Floor sessions to be broadcast
BOISE – Idaho’s state capitol may be 400 miles away, but when the hottest debates are happening in the Legislature this year, North Idaho folks can tune in and watch.
For the first time, all floor sessions in the House and Senate chambers will be televised from start to finish and broadcast over the Internet and on some cable and digital TV broadcasts.
“It’s going to really increase the access all over the state and will be a real plus in terms of letting the public in,” said legislative services director Jeff Youtz. “This is the biggest thing we’ve done in quite a while in terms of expanding the accessibility to floor action to the public. So we’re pretty excited about that.”
New, remote-controlled robotic video cameras have been installed in both chambers, through a partnership among legislative services, the state Department of Administration and Idaho Public Television.
Internet links to the broadcasts will be available on both the Legislature’s Web site, www.legislature.idaho.gov, and Idaho Public Television’s Web site, www.idahoptv.org. Funding for the project was approved by the 2006 Legislature.
The new cameras are something of a trial run; they’ll play an even more important role next year and the year after. That’s when the legislative sessions will move to the old Ada County Courthouse across the street while the Capitol is renovated and expanded. At the old courthouse, there’ll be no public galleries – so the live broadcasts will serve as the virtual public galleries.
Here are some other ways that citizens can stay up on all the legislative action from afar:
On the Web – Full text of all legislation, votes, committee agendas and the status of each bill or resolution can be found at the Legislature’s Web site, www.legislature.idaho.gov.
Audio – Live audio of proceedings in the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is broadcast on the Internet. Go to the Legislature’s site or the Idaho Public TV site, and click on “Legislature Live.”
E-mail – From that same site, people also can send an e-mail to any legislator. Click on “Citizen Legislators,” choose House or Senate and then “Membership,” and then click on the legislator’s name to send him or her an e-mail.
Blog – See our “Eye on Boise” blog at www.spokesmanreview.com/boise for up-to-date news, color and tidbits from the state capitol.
Call – To call toll-free and leave a message for a legislator, dial (800) 626-0471. The line is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday.
Fax – To send a fax to a legislator, dial (208) 334-5397.
TV – “Idaho Reports 2007,” a weekly program broadcast Friday nights at 8 on Idaho Public Television, will include news and analysis of that week’s developments in the Legislature. After the program airs, it also can be viewed on the Idaho PTV Web site.
Special coverage – The Spokesman-Review will recap highlights of each week of the session with a full page inside the Sunday edition, starting Jan. 14. The legislative week in review will touch on major legislation as it’s introduced, debated and voted on, as well as provide insights into what’s happening behind the scenes.