A northern Idaho lawmaker says he apologized to seven fellow legislators for an inappropriate comment he made during an anti-sexual harassment training earlier this year. Republican Sen. Bob Nonini from Coeur d'Alene said Tuesday that his remark...
With no debate, the Senate voted unanimously today – 33-0 – to pass HB 335, the bill to lower the unemployment insurance tax and save Idaho employers $115 million over the next three years, without any impact on the state general fund. The bill, which…
Lewis-Clark State College President Tony Fernandez, the second of three outgoing college and university presidents who are making their final budget pitches to lawmakers today, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning that LCSC is marking its 125th anniversary this Saturday. “It seems like we…
Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas, in his final budget presentation to lawmakers this morning, said he supports Gov. Butch Otter’s budget recommendation – though it provides zero funding for Vailas’ top budget request for next year, to add 21 full-time positions and $3.4 million…
The Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning agreed by a voice vote to accept the report from the joint Change in Employee Compensation Committee, which agreed with Gov. Butch Otter that state employees should get merit raises averaging 3 percent next year, but rejected the...
Idaho voters would no longer be required to disclose their sex while registering to vote under a proposal introduced Monday at the Idaho Statehouse. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Tim Hurst told the House State Affairs Committee that information about a voter's sex is unnecessary and that other states have faced potential lawsuits over...
An Idaho House leader says he has set up a security camera in his legislative office to record meetings with fellow lawmakers, lobbyists and constituents in response to the wave of sexual misconduct allegations erupting across the country. House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane, a Republican from Nampa, said Monday he felt the need...
Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, announced today that he plans to retire at the end of his current term – and endorsed his wife, Linda, who plans to run for the seat. “As many of you know, I have had some health issues these past…
Legislative budget-writers began to dig into Gov. Butch Otter’s higher education “CEO” proposal Monday morning, reports Idaho Education News, and honed in on two questions: How much will the plan cost? And how much will it save? The cost is clear enough, at least in…
North Idaho College requested an increase in state funding next year of more than $1 million, but Gov. Butch Otter instead is recommending a small cut in NIC’s budget. That means priorities that the Coeur d’Alene college has identified – from doubling the capacity of…
Idaho would no longer have lower speed limits for commercial trucks on its highways and interstates, under legislation introduced Monday at the request of House Transportation Chairman Joe Palmer, R-Meridian. “There’s a lot of confusion over that,” Palmer told the committee he chairs at a...
Unlike the other community colleges in Idaho, the new College of Eastern Idaho is recommended for a substantial budget boost next year – as it begins its new life as a full community college; it formerly was Eastern Idaho Technical College, but voters approved the…
The College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, like CWI and North Idaho College, submitted several budget requests for next year that weren’t recommended for funding in Gov. Butch Otter’s budget proposal. CSI President Jeff Fox requested $774,800 for a new software platform; $67,500 in…
College of Western Idaho President Bert Glandon told lawmakers this morning that when the community college first opened to students in 2009, 1,200 students showed up. “Last week, our first classes for the spring semester, just shy of 30,000 students now call the College of...
Gov. Butch Otter’s proposed $5 million increase to the state’s Opportunity Scholarship fund, bringing it to a total of $15 million, came in for questioning in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee today; Otter also is proposing legislation to allow up to 20 percent, or $3 million,…
The governor’s proposal to consolidate an array of business functions at Idaho’s four-year college and universities includes $500,000 for a “systems integration consultant,” plus funding for a new executive officer to oversee the functions, at a salary of roughly $200,000. Matt Freeman, executive director of…
As the Legislature’s joint budget committee opens a full week of education budget hearings, state Board of Education President Linda Clark opened with an overview. She noted that while the K-12 public school budget for 2018 is 48.8 percent of the total state general fund…
The Idaho House last week greeted and applauded Erik Parker, a Hailey man who recently pleaded guilty to obstruction of a court order stemming from his actions during the 2014 standoff near Bunkerville, Nev., the Post Register reports...
Here’s a link to my full Sunday column, which reports on the Legislature’s hemming and hawing over truck registration fees – still not addressed, despite 2015 legislation declaring it was the “intent of the Legislature” to impose a new registration fee on commercial trucks to…
The second annual Boise women’s march drew thousands to the state Capitol on Sunday, where women, men and children spoke out on topics including equality, diversity, women’s health and sexual assault, KIVI news reports; their full report is online here, and KTVB has a photo…
Idaho 1st District GOP Rep. Raul Labrador, who is running for governor, issued this statement over the weekend on the government shutdown: “The Democrats are shutting down the government in order to give amnesty to illegal aliens. They are denying vital government services that American…
On tonight’s “Idaho Reports” on Idaho Public Television, host Melissa Davlin interviews Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise, and Rep. Caroline Nilsson Troy, R-Genesee, about sexual harassment and respectful workplace policies; discusses health care, from the governor and lieutenant governor’s executive order to the dual-waiver proposal, with...
State Rep. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer, will take next week off from the Legislature to campaign for governor, the Lewiston Tribune reports; she intends to bring in a substitute to cover for her for the week, so no votes will be missed. "This will allow me...
Today, on the deadline for filing personal bills in the Senate, Sen. Maryanne Jordan, D-Boise, filed a Medicaid expansion bill. “I did it because we are going to have substantive discussions this year on health care, and I think it’s important to continue to measure...
The co-chairs of the Legislature’s Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee, which held hearings on Idaho’s economy and heard testimony from economists, industry representatives and others about its prospects, presented its revenue estimate to JFAC this morning, and the joint budget committee voted unanimously to…
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