From a longtime judge to a kindergarten teacher from Kuna to the state’s lieutenant governor, from a school superintendent from Idaho City to a bank chairman from Pocatello, an array of presenters told the Senate Education Committee this afternoon that the best thing Idaho could...
Two bills dealing with dog racing advanced in the Statehouse today. The first, HB 104, to grant an exemption from Idaho’s strict ban on dog racing for a county fair side-show exhibit, headed to the Senate’s amending order after senators expressed concerns. That measure, from…
Bipartisan legislation backed by parents whose children suffered severe disabilities after being exposed to a common virus, CMV, in utero is headed for the full Senate. “Education will provide expectant mothers with information to help them significantly decrease the chances of their unborn children contracting…
The director of the Idaho Department of Lands says the agency's records involving decades-old sales of state lands will be examined after two environmental groups say many of the sales violated Idaho's Constitution, the Lewiston Tribune reports. "I intend to hire an independent auditor to review IDL's records and advise the Land Board...
Idaho 1st District GOP Rep. Raul Labrador, in an unannounced appearance in the Idaho House today, declared that new President Trump is “actually doing the things that he said he was going to do.” Labrador said, “People are reacting like this is something unusual or...
Jeremy Pisca, representing the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, was the last person called to testify to the House State Affairs Committee this morning on HB 127, the anti-tribal gaming bill. “This is not a new issue in this legislature - it comes back every five or six...
Jeremy Chou, attorney for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, told lawmakers that the question of whether the current law is constitutional already has been answered in an Idaho Supreme Court case. In the Knox case, the plaintiffs sued to try to declare the current law unconstitutional.…
Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, said he personally traveled the state talking with Idahoans when the tribal gaming initiative was on the ballot in 2002. “They said, ‘We support you, we support gaming by the tribes of Idaho as long as the...
Tyrel Stevenson, legislative director for Coeur d’Alene Tribe, told the House State Affairs Committee at this morning’s hearing on HB 127, “If there’s an issue with something that the tribes currently are undertaking right now, the tribe feels this should be engaged in an arms-length...
Bill Roden, attorney, lobbyist, former state lawmaker and former representative of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, described the history of gaming law in Idaho, including the enactment by initiative of a state lottery, the passage of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and the enactment by...
Steve Griffitts, mayor of Hayden and for 12 years head of the “Jobs Plus” economic development organization in Kootenai County, spoke out against HB 127, the anti-tribal gaming bill this morning. “Morally, personally and religiously I am not an advocate for gambling at any level,”...
Retired Pastor Steven McPherson told the House State Affairs Committee that he supports HB 127, the anti-tribal gaming bill, and said, “Perhaps it doesn’t go far enough, because I am opposed to gambling in any form. Perhaps we should consider the good example of Hawaii.”…
David Leroy, speaking as the attorney for Coeur d’Alene Racing Inc., told the House State Affairs Committee this morning that he believes HB 127, the anti-tribal gaming bill, isn’t an affront to Idaho’s Indian tribes, but instead is “merely an attempt for the state to...
Before the start of the continuation of the tribal gaming hearing this morning, the House State Affairs Committee had one other item on its agenda: Introduction of a bill from Starship Technologies Inc. to set up a regulatory framework to allow the company’s new delivery...
This morning’s informational hearing on the benefits of early childhood education and preschool, featuring an array of speakers, has been moved up to 8 a.m., instead of the planned 9 a.m., in the House Education Committee. The speakers will present again this afternoon in the…
William “Bill” Marshall, a University of North Carolina law professor, is speaking in room WW17 this morning on a potential Article V constitutional convention, saying it couldn’t be limited in scope to any particular topic. “There are no such guarantees,” Marshall said. “This is uncharted...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
