Legislation to clear the way in Idaho for Elio Motors’ new vehicle, which has three wheels, two seats one in front of the other, gets 84 mpg and sells for $6,800, passed the House Transportation Committee this afternoon with just one “no” vote. The bill,…
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how the bill to create a specialty license plate to benefit “Friends of the NRA” barely squeaked through the Idaho Senate today on an 18-15 vote. Ten Republicans and five Democrats voted against the bill…
The first meeting today of Idaho’s new “STEM Caucus” drew more than two dozen state lawmakers; it featured a speaker on STEM initiatives, along with a visit from the STEM Mobile Discovery Lab, a 60-foot bus sponsored by the Micron Foundation and Discover Technology that’s…
The Senate has barely, on an 18-15 vote, passed HB 16, to create a specialty license plate to benefit the Friends of the NRA. “We have a plethora of them. Half the time they go away because they never get enough support,” Sen. Elliot Werk,...
Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, got four bills introduced yesterday to reduce various misdemeanor charges to infractions, the AP reports; Luker says the move is an effort to ease the burden on public defenders, and also to make penalties better match offenses. Most misdemeanor charges include…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The deadline to purchase health insurance in 2015 on Idaho's exchange is approaching. Officials with Your Health Idaho say customers must complete and submit their application by 11:59 p.m. Saturday. Your Health Idaho…
Attorneys in the office of the State Appellate Public Defender are making an average of nearly $16,000 less than their counterparts in the Idaho Attorney General’s office who represent the other side in the same cases, state Defender Sara Thomas told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee…
An Idaho senator is working on legislation to require students to pass the same U.S. history and civics test to graduate from high school that immigrants must pass when applying for U.S. citizenship, the Idaho Press-Tribune reports today. Sen. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, told the…
Since lawmakers expanded the role of Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden’s office in prosecuting county-level public corruption cases last year, his office has received 58 complaints, Wasden told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning. Thirty of those were declined as they failed to meet the…
There are lots of military and law enforcement representatives at JFAC this morning for a special hearing on a proposal to prepay lease costs for the mountaintop transmitters and other public safety communications equipment that’s now on state endowment lands. The joint proposal from the…
Idaho’s general fund revenues for January came in $1 million ahead of projections, for a fiscal year-to-date total that's 1.2 percent over the forecast. Sales taxes for the month, often much-watched because they reflect the impact of holiday sales, were very close to forecast, at…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Treasurer Ron Crane says his office should be reviewed by an independent third party, requesting the change about one year after legislative auditors claimed Crane's office improperly transferred millions of taxpayer dollars.…
Idaho state agencies are spending more than $10 million a year on outside legal counsel when they could be saving money by using the Idaho Attorney General’s office, according to a new performance evaluation released this afternoon by the Office of Performance Evaluations. The full...
After much debate, a House committee agreed this afternoon to repeal a special exemption for state lawmakers that allows their state-funded pensions to soar if they follow long service in the Legislature with a brief stint in a high-paid, full-time state position. The most recent...
The Idaho Senate has unanimously passed SCR 101, a resolution honoring Gary Stevens, Idaho jockey, actor and sports analyst and Caldwell native. Stevens and his father, Ron, were in the Senate gallery for the resolution; senators welcomed him with a standing ovation. The resolution notes...
This morning’s hearing on SB 1011, the bill to repeal “instant racing” in Idaho, has run out of time. “We didn’t quite get halfway through the people who signed up, so we’ll continue that,” said Senate State Affairs Committee Chairman Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa. He said...
When Louis Cella, of Race Tech LLC, which developed the “instant racing” machines, and who is also vice president of Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, spoke to the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning, senators had lots of questions for him. Among them: A video...
Nathan Small, chairman Fort Hall Business Council of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, told the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning that he supports the bill to repeal instant racing. “When Idaho was considering tribal gaming, there were years of discussion, years … and lots of public...
Jim Bernard, operator of the Double Down Betting Bar in Idaho Falls and Sandy Downs racetrack, said, “I think we’re way ahead of ourselves on a repeal before we actually get all the facts. … I feel the legislation was done right the first time.”…
Senators have had lots of questions about whether the “instant racing” machines are actually “pari-mutuel” betting, or pooled betting, as on horse races. Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, an attorney, cited an Idaho Supreme Court decision, and said, “There has to be some skill, some…
Doug Okuniewicz, manager of the Greyhound Park Event Center in Post Falls, told lawmakers this morning at the “instant racing” repeal hearing, “These are not slot machines. … They’re using pari-mutuel pools, the players are playing against each other.” He said, “A repeal is awfully…
Idaho jockey Gary Stevens told the House State Affairs Committee this morning, “You see a man who was inspire and shaped by my community.” To applause, he said, “I do not want Les Bois Park to stand vacant.” “Small, medium, large tracks across the country...
Paul J. Schneider, chairman of the Idaho State Racing Commission, said if you go to Les Bois Park on a Wednesday night, there are lots of people betting on simulcasts of live horse races. “The problem is they don’t bet very much – they only...
Helo Hancock, legislative liaison for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, told the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning, “We are here today because there has been an unparalleled expansion of casino gaming in Idaho under the façade of wagering on horse races.” He said the way…
A shetland pony wearing a "service animal" sash is among those who have turned out for this morning's "instant racing" repeal hearing. It's from "Personal Ponies," a non-profit group that places ponies with disabled kids; Aaden Vranish, shown here with the pony, has three ponies...
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