Insurer Blue Cross of Idaho submitted plans this week to state regulators that open the door for policies that don’t comply with the Affordable Care Act, following an executive order from Gov. Butch Otter and Lt. Gov. Brad Little. The five proposed plans from Blue…
Idaho Rep. Paulette Jordan's on-again, off-again resignation could be back on again. The two-term Plummer Democrat faces Boise businessman A.J. Balukoff in the May 15 gubernatorial primary. She's been trying to find a way to focus on her statewide campaign without leaving her 5th Legislative District constituents and the House Democratic...
Nearly all of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee members said they support a proposal to update and strengthen Idaho’s laws on trespassing. But some committee members Wednesday had concerns that legislation presented this session by Rep. Judy Boyle is being rushed through without thorough vetting. Others voiced worries about its legality...
Public testimony has concluded at today’s Senate Education Committee hearing on school science standards; fourteen people testified, all strongly in favor of adopted the revised standards as presented by the state Board of Education, rather than deleting parts. The Senate committee won’t vote on the…
Some of the testimony from this afternoon’s Senate Education Committee hearing on proposed new school science standards: Chris Taylor, science and social studies supervisor for the Boise School District and a member of the state Department of Education committee that worked on the standards, said...
The Senate Education Committee will take just 45 minutes of public testimony this afternoon on proposed school science standards, Chairman Dean Mortimer just announced, and those speaking will be limited to three minutes apiece. Sen. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, said, “I think we can get everyone…
Legislation to grant immunity to people who break into a hot car to rescue a pet that’s suffering has cleared a Senate committee, though senators sent it to their amending order to make a series of changes. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard this afternoon that...
It’s Pie Day, the day each year when the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators brings lots and lots of home-baked pie to the Capitol for legislators and Statehouse staffers, and students from the group display their educational projects. The event runs until 2 p.m.
A House committee today voted in favor of Rep. Paul Shepherd’s bill declaring that Idaho lawmakers can void federal laws and court decisions, and setting up a process for doing so. Just four members of the House State Affairs Committee voted against the bill, HB 461, which now moves to the full House. Shepherd told the committee that he believes...
The Senate State Affairs Committee has killed SB 1233, the bill to raise Idaho’s smoking age to 21, on a voice vote, with just three committee members dissenting; they were Sens. Brent Hill, Jeff Siddoway and Cherie Buckner-Webb. Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, moved to hold...
Among the testimony at this morning’s hearing on SB 1255, the bill to raise Idaho’s smoking age to 21: Fred Birnbaum of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, who spoke against the bill, drew gasps from the audience when he told the Senate State Affairs Committee he...
Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, told the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning, “It’s déjà vu all over again,” as he presented SB 1255, the bill to raise Idaho’s smoking age to 21, to the Senate State Affairs Committee. Last year, the same panel, after a…
There’s a long line of people stretching down the Capitol hallway this morning to sign up to testify at the hearing this morning on SB 1255, Sen. Fred Martin’s bill to raise the smoking age in Idaho to 21. You can listen live here. The…
Longtime Idaho Republican legislator Dolores Crow, who represented Canyon County in Idaho’s House of Representatives for 24 years, has died. She was 86. During her time in the Legislature, Crow served as chairwoman of the House Revenue and Taxation and Environmental Affairs committees. She served from 1983 to 2006...
The Senate Education Committee will take public testimony this afternoon on proposed school science standards; its meeting starts at 3 p.m. in room WW55. The agenda shows the panel will hear two other bills first. Chairman Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, told Idaho Education News that…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
