experimenting with pre-K education in Idaho schools is gaining support, with bipartisan sponsorship and an array of groups, from Idaho Business for Education, to Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney, to the United Way, the YMCA and KidsCount endorsing the move.…
There’s a big “Add the Words” rally scheduled on the state Capitol steps this Saturday at 1 p.m., to push to add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the types of discrimination banned under the Idaho Human Rights Act. “Across the state, people…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — In the congressional fundraising horse race, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson says he outraised challenger Bryan Smith nearly four-to-one in 2013's final quarter. Smith announced Thursday that he raised $111,066 in the fourth…
JFAC has started its agency budget hearings this morning, with the Legislative Services Office up first. Legislative Services Director Jeff Youtz said the LSO has a unique staff structure for a state Legislature, with all divisions, including, research and bill-drafting, audits and information technology for…
State tax revenue numbers are in for December, and the month’s receipts came in 5.8 percent of predicted levels, or $2 million higher. The state has now issued its January revised revenue forecast, which at $2.8082 billion is slightly lower than the August forecast of…
The Change in Employee Compensation Committee has wrapped up its public hearing on a somewhat somber note. "We can promise you process, we can't promise you outcomes," Co-Chairman Neil Anderson, R-Blackfoot, told the audience. "We will give it the best shot that we possibly can."…
In continuing testimony on state employee compensation this afternoon: Shelly Doty told the lawmakers, “I feel as if I’m banging my head against the wall.” She said many people at her agency qualify for food stamps or other aid. Mechelle Thomas, pictured above, who works…
More testimony from this afternoon’s hearing on state employee compensation: Kean Miller, an employee of the state electrical commission, told lawmakers, “When the employee group insurance plan goes up, my take-home pay will go down. That’s the truth. …. The result of that in the…
In testimony at this afternoon’s public hearing on state employee compensation: Donna Yule, of the Idaho State Employees Association, urged lawmakers, “Find some way to give employees at least something.” She noted, “IPEA has been advocating for the reinstatement of this committee for five years.…
As a reporter, I often use a small recording device – these days, my iPhone – to record events like press conferences so I can later double-check my notes. So on Monday when I went to Gov. Butch Otter’s press conference in his office after…
Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, co-chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, drew a brief burst of applause for her comments to the Change in Employee Compensation Committee this afternoon. “We have eliminated many, many positions, and those who are left know their jobs and do them…
Like members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee before them, the Legislature’s joint Change in Employee Compensation Committee this afternoon is expressing deep reservations about Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal to again provide zero funding for state employees next year, and instead rely on salary savings within…
The House and Senate education committees have scheduled a joint session for Jan. 22 to hear from a panel of experts on Common Core standards, and the committee chairs say they’ll accept written questions in advance from anyone to be submitted to the panel, Idaho…
Gov. Butch Otter has appointed Boise attorney Ilana Rubel to the Idaho House, to fill the District 18 vacancy created when he appointed then-Rep. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, to the Idaho Senate; Ward-Engelking replaced former Sen. Branden Durst, D-Boise, who left the state. Rubel, 41, is…
Some somber notes on this snowy day in the state Capitol: Today is the funeral in Colorado Springs for Air Force Capt. David Lyon, who died in Kabul, Afghanistan, after his vehicle was hit by an explosion. Lyon, 28, was about a month away from…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho senator who ranches sheep is promoting Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's proposed wolf population control panel, saying the $2 million the Republican governor has set aside will boost livestock and elk herds.…
For the first time this season, Bogus Basin has announced that it's opening the Superior chair on the backside today, the last major section of the mountain that's not been able to open so far due to the thin snowpack. There's more info here at…
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