Parker Howell

BOISE – State education officials should help equip parents to tutor their young children rather than offer state-funded preschool, according to a resolution the House passed Thursday. Supporters of the nonbinding House Concurrent Resolution 24, said state preschool would make Idaho families too dependent on government support and usurp parents' roles. Opponents argued state lawmakers are depriving low-income and dysfunctional families of a tool to raise children successfully.

BOISE – The House unanimously passed legislation Thursday to ban all-terrain vehicles from paved city and county roads unless local governments pass rules allowing them. Panhandle ATV riders and sheriffs oppose House Bill 187 because they say the change is unwarranted and would decrease access to public lands, while proponents say road rules for ATVs vary by county and need statewide consistency. No lawmakers debated the bill, which now must gain Senate approval.

BOISE – Rehabilitating some rundown city areas might become more difficult under a bill the House passed Wednesday to prevent existing urban renewal districts from expanding. North Idaho renewal agency officials lobbied against the change, saying it would tie their hands. But sponsor Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, said agencies currently have too much "wiggle room" to incorporate new property, which might not be blighted.

BOISE – A North Idaho legislator will have to try a fourth time to pass his plan to return some money to property owners who lose their homes because of unpaid taxes. A Senate committee Wednesday rejected a bill by Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, forcing counties to return surplus proceeds from the auction of homes seized by counties for unpaid taxes. Currently, local governments can keep that extra money.

BOISE – North Idaho ATV riders and sheriffs worry that legislation pending in the state House might make some smooth terrain off-limits for off-road vehicles. House Bill 187 would ban all-terrain vehicles from paved roads unless local officials create ordinances specifically allowing them – a possibility that irks riders and law enforcement officials who say the changes are unnecessary and would hinder participants in a popular Panhandle activity.

BOISE – A week after a House committee quashed legislation mandating minimum safety standards for Idaho day-care centers, the full House rejected a nonbinding resolution asking state agencies to create learning program standards for young children. The resolution, HCR 18, also would have pushed the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to create a quality-based ranking system for distributing federal child care money to day cares and preschools.

BOISE – A week after a House committee quashed legislation mandating minimum safety standards for Idaho day-care centers, the full House rejected a nonbinding resolution asking state agencies to create learning program standards for young children.The resolution, HCR 18, also would have pushed the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to create a quality-based ranking system for distributing federal child care money to day cares and preschools. Suspicious lawmakers, some of whom compared the proposal to something from Communist Russia, killed the resolution Monday after expressing concerns that it infringes on parents' role in raising kids. But supporters said better standards are needed to help low-income children and kids of single mothers.

BOISE – Although some tribal police go through the same basic training as state and local police, they cannot receive state certification like nontribal cops. What's more, police who leave nontribal agencies to work for the tribes lose their certification after five years – unless they are deputized by a county or city law enforcement agency.

BOISE – A House committee Friday helped pave the way for a new Cabela's location in Post Falls by approving a bill allowing developers to pay for a new interstate interchange and be reimbursed by state sales taxes. Backed by North Idaho lawmakers and House Republican leadership, House Bill 250 authorizes the Cabela's developer to spend tens of millions on an Interstate 90 interchange for the proposed store. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee sent the bill to the full House despite some lawmakers' concerns about its effect on state funding priorities.

BOISE – Victims of child sexual abuse in Idaho will have more time to sue their abusers under a bill the House passed Monday. Despite concern that the legislation would expose employers to undue liability for workers' abusive acts, lawmakers voted 60-7 for House Bill 125, which gives victims five years to sue after they discover abuse that has caused long-term health effects. Victims currently have until age 23.

BOISE – Idaho's top elections official joined citizen groups Monday to denounce a Republican-backed attempt to make voters pick a political party to participate in primary elections. Opponents said the proposal to restrict Idaho's primaries would discourage moderate voters and independents. Supporters of House Bill 185, however, said it is needed to curb "tomfoolery" that occurs when partisans vote for the weakest candidate on the other party's primary ticket.

BOISE – A proposal to use millions of dollars in private money to open a University of Idaho branch campus in Sandpoint won accolades Thursday from the State Board of Education. UI administrators briefed the board on recently unveiled plans by the Wild Rose Foundation to spend at least $28.8 million to build and operate the campus over several years. They touted the plan as a rare opportunity to provide North Idaho residents with better access to a college education.

BOISE – Funerals for both soldiers and gay people may become off-limits to disruptive protesters under a bill lawmakers advanced Wednesday. Sponsored by Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest River, HB 194 aims to prevent anti-war protesters from disrupting Idaho military funerals, as they have done in other states, by making such actions a misdemeanor. While some lawmakers said the bill could spur free speech challenges, members of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee agreed that protecting the sanctity of all funerals is simply "common decency."

BOISE – The House voted 37-33 Wednesday to rebuff a move making Idaho a greater participant in a multistate sales tax simplification project that might have eventually forced residents to pay taxes on online purchases. Advocates said the legislation would increase fairness for small businesses and could allow the state to collect an estimated additional $50 million or more yearly. But many legislators, including Panhandle Republicans, said streamlining the tax with other states raises constitutional questions and would be a "backdoor" tax increase.

BOISE – A Panhandle legislator began a second attempt Wednesday to make it illegal to coerce a woman into having an abortion after a state lawyer found his first bill potentially unconstitutional. The new legislation, proposed by Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, includes changes intended to make it more legally viable than its predecessor, HB 161. Both bills outline various forms of physical violence and verbal threats that could land violators up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, regardless of whether the victim has the abortion.

BOISE – Second-grader Allie Hill took the podium Tuesday to share what she learned in health class about the tobacco smoke lawmakers may ban from bowling alleys. "Every smoker can also hurt or kill many people who don't smoke," said Hill, a student at Pepper Ridge Elementary School in Boise. "You don't want to kill a kid, do you?"

BOISE – Conservationists and concerned citizens told lawmakers Tuesday that Idaho's draft energy plan is a good first step, but many criticized it for excluding state authority over choosing sites for power plants. Members of the House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee unanimously approved the 93-page policy, which recommends the state rely less on cheap hydroelectric and coal-generated power and suggests lawmakers create incentives for using conservation and renewable energy. After nearly two hours of testimony, the lawmakers spent about five minutes debating the merits of the plan – the first update in 25 years.

BOISE – A bill to force employers of illegal immigrants to pay for treating their on-the-job injuries stalled in a state Senate committee Monday. Members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee asked how employers would easily check the legal status of their workers under SB 1158, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Michael Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake. The bill would require companies to reimburse counties and health care providers for illegal immigrants' workplace medical costs unless the employers could show they used a federal database or relied "in good faith" on documents indicating a right to work.

BOISE – A Coeur d'Alene development company wants to build a new commercial center at an Interstate 90 offramp, and it has its eye on a slice of adjacent, publicly owned land. But because that property is controlled by the Idaho Transportation Department, North Idaho legislators are trying to change state law so that the company can have first crack at buying the parcel.