The Idaho Senate has voted 22-13 in favor of Rep. Lance Clow’s bill, HB 471, to crack down on freeway fast-lane slowpokes by making it illegal go slower than the speed limit in the fast lane “for a period of time,” impeding those who want…
The Senate has voted unanimously in favor of HB 549, Rep. Mike Moyle’s roadkill bill, sending the measure to the governor’s desk. The bill writes into state law current Idaho Fish & Game rules that allow the salvage of certain road-killed animals, with conditions, and…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, in a series of unanimous, 18-0 votes, set a budget for the Idaho Transportation Department this morning that covers the cost of replacing an aging state airplane without adding any funds; ITD will instead use personnel savings to cover the $1.5…
After a tense and emotional hearing lasting for nearly two hours, the House State Affairs Committee has voted along party lines in favor of SB 1243, Senate-passed legislation to require that women be provided information about reversing a medication-induced abortion part-way through. “That moment of…
JFAC bogged down in a big way this morning over the state Liquor Division budget, as Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, led an ultimately unsuccessful move to try to reject funding for two new state liquor stores in the Treasure Valley – one of them in...
An Idaho Senate committee chairman apologized Tuesday for violating Senate rules a day earlier by convening an impromptu–and likely illegal–closed meeting of his committee, over a move to force a hearing on House-passed legislation to legalize medical use of CBD oil in Idaho. Meanwhile, all three leading GOP candidates for governor weighed in...
Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little, asked this evening about the brouhaha over the House-passed CBD oil bill that hasn’t had a hearing in the Senate, said, “Every bill that’s in every single committee chair’s office is subject to a call – that’s the rules.” As…
Both Raul Labrador and Tommy Ahlquist, rivals for the GOP nomination for governor in the May primary, have issued statements on the brouhaha over the CBD oil bill in the Idaho Legislature, which passed the House but hasn’t had a hearing in the Senate. The…
Senate Health & Welfare Chairman Lee Heider apologized today for violating Senate rules yesterday by convening an impromptu – and likely illegal – closed meeting of his Senate committee. “The chair acknowledges violation of Senate Rule 20, in that an unnoticed and unapproved executive session…
An Idaho House panel has advanced legislation allowing people with mental disabilities to use a service animal. Currently, Idaho law only allows people with visual, hearing and mobility disabilities to use a service animal. SB 1296 would expand that definition to include mental disabilities, aligning state law more with...
A federal judge says Idaho can't keep automatically rejecting applications from transgender people seeking to change the gender listed on their birth certificates, the AP reports. U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale says rules by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution...
A long fight between cities and counties, particularly in the Treasure Valley, over funding magistrate courts is resolved by compromise legislation that passed the House today on a 53-17 vote. HB 643, the product of a collaborative working group of city and county officials and...
Legislative budget writers today approved a boost in funding for medical residencies in Idaho next year, exceeding Gov. Butch Otter’s recommendation, but stopping well short of a larger boost requested as part of a new 10-year plan from the state Board of Education for graduate…
After an emotional debate, the House, on a 31-39 vote, has rejected legislation to mirror federal law by barring those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence against an intimate partner from possessing guns for two years. Rep. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, the sponsor of HB 585, noted...
After much debate, the House Education Committee has voted narrowly in favor of the Opportunity Scholarship bill, SB 1279, sending the measure to the full House with a recommendation that it “do pass.” The Senate-passed bill includes a clause allowing up to 20 percent of…
Lawmakers set a budget for the state’s community colleges this morning that’s slightly more generous that Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal, which would have resulted in a cut to North Idaho College’s budget and stopped the expansion of the Coeur d’Alene college’s popular new computer science…
An effort to ban government entities from using public money to hire contract lobbyists failed in the House State Affairs Committee on Monday, the Lewiston Tribune reports. No one testified during the public hearing on the legislation, HB 636, which was sponsored by Rep. Priscilla...
A proposal to legalize oil extracted from cannabis plants is likely dead for the year after a group of lawmakers on Monday broke out in turmoil during a last-minute attempt to advance the bill, the AP reports. Republican Sen. Tony Potts asked the Senate Health and Welfare Committee to give HB 577 a hearing...
HJR 8, the “Marsy’s Law for Idaho” proposed constitutional amendment on victim’s rights, has failed in the House by falling short of the required two-thirds, or 47 votes to pass – the vote was 42-28 in favor of it, and came after more than an...
The House has begun debate on HJR 8, “Marsy’s Law for Idaho,” which would amend the Idaho Constitution’s provisions on the rights of crime victims; you can watch live here.
The House has voted 39-31 in favor of HB 590, controversial legislation to set up a scholarship fund for certain private school students only, to be administered by the state Board of Education. Rep. John VanderWoude, R-Nampa, the bill’s sponsor, said the bill would give...
Legislation to reverse a controversial 2016 change to Idaho law that makes it easier for employers to sue former employees over non-compete contracts has cleared the Idaho Senate on a 29-5 vote. When the 2016 bill passed on divided votes, opponents said it would make...
The House gallery is full today, and there are lots of school groups in the Capitol, as the state marks “Idaho Day.” The House is holding its commemoration now, and the Senate plans one as well; from noon to 1 in the Lincoln Auditorium, a…
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is set for a 4 percent budget increase in state general funds next year, largely because of the continued ramp-up of the Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or IPDES, a function for which the state is taking primacy from…
The Idaho Department of Fish & Game will take over operation of the Hagerman National Fish Hatchery next year from the U.S. Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning voted unanimously, 20-0, in favor of a budget for Idaho Fish…