Boise City Council President Maryanne Jordan has been appointed to the Idaho Senate to fill the vacancy created when Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, was appointed to the state Tax Commission, Gov. Butch Otter announced today. Jordan was the top choice of three submitted by the…
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll’s refusal to apologize today in response to a call from an array of religious leaders concerned about her comments on Hinduism, which she said has “false gods.” Nuxoll’s comments came after she…
House and Senate Republicans who are working on gun legislation this year said at a press conference today that a comprehensive bill rewriting Idaho’s concealed-gun permit laws is in the works and likely will be introduced in a House committee next week. It will include…
The Idaho Department of Administration has declared an emergency and signed a $1.88 million, six-month contract with CenturyLink to provide internet service to 16 state agencies and five public health districts, the Idaho Statesman reports. The department had shifted the agencies’ internet service to the...
An array of religious leaders, many of them from Nevada, are calling for Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, to apologize for her comments this week that Hinduism “is a false faith with false gods.” Nuxoll made the comments to the news media after she, along with...
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has voted unanimously in favor of funding a second community mental health crisis center next year, after a move by Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, to slice that funding out of the Department of Health & Welfare’s mental health services budget drew…
Just before the start of this morning’s House Ways & Means Committee meeting, Chair Christy Perry, R-Nampa, announced that the agenda had changed and her proposed bill regarding gaming in Idaho would not be considered today. Asked about the proposal, Perry said it would have…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter today issued this statement in response to a federal lawsuit threat from former Govs. Phil Batt and Cecil Andrus over nuclear waste shipments: “The allegation that I am doing anything less than protecting Idaho under the terms of the 1995 Settlement…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The head of Idaho's pro-business lobby has been placed on temporary leave after sending a profanity-laden email criticizing a state senator and suggesting the group introduce retaliation legislation. The Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/1B8ME89) reports…
The Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee today approved HB 75, the bill to remove Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax from prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses, and sent it to the full Senate for a final vote; the bill earlier passed the House, 57-12. The…
A non-binding memorial to Congress urging it to enact national legislation blocking any state from requiring labeling of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, won House support on a 41-24 vote today, after much debate. The memorial says foods containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients “are as...
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A House panel is considering a plan to spend $2.5 million to support school counselors and lay out specific guidelines for their job descriptions. The House Education Committee introduced the bill Thursday. Marilyn…
Former Idaho Govs. Cecil Andrus and Phil Batt fired off a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Energy this morning threatening a federal lawsuit over a deal between the Otter Administration and the Department of Energy to allow a shipment of commercial spent nuclear fuel...
At the urging of state Commerce Director Jeff Sayer, the House Revenue & Taxation Committee has agreed to introduce new legislation allowing counties to greatly expand their use of an optional property tax break they can hand out for business expansions. Currently, the tax break is...
The new teacher “career ladder” bill proposed by Gov. Butch Otter, introduced yesterday in the House Education Committee, is being variously described as a $125 million plan and a $214 million plan; it’s a $125.6 million plan. Here’s why: The current teacher pay system in...
The University of Idaho's Agricultural Research and Extension Service will see a $2.3 million increase in state support next year, reports Bill Spence of the Lewiston Tribune, including $200,000 it didn't even request. The Legislature's joint budget committee unanimously approved a $28.7 million fiscal 2016…
Even as the House Education Committee today introduced a bill to raise teacher pay, the Senate Education Committee scuttled a rule to create a tiered teacher licensure system, the Twin Falls Times-News reports. Both the new pay scale, which would pay teachers based on seniority...
In their annual talk and Q-and-A session with the Idaho Press Club today, House Speaker Scott Bedke and Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill were asked about an array of legislative issues, from an “Add the Words” compromise to concealed-carry gun legislation. Here are some of…
House Speaker Scott Bedke and Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill both say the Legislature can still wrap up its session by March 27, as long as it addresses education funding. Both also want to see movement on transportation funding. But Bedke told the Idaho Press…
Today’s “Idaho Day” festivities will include commemorations in both the House and Senate chambers this morning, the official state celebration starting shortly after noon in the Lincoln Auditorium, and observances at schools and elsewhere around the state; there’s more info here. The House is planning...
This morning, on the 52nd day of this year’s legislative session, the House Education Committee has voted to introduce one of the most significant bills of the session – the teacher career ladder measure. That clears the way for a hearing on the bill, proposed...
Idaho’s bill to do away with the “fall back” and “spring forward” of daylight saving time is dead; its sponsor, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, says he’ll withdraw the bill and try again next year, after learning that what was proposed in this year’s…
The Senate State Affairs Committee is hearing dramatically different testimony from supporters and opponents of SB 1106 this morning, which would legalize a non-psychotropic extract from cannabis for treatment of children with a severe form of epilepsy. “This legislation means so much to our family,…
Idaho House members are slowly chipping away at addressing the state's transportation funding shortfall, the AP reports, providing the only solution thus far this session as legislative leaders struggle to gather support for a comprehensive transportation bill. House committees have considered proposals that would provide…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee had two divided votes on the budget for the Judicial Branch this morning, finally approving a motion from Rep. Marc Gibbs, R-Grace, that Gibbs described as the “nuclear option,” on a 15-5 vote. While funding two new magistrate judges in Kootenai...
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