Lobby bill passes House unanimously

HB 707, bipartisan legislation to require those who lobby the executive branch of state government to register with the state and disclose spending just like those who lobby the Legislature, has passed the House on a unanimous, 68-0 vote.

Floor sponsors Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, and Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, noted that Idaho is now one of only 14 states that doesn’t have such a requirement. “It’s about time,” Jaquet said. Clark said, “It will shine a light, and a very bright light, on the executive branch. … HB 707 will make government more transparent.”

House Speaker Bruce Newcomb is the lead sponsor of the bill, which goes farther than an earlier measure developed in the Senate.