There wasn’t much to Lt. Gov. Brad Little’s budget request for his office, which has three employees – himself, his chief of staff, and an administrative assistant. When Little appeared before JFAC for his budget hearing this morning, he recalled interning for the joint budget…
Idaho State Controller Brandon Woolf has been leading up to this for several years, and today he presented his budget request to lawmakers to modernize the state’s business systems – including the statewide accounting, payroll, and procurement systems and more. It’s a $102 million project...
The Public Employee Retirement Fund was up for its budget hearing this morning in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, and when Director Don Drum said, “This has been a really good 18 months for PERSI,” some JFAC members laughed at the understatement. The PERSI fund had…
A maintenance worker works on a security camera high above the 4th floor rotunda in a quiet Idaho state Capitol on Friday morning. As is common on Fridays early in the legislative session, few committee meetings are scheduled today as lawmakers head back home to...
An Idaho court has approved class-action status lawsuit for the case challenging Idaho’s public defense system as unconstitutional. The state of Idaho had strenuously opposed class action status for this case, arguing that the lawsuit should be limited to the four individuals who sued. The…
Democratic gubernatorial candidate A.J. Balukoff called yesterday for the Legislature to introduce legislation to repeal Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax on groceries. “The state is balancing its budget on the backs of working Idahoans every time they go to the grocery store and it’s time…
Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, moved to “accept the governor’s projections as reasonable,” and for 2018 set the EORAC projection for state general fund revenues for fiscal year at $3.6309 billion, and for 2019 at $3.8231 billion. His motion passed 15-1, with the only “no” vote...
“There are a range of different outlooks, but when you’re all kind of put together, you’re pretty close to where the governor is,” legislative budget analyst Keith Bybee told the Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee this afternoon. Each member of the joint committee has…
The Legislature’s joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee has convened this afternoon in room EW42 of the Capitol to set its revenue estimate, which will be submitted as a recommendation to JFAC. First, the panel is hearing from state Economist Derek Santos, who is…
The annual BSU Public Policy Survey is out, and it shows that Idahoans overwhelmingly believe the state budget should stay the same or be increased; nearly two-thirds think the current tax burden is about right; and if there were to be tax reform, they favor...
In a special meeting this afternoon, Idaho’s State Board of Education voted to endorse Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal for a higher education CEO; and also endorsed Otter’s push for a $5 million boost to the state’s Opportunity Scholarship fund. Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert…
Idaho teacher salaries increased by an average of 3.6 percent in 2017-18, the third year of the state’s five-year, $250 million plan to boost teacher pay, reports Idaho EdNews. That’s the largest increase since the passage of the 2015 “career ladder” salary law, according to...
An environmental group is asking Idaho officials to prosecute a trapper who killed a wolverine and ban lethal traps in areas inhabited by wolverines, but state officials say they will do neither. The Center for Biological Diversity made the request Tuesday in a letter to Idaho Department of Fish and Game...
A delegation from the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, a collaborative of five states and five Canadian provinces, told the House Environment Committee today that so far, $9 million in federal funds has been allocated to Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to fight to keep invasive…
There were both protesters and counter-protesters in front of the Capitol over the noon hour today, as the Convention of States group brought its leader, Mark Meckler, in to speak at a rally, and groups opposing a constitutional convention held their own counter-protest. The AP…
A series of quick remodels at numerous Idaho correctional facilities, from work camp and re-entry centers to the Pocatello women’s prison, will create 99 more beds for Idaho’s swelling state prison population. Legislative budget writers this morning unanimously approved an immediate supplemental appropriation of $483,500…
With a series of two unanimous, roll-call votes this morning, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee restored the $27.5 million – plus some interest – transfer to road projects that lawmakers had voted to make with half of a $55 million surplus at the end of the...
The Legislature’s joint Change in Employee Compensation (CEC) Committee deliberated long into the night tonight, finally wrapping up just before 8 p.m., when the 18-member panel adopted Gov. Butch Otter’s recommendation for merit raises averaging 3 percent for state employees next year, but differed from...
The House Education Committee killed one of the first proposed new education bills of the session Wednesday, aimed at clearing up confusion over teacher evaluations. Committee members voted 11-4 against introducing the bill, Idaho EdNews reports. Officials with the State Board of Education brought the…
If elected, Raúl Labrador says he would reduce fraud and mismanagement in Idaho government by creating a hotline to anonymously report problems, and an independent special unit to investigate them, the Idaho Statesman reports. “There’s currently no easy way for citizens and whistleblowers inside government…
The Legislature’s joint Change in Employee Compensation (CEC) Committee holds its final meeting of the session this afternoon, starting at 3 p.m. in room EW41 of the Capitol; you can listen live here. The committee is scheduled to hear a couple of final presentations, then...
David Johnston, campaign manager for GOP gubernatorial candidate Tommy Ahlquist, issued this statement: “Today's failure by the House State Affairs committee highlights yet again politics as usual and the need to elect a political outsider like Tommy Ahlquist as Governor. Tommy has been championing the…
Idaho’s state health agency has dramatically cut its spending on substance abuse treatment, due to a budget shortfall that took officials by surprise last fall, the Idaho Statesman reports. The cuts, which could last through the end of June, do not affect people who started...
The House State Affairs Committee has killed legislation from its own chairman – endorsed unanimously by a legislative interim committee – to impose Idaho’s first-ever personal financial disclosure requirement for elected officials. “I don’t see why this should see the light of day,” said a visibly angry Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens...
Rep. Dell Raybould, R-Rexburg, announced today that he won’t seek re-election after his current term; he is in his 9th House term and currently chairs the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee. “As I look back, I consider myself very lucky to serve in the House…
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