“The time has come for Idaho to prepare for a potential change in federal law to address the issue of tax equity. It’s called the Marketplace Fairness Act,” Gov. Butch Otter told lawmakers. “As many of you know, that legislation now before Congress would clarify…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter long has favored tax cuts; now, he’s calling for cutting the personal and corporate income tax rates for Idaho’s highest earners each year for the next five years, to drop them from the current 7.4 percent to 6.9 percent. In the…
Gov. Butch Otter told lawmakers, “The biggest of the big-ticket items in our infrastructure inventory is our long-term, multibillion-dollar investment in Idaho’s roads and bridges. And if ‘Idaho Learns’ means anything at all, it’s time for us to address that elephant in the room.” “The...
Otter is praising Idaho’s higher education system and calling for boosts in the areas Idaho’s universities have named as their top priorities, a computer science initiative at Boise State University, an employee readiness initiative at the University of Idaho, career path internships at Idaho State…
Several times during his State of the State message today, Otter has returned to the phrase “Idaho learns.” He said Idaho has learned from its contract problems with the Idaho Education Network, for which the state’s $60 million contract was declared illegal. “The kind and…
Idaho has “put off making some tough decisions for too long,” Gov. Butch Otter told the Legislature in his State of the State message. “That cannot and must not continue.” He said he’ll outline issues today “on which I believe we must act, not in…
“Public confidence must be earned anew every day,” Idaho Gov. Butch Otter told lawmakers in his State of the State message today. “So let us begin our work together unfettered by cynicism or mistrust, and with a sure understanding of our limitations as well as…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has arrived in the House chamber for his State of the State message, where he was announced by Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis. Otter began his speech with acknowledgement of his near-100-year-old mom, who is watching by video. Then, he asked…
Both the House and the Senate have now convened in advance of the governor’s State of the State message today; here House Speaker Scott Bedke presides over the House. Preliminary business in the House included the appointment Vicki Purdy of New Meadows to serve as…
The state will rebid its disputed Idaho Education Network broadband contract, Idaho Education News reports this morning, but it’s not clear when – and in the meantime, school districts may pursue their own funding to keep their schools wired. Kevin Richert of Idaho EdNews covered…
Gov. Butch Otter will give his State of the State and budget message today at 1 p.m. MT, to a joint session of the Legislature assembled in the House chamber. Otter will lay out his agenda, kicking off this year’s legislative session. The House and...
A new Idaho poll by Utah pollster Dan Jones & Associates finds that 61 percent of Idaho registered voters support Medicaid expansion, and just 29 percent oppose it; the poll, commissioned by Idaho Politics Weekly, surveyed 520 Idaho voters and had a margin of error…
This could be the year that the Idaho Legislature finally moves toward long-sought goals, from restoring school funding back to 2009 levels to holding a hearing on whether to ban discrimination against gays. Boosting funding for maintaining the state’s deterioriating road system is high on…
About 750,000 Idaho residents, or nearly 47 percent of the state’s population, consider themselves hunters or anglers. Yet less than half of them buy hunting or fishing licenses each year, reports S-R reporter Becky Kramer. Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials want to increase…
State Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, a member of the legislative panel that oversees the troubled Idaho Education Network has sent out a guest editorial to Idaho newspapers entitled, “What We Should (Have) Be(en) Doing About the IEN.” In it, he calls for the state to…
More than 1,500 people attended the state’s official Inaugural Ball at the state Capitol on Saturday night; read this post for a report and photos from the non-partisan public event...
In a somewhat anticlimactic ruling, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday rejected motions for an en banc review – a reconsideration by a larger, 11-judge panel – of the October ruling overturning bans on same-sex marriage in Idaho and Nevada. Idaho already…
“Idaho Reports” kicks off for the season at 8 tonight on Idaho Public Television, and this week includes an extensive interview with Gov. Butch Otter and a look back at his entire career. The program also reports on events in the run-up to the start…
Lewiston Tribune reporter Bill Spence turned up this interesting anecdote in his feature story today on the Bibles that Idaho’s top state elected officials use to take their oaths of office, including cherished family heirlooms: Gov. Butch Otter used his late father’s Bible, which he…
Education Week has released new rankings of states on education, and Idaho came in 46th overall with a grade of D-plus, reports Idaho Education News. The state’s worst rankings were No. 50 out of 51 for early education, an F; and No. 49, also an...
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter struck a defiant tone in his third inaugural address today, declaring, “We stand for what’s right, here in Idaho.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com. “Where we draw the line is having others’ views imposed on us as…
The 25th Army Band is playing, the seats are set up and the stage is set for Idaho's official inaugural ceremony, which kicks off at noon today on the steps of the state Capitol. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter will be giving his third inaugural address…
Preliminary figures show December state tax collections beat forecasts, legislative budget director Cathy Holland-Smith told lawmakers on the joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee this morning. A new forecast will be out next week, but compared to the last forecast from August, that puts...
More than a dozen state workers have signed up to testify to the Legislature’s joint Committee on Change in Employee Compensation this afternoon. Among them: Jake Thibadeau, who has worked as a custodian at Boise State University for the past six years. “We would have...
Idaho legislative leaders say they’re concerned about the slot machine-like “instant racing” terminals that have begun cropping up around the state, authorized under a 2013 law aimed at allowing pari-mutuel betting on past horse races. “I think we kind of knew what we were getting…
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