House OKs $200,000 Legal Defense

The House has voted 53-16 in favor of setting up a $200,000 legal defense fund for the Legislature, funded from the state’s general tax funds and controlled by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro-Tem of the Senate. “It is for any time that they should happen to need outside legal counsel,” House Appropriations Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, told the House. Minority Democrats spoke out against the bill. “This is a really interesting and I think wrong-headed precedent that we’re setting here … and appropriating what’s really a significant amount of money,” said Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise. “We already have a constitutionally elected officer in an office that handles these matters, and so we pay for that. So to have duplicative efforts like this definitely represents a growth of government, and I don’t think it’s prudent”/ Betsy Russell , Eye On Boise. More here.

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Question: Doesn’t this legislation show a lack of confidence in the voter-approved attorney general?