Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, was sitting in the audience as the House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously today to introduce legislation proposed by the tribe regarding cooperation with tribal law enforcement agencies. "I know there has been a lot of misinformation out…
HB 391, the Idaho Health Freedom Act, has passed the House on a 52-18 vote - a straight party-line vote, with all Republicans voting in favor, and all Democrats voting against. Shortly before the vote, Rep. Lenore Barrett, R-Challis, began her debate for the bill…
Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, co-sponsor of the "Idaho Health Freedom Act," told the House, "As Idahoans we are a freedom-loving people and this particular bill deals with that freedom. This bill is very narrowly drafted, it deals with one issue and that is mandatory health…
Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, told the House, "The Idaho Health Freedom Act is not saying 'no' to health care reform. In fact ... it's the first step to saying yes," because it sets the state up to do health care reform only on its…
Pam Parks, director of the Idaho Human Rights Commission, and Roger Madsen, director of the state Department of Labor, say they're gearing up for a July 1 merger, if lawmakers approve. Gov. Butch Otter already has endorsed the plan, Madsen said, and legislation is in…
Wayne Hammon, Gov. Butch Otter's budget director, told the Senate Education Committee, "There is no cut to IDLA in the governor's budget. ... We continue to have the $5 million going forward." That's the budget that was set for IDLA for this year, before its…
The Idaho Digital Learning Academy was established by the state in 2002 to offer online courses to Idaho school districts as a supplement to their district offerings, IDLA CEO Donna Hutchison told the Senate Education Committee this afternoon. Hutchison, who also presented to the House…
After Idaho hosted the Special Olympics World Winter Games last year, Sen. Les Bock, D-Boise, said he was startled when reading through an Idaho statute to see outmoded terminology like "mentally retarded," "mentally deficient" and even "lunatic" and "idiot." Bock said, "I think it made…
The Idaho Sheriff's Association says it's currently illegal for a boat operator to fail to report an accident, for a full county investigation, if the damage comes to $500 or more - and that's too low. "We are proposing $1,500, to be the same as…
There was just one "no" vote - from Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby - as the House voted just now to pass HB 422, the bill from Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, to eliminate what he called an "archaic law" that now requires law enforcement officers and…
The House has voted unanimously, 70-0, in favor of HB 435, the measure from Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise, to grant a temporary, two-year sales tax exemption to Idaho's non-profit homeless shelters. "We're here today because our economy has tanked, people are losing their jobs and…
As Idaho mulls what to do with the Simplot house, the state's official - but unoccupied - governor's residence in Boise, Lewiston Tribune reporter Bill Spence had an interesting look today at the house and the issue. "There's hardly a piece of real estate that…
The House Revenue & Taxation Committee this morning introduced two new tax break bills. The first, from Reps. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, and Mike Moyle, R-Star, expands an existing law created two years ago to let counties give property tax breaks to new businesses in certain…
One of the money-saving consolidation proposals that state Administration chief Mike Gwartney outlined drew several questions from JFAC members. Gwartney said there's no need to send a building inspector from the state Division of Building Safety to inspect a building, when his department has people…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Idaho's prison budget situation: Lawmakers were warned today that the only way to cut more deeply into the state prison budget than Gov. Butch Otter already has proposed is to begin releasing prisoners. Budget cuts…
Nancy Merrill, Idaho state parks director, told the House Resources Committee today, "We are in a transition period and we have much to do." She noted that the new business plan the department has worked up - aimed at working toward weaning the department from…
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, is back at work in the Legislature, after missing two days for surgery for peripheral artery disease in her legs. The procedure was a follow-up to more major surgery she had in October for the disease, which if left untreated would…
Questions from JFAC members for state Corrections Director Brent Reinke included whether it'd be helpful if Idaho set up some kind of early-release mechanism for prisoners now. Reinke said the department has been evaluating "what good time might look like in Idaho," referring to time…
If Idaho had to cut another $5 million from its state prisons budget, state Corrections Director Brent Reinke told JFAC this morning, it'd have to release about 250 inmates. Legally, the department can't do that on its own, he noted; it'd take direction from the…
HB 391, the “Idaho Health Freedom Act,” has been amended by unanimous vote of the House. Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, said the problem is that the bill, as written, would outlaw a requirement imposed by the state Board of Education through state regulations, and…
Rep. Brian Cronin and Sen. Kate Kelly, both Boise Democrats, brought a non-binding memorial to Congress to the House State Affairs Committee this morning calling on Congress to take action in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision permitting unlimited independent campaign expenditures by…
State Appellate Public Defender Molly Huskey told JFAC today that her office faces having to spend $140,000 for contract attorneys at $125 per hour for pending cases and hearings. "I would submit to this committee that there is a more efficient way to spend this…
Idaho State Police Director Col. Jerry Russell told JFAC today that the ISP could be catching far more drunk drivers and others if it just did more patrols. From August of 2008 through December of 2009, funding through GARVEE highway construction bond funds allowed extra…
Idaho's military division is having its budget hearing before JFAC, and Brigadier General Gary Sayler said the possible assignment of three F-35 Strike Fighter squadrons to Boise as their training base would effectively double the size of the Idaho Air National Guard "and guarantee an…
"We all must face the reality of the current budget situation," Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden told legislative budget writers this morning. Holdbacks on the attorney general's budget so far have cut $2.8 million, he said. "My office is operating on a razor-thin margin. ...…
