Crowd waits as lawmakers politick…

A roomful of people, some with youngsters in tow, waited more than 35 minutes for the House State Affairs Committee that was scheduled to start at 8:30 this morning; it just now started a bit after 9 a.m. The committee’s agenda includes SB 1146a, allowing the use of non-psychotropic cannabidiol oil for treatment of youngsters with a severe form of epilepsy.

“We had a meeting that was unavoidable and took a whole lot longer than we’d anticipated,” explained Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, as he opened the delayed meeting.

This morning, there was a joint leadership meeting at 7:30 a.m. to pick interim committees for the legislative interim; panels on purchasing, the Idaho Education Network, and urban renewal were selected, along with continuation of one on natural resources and several working groups. Then, the House held a committee chairmen’s meeting at 8:15 a.m. That’s the one that went long.

The House has HB 311, the sweeping tax bill proposed by House Majority Leader Mike Moyle and Speaker Scott Bedke, on its 2 ^nd reading calendar this morning, and may suspend rules to take up and debate that big bill today.