Eye on Boise: The session that was
In her Sunday column, Betsy Russell/SR examines the 2017 legislative session:
Four big issues were supposed to dominate this year’s Idaho legislative session: Health care, education, transportation and taxes.
But when the gavel fell last week on the stormy 80-day session, nothing had been passed to address Idaho’s health coverage gap, though three bills were introduced and the Senate had its first-ever floor debate over Medicaid expansion.
Education was a bright point, with broad support for a substantial boost in the public schools budget and the third step in Idaho’s five-year plan to improve its schools and boost teacher pay.
Both transportation and taxes were addressed in fits and starts as the session progressed, with both finally leading to late-session showdowns and last-minute passage of major legislation that Gov. Butch Otter – who now has both proposals on his desk – had made clear from the start he didn’t support. More here.
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog