Senators head into caucus…

The Senate has taken a break and Republicans headed into a closed-door caucus, with the now-usual large chair wedged against the door of their meeting room to keep it closed. Senate Democrats haven’t gone into caucus yet; when a reporter snapped a photo of them huddled on the Senate floor, they made that clear - they’re waiting to convene their caucus until the majority is done, at which Sen. Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, is scheduled to brief the minority. Now they’re milling around. The House, meanwhile, has been running through its 3rd Reading calendar. It passed HB 311, the ITD budget, on a 52-14 vote, approved an array of other budget bills, and has just passed SB 1165, a bill about definitions of rural school districts, on a 53-13 vote after a bit of debate.