Washington Sen. Patty Murray on Thursday criticized Idaho’s decision to allow the sale of health insurance plans that don’t comply with Obamacare rules as “illegal Idaho junk plans,” prompting Idaho Gov. Butch Otter to retort that Washington has sanctuary cities and recreational marijuana – also…
The Legislature’s joint budget committee is scheduled to start setting state agency budgets tomorrow; in preparation for that today, it made a series of big-bucks decisions that affect the framework for budget-setting in every agency budget. Among them: JFAC adopted a revenue-collection figure for the…
The co-chairs of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee today pulled back a proposed bill designed to group together various technology upgrade funding requests that now appear in the budget requests of various state agencies and authorize the Legislative Services Office to hire consultants to help lawmakers…
The Senate has voted to confirm two nominations that earlier caused dissent when they were in committee – former House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, to the Idaho Water Resources Board and former Rep. Janet Moyle as a state tax commissioner. The Rusche nomination sailed…
Gov. Butch Otter appears to be conceding that lawmakers won’t back his proposal for a new higher education CEO this year. In remarks to the Idaho Press Club this morning, Otter said, “The higher education task force’s recommendations of a chief education officer is probably…
After more than two hours of testimony both for and against the bill the House State Affairs Committee has voted to approve Rep. Eric Redman’s anti-Sharia law bill, with just two dissenting votes. The two dissenters were Reps. Elaine Smith, D-Pocatello, and Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello; Rep. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer, wasn’t present...
This year’s legislative session seems to be moving at breakneck speed, with lots and lots going on; that certainly was true yesterday, and it is again today. Among the items in store today, just this morning: The House State Affairs Committee’s 8 a.m. meeting will…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
