House Speaker Lawerence Denney says things aren't as off-track for ending the legislative session as they may seem. "Actually, I think we're doing pretty well," he told Eye on Boise. "JFAC still has one more big battle with personnel costs." The joint budget committee will…
Rep. Marge Chadderdon, R-Coeur d'Alene, says she's got a new version of her flag bill in the works, after problems cropped up with amendments already made to the bill. Chadderdon originally sought to prohibit state or local agencies in Idaho from buying any U.S. or…
Jan Eyth has been the supervisor of the legislative advisers, the lobbyists who use the legislative advisers' room in the Statehouse and check in with her for messages and such, for the past 25 years. Today, the lobbyists threw her a surprise 80th birthday party,…
The collection of "Lost and Found" items at the information desk in the Capitol Annex has included various items all session, like a broken umbrella, a set of car keys, etc. It's been growing, however. And today, the collection includes, among other items, a tie,…
Here's a link to the 12th week of the Legislature in photos as a slide show. It was another week of grappling, without resolution, with big issues like state employee pay cuts and transportation funding. This photo shows House GOP caucus members just after the…
As Idaho's legislative session dragged through its 81st day Thursday, legislative reporters have donned the traditional ugly ties that signify it's been long enough. Tradition has it that once reporters have decided it's time for the session to end, by sporting hideous neckwear they can…
Back to back, the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning passed two resolutions - one that the sponsor said tells the federal government to stop "enticing" the state with money, and one that asks the federal government to send money to Idaho to start an…
Freshman Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, was the swing vote in the Senate Education Committee on HB 256, the bill to cut state reimbursements to school districts for their student busing costs. He could've killed the bill by supporting the substitute motion from Sen. Gary Schroeder,…
The Senate Education Committee has voted 5-4 in favor of HB 262, to freeze the teacher salary grid for experience-related increases for a year, and phase out an early-retirement incentive program for teachers, to save the state a little over $8 million next year. It…
JFAC has voted unanimously to set a budget for the state catastrophic health care fund for next year that matches SB 1158, which reforms the program to both raise the deductible for counties from $10,000 per case to $11,000, and institute cost-saving measures. Now, they're…
The Senate Education Committee spent an hour debating HB 252, the consensus bill to allow cuts in school funding when school districts declare financial emergencies, before finally approving it this afternoon by a single vote. The measure passed the House last Tuesday on a 69-0…
Here's a link to a slide show of the 11th week of the Idaho legislative session in photos. It was an eventful week, with major budgets set, and major legislation debated in both chambers, both on the floor and in committee. My favorite photo of…
The final JFAC motion on the public schools budget, on facilities, came from Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, and passed unanimously, 19-0. Over the whole budget, the difference between the various motions was mainly over how much federal stimulus and state reserve account money to plug…
Today, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee will set budgets including Medicaid and public schools. They make up the largest piece of Idaho's state budget, and debate has been building all session over the prospect of Idaho's first-ever cut in public school funding, which the joint committee…
Here’s a link to my full story on today’s nearly four-hour hearing on SB 1112a, the day care licensing bill. The bill’s fate is uncertain at this point; the House Health & Welfare Committee voted to hold it at the call of the chairwoman, with…
Rep. George Sayler, D-Coeur d'Alene, who has pushed for basic child care licensing legislation for the past five years, told the House Health & Welfare Committee this afternoon, "I think it's the state's responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for child care. It's…
The crowd fills the room and is spilling out the door at the House Health & Welfare Committee today, which is holding a hearing on SB 1112, the bill to set basic, minimum standards for all Idaho day care centers, including criminal background checks. The…
The House has voted 49-20 for HB 262, to cut $8.1 million from school funding next year by freezing movement on the teacher salary schedule for increased experience for a year, and phasing out an early retirement incentive. "Tough issues call for tough votes, and…
House Democrats have tried a procedural maneuver, to get HB 262 sent back to committee to divide it into two separate bills. The bill would freeze teacher pay increases on the salary grid for a year, and phase out an early retirement incentive. "The Idaho…
House Democrats are speaking out against HB 256, the bill to cut $4.1 million from reimbursements the state sends to school districts for busing. "I think this is an unnecessary bill, and it's likely the first of several we'll see that cuts money that goes…
Opening debate in the House on his bill, HB 256, House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, said, "The purpose is to make districts be as efficient as possible." Transportation costs are "overhead," he said. "Each dollar spent on transportation is a dollar that doesn't…
The budget set by JFAC this morning for the state's prison system shifts various funds around to cover the $2.5 million bond payment and operational costs of the Correctional Alternative Placement Program, a new facility that's scheduled to open in May of 2010. "The bond…
Promoting his state sovereignty resolution on the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives today, St. Maries Rep. Dick Harwood declared that the United States is really a "confederacy." "To be accurate, we're a confederated republic," the fifth-term Republican then told the House. Political scientists…
After more than two hours of testimony for and against the bill, the Senate State Affairs Committee has voted 6-3 in favor of SB 1148, Gov. Butch Otter's proposal to reform Idaho's liquor license system, which currently sets population-based quotas for liquor licenses but has…
"It's so disappointing" said several members of the Idaho Women's Commission, who gathered with Director Kitty Kunz in the Capitol Annex hallway after JFAC voted 15-5 to eliminate their funding and staffing. They were talking about scheduling their final meeting, and whether they had enough…
