The Senate Education Committee has endorsed SB 1072, the bill from freshman Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, to require school board candidates to comply with the same campaign finance disclosure rules now in place for nonpartisan candidates for city council or community college trustee positions. It was the third time that the bill had appeared on the committee’s agenda, always at the end of a long agenda dominated by lengthy presentations and debates on other measures; both earlier times, the committee didn’t get to it. Souza said she’s heard only support for her proposal. “The most common comment I’ve heard is, ‘It’s about time,’” she told the committee/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. More here.

Question: I wonder why Mary's bill includes an emergency clause, which means it'll be in effect immediately after the governor signs it into law. What's the rush? Is Mary targeting the Coeur d'Alene School Board election this spring? Inquiring minds want to know.