The week that was: Deadlock over Capitol renovations

Republican leaders from the state House and Senate met with Gov. Butch Otter about the proposal to add underground wings to the Capitol but failed to resolve an impasse that put renovation and expansion of the 100-year-old building on hold. More discussions are planned.

Otter on Jan. 12 ordered the $130 million project stopped, fulfilling a campaign promise to seek an alternative to adding two 50,000-square-foot wings he believes are too expensive. The wings would cost about $45 million, and Otter would rather renovate the old Ada County Courthouse and Borah Post Office.

The project last year passed the Senate 33-2 and the House 40-28. Supporters contend the wings are the most economical alternative to adding space to the cramped Capitol.

Now concerns are growing about what penalties, fees and damages the state could face as a result of Otter’s stop-work order.

Treatment funding fight

A battle is brewing between legislators and Otter over his budget recommendation of no funding for substance abuse services now covered by a soon-to-expire federal grant.

Lawmakers from throughout the state have been working on the substance abuse issue for several years, and a joint committee that met over the summer has extensive recommendations for expansion of the state’s efforts in that area.

The state Health and Welfare Department requested $6.5 million in next year’s budget and 33 new positions to replace the federal Access to Recovery grant that has funded contracted substance abuse treatment services for three years. The agency also asked for an additional $6 million and 14 positions to expand those services. Otter didn’t recommend a penny for either request.

Tribal leaders view murals

After seeing controversial murals in the Ada County Courthouse, slated lated to temporarily house the Legislature next year, members of the state’s tribes seemed to agree the paintings should be preserved – just not necessarily where they are now.

North Idaho tribal representatives and lawmakers toured the courthouse Wednesday, part of a move by legislators to ask the tribes what to do with the murals, the most contentious of which depicts a Native American man about to be hanged by whites.

Some Native members of the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs said the lynching mural, while not based on a specific event, represents the oppression of their ancestors, while another said it is offensive.