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Eye On Boise

Denney: House never intended to grant ‘Add The Words’ bill a hearing

House Speaker Lawerence Denney, right, speaks to the Idaho Press Club on Tuesday; at left is Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill. (Betsy Russell)
House Speaker Lawerence Denney, right, speaks to the Idaho Press Club on Tuesday; at left is Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill. (Betsy Russell)

During today's Idaho Press Club Headliner luncheon, House Speaker Lawerence Denney was asked about the prospect of the "Add The Words" legislation coming up in the House; the Senate State Affairs Committee earlier refused, along party lines, to hold grant the bill a hearing. It would expand Idaho's Human Rights Act to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Denney said, "I have not seen a bill, and I don't think that there is any change in support on the House side." Asked what he meant by that - a change from what - Denney said, "From  not hearing it. I think that was always the position on the House side."

Betsy Z. Russell

Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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