After much debate, the Idaho Senate has passed the ban on local plastic bag bans on a 20-15 vote, forbidding any local regulation of “auxiliary containers,” from plastic grocery bags to Styrofoam restaurant carryout containers. “This in my mind is a business bill,” said Sen....
Far-reaching reforms for Idaho’s beleaguered system of providing public defenders for poor defendants – a system that a state-commissioned study found fell short of constitutional requirements – were approved unanimously in the Idaho Senate this afternoon. The Senate voted 34-0 in favor of HB 504,…
Idaho will have $160 million to invest from the sale of commercial real estate and other holdings over the next five years, and the state should use the rare opportunity to buy timberland and farmland, a financial consultant told the state Land Board today. AP…
Idaho will allow the Idaho Transportation Department to comply with the federal Real ID act, under legislation that just passed the Senate on a 27-7 vote and headed to the governor’s desk, so Idahoans aren’t blocked from using their driver’s licenses as acceptable ID to...
After a contentious hearing in which many people heatedly objected to opening any door to selloff of Idaho’s prized public lands, the House Resources Committee has voted 12-3 in favor of HB 582, legislation from Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, called the “Idaho Multiple Use Sustained…
Forget about that legislation that sought to double the fees for required invasive species stickers that Idaho sells for motorized and non-motorized boats each year to help fund its program to target invasive mussels and milfoil. Rep. Marc Gibbs, R-Grace, sponsor of HB 594, asked…
HB 524, the anti-animal cruelty bill that’s backed by an array of agriculture groups with the lone exception of the Idaho Farm Bureau, passed the Senate today on a 31-4 vote and now heads to Gov. Butch Otter. The bill defines “companion animals” and animal…
A late-session bill has surfaced to bring more school elections under the state’s Sunshine Law, Idaho Education News reports. The House State Affairs Committee voted today to introduce legislation proposed by Rep. John McCrostie, D-Garden City, to require sunshine reports for trustee recall campaigns and…
Homeowner’s associations in Idaho couldn’t restrict owners from renting their property on a short-term basis for “AirBnB” or other types of short-term rentals unless they already had the restriction when the property owner bought the place, under legislation that passed the Senate today after much…
The House has voted 66-1 in favor of “parental rights” legislation, SB 1293a, sending the Senate-passed bill to the governor’s desk. There was no debate. The bill declares that “who object to any learning material or activity on the basis that it harms the child...
A key piece of Idaho’s public school budget for next year – Gov. Butch Otter’s literacy initiative – has just passed the Senate on a unanimous, 35-0 vote. The bill, HB 526, still requires funding; it could be up to $10.7 million. JFAC will have…
Canadian Consul General James K. Hill addressed the Idaho Senate today, and received a warm welcome. “The Idaho-Canada relationship is a strong one and it’s one of tremendous economic benefit to both our countries,” Hill told the Senate. “Trade is just one element of a…
The Idaho Senate has voted unanimously, 35-0, in favor of HB 528, legislation to lay out requirements and procedures for testing of all sexual assault evidence kits, commonly called rape kits. “The DNA evidence in these kits can be a powerful tool in solving these…
Idaho’s state Board of Examiners, which consists of the governor, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, voted unanimously today to approve two payments related to the Idaho Education Network lawsuit: $930,593.17, plus interest, for the attorney fees of the winning party, Syringa Networks,…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
