Gov. Butch Otter has allowed SB 1313, the “stand your ground” bill, to become law without his signature. “I commend those portions of SB 1313 that codify existing case law and recognize the sanctity of private property,” Otter wrote in a letter to Lt. Gov....
A proposal reducing the penalties for driving with an expired license is on its way to the Idaho governor's desk for consideration. Idaho's Senate agreed to advance the proposal Wednesday. The bill had already passed the House. The bill would reinstate driving privileges for people who were previously slapped with suspensions due to not paying...
After passing lots and lots of appropriation bills, the Senate has now adjourned until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. The House is close behind, having also passed lots and lots of budget bills; it’s now debating its final bill of the day, SB 1380, the budget bill...
Attorney Gary Allen, of the prominent Boise law firm Givens Pursley, advised the Idaho Secretary of State’s office today that the clients he’s been representing in drafting and advocating for the anti-trespassing bill, HB 658a, are Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, and Sen. Mark Harris, R-Soda...
Oddly, GOP gubernatorial candidate Raul Labrador has just sent out a statement headlined, “Labrador praises conservatives in the Idaho Legislature for rejecting Medicaid expansion,” saying of the Idaho Health Care Plan bill that was sent back to committee from the House today, “There’s no question...
House Speaker Scott Bedke said today that the reason he pushed to send the governor’s health care bill back to committee again rather than have a full House debate and vote on it was because he was taking “the long view, and there weren’t the…
Health care advocates are decrying the House’s move today to send the Idaho Health Care Plan bill back to committee without a vote for a second time, marking a sixth straight year lawmakers have declined to take action to address the state’s health coverage gap.…
The Senate has passed HB 599, Rep. Greg Chaney’s bill to lighten penalties for driving without privileges, on a 32-2 vote. Meanwhile, the House has passed HB 717, the new version of the budget bill for the state superintendent of schools, on a 61-7 vote;…
The House has killed legislation from Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, to sharply cut back the Correctional Industries program that employs Idaho inmates and teaches them job skills while in prison; among other products, the CI program produces office furniture, license plates, upholstery and more. The…
The motion from Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, to send HB 675, the child tax credit increase bill, to the Senate’s amending order to increase it died on a 6-28 vote, with just the five Senate Democrats who were present and Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, voting…
The Senate has now taken up HB 675, the bill to up the new Idaho child tax credit from $130 per child to $205, and Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, moved to send the bill to the 14th Order for amendments to increase it further. “There…
After the House’s dramatic move this morning to once again dump the governor’s health care bill without a vote – after its Health & Welfare Committee twice sent it to the House floor for a vote of the full House – the Senate is now...
The motion to return HB 464, the health care bill, to committee without a vote has passed on a 42-27 vote, after an emotional and heated debate.
A tearful Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, spoke out against the move to return the governor’s health care bill to committee. “I have been all but spit on in this body for bringing it back,” she told the House. “I don’t give a damn what anybody...
House Health & Welfare Chairman Fred Wood, R-Burley, has moved to return HB 464, the governor's health care bill, to committee. House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, seconded the motion.
A group of chanting protesters just disrupted this morning’s House session, standing in the House’s fourth-floor public gallery, holding small signs saying, “SHAME,” and chanting, “Save Our Plan, Save Our Lives, Shame, Shame, Shame.” The protesters want the state to address Idaho’s health coverage gap;...
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill’s father, Harold, passed away at 1 a.m. today, and his funeral is set for Monday in Rexburg. That’s adding urgency to lawmakers’ scramble to finish this year’s legislative session this week. “We will not be here next week,” said House...
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is applauding the Idaho Senate’s passage this week of HB 551, which would require an ignition interlock device – something the driver blows into, and the car won’t start if the device detects alcohol on their breath – for first-time drunken…
Post Falls Rep. Don Cheatham didn’t realize until afterward that he'd accidentally voted against the North Idaho College budget in the House on Tuesday – he'd meant to vote yes. “No, oh no,” Cheatham said when asked about his vote – one of just two...
Among the 51 bills that Gov. Butch Otter signed into law today was Rep. Paul Amador’s bill to exempt nursing mothers from Idaho’s public indecency and obscenity laws, HB 448; Rep. Priscilla Giddings’ bill to grant a property tax break to fully disabled veterans, HB…
Idaho will become the latest state to require women seeking medical abortions to be informed that drug-induced abortions may be halted halfway through, despite opposition from medical groups who say there is little evidence to support the claim. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter quietly signed the proposal into law on Tuesday...
Just as he did earlier in JFAC, Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, debated in the Senate this afternoon against a state Liquor Division budget that includes two new Treasure Valley stores, one of which likely will be in his district. Martin said he believes Idaho already...
The Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee held a hearing on HB 675 this afternoon, the bill to increase the child tax credit created in the earlier big income tax cut bill from $130 to $205 per child, and voted to advance it to the…
A proposal reversing a contentious 2016 law that made it easier for Idaho employers to sue former employees over non-compete agreements is headed to the governor's desk for consideration. House lawmakers approved the measure Tuesday despite some lawmakers saying the consequences of the current law...
Idaho officials have approved extending the contract of a financial adviser guiding the state through the process of reinvesting millions of dollars from the sale of commercial and residential real estate. The Idaho Land Board voted 5-0 Tuesday to retain Callan Associates through June 2019 at an annual cost of about $150,000...
