Ilah Hickman and her friends got to take “selfies” with the governor today, after he signed into law HB 1, the 14-year-old’s long-sought bill to designate the Idaho giant salamander as the state amphibian. “There ya are, kiddo, it’s all done,” Gov. Butch Otter told Ilah after signing the bill, adding, “Good job!”

Afterward, the Otter posed for pictures with Ilah and her family and friends, at one point putting his arm around her shoulder and telling her, “You didn’t think I was going to veto it? No, no, you didn’t.”

The youngster first began pushing for the salamander as Idaho’s state amphibian after learning about state symbols in the 4^th grade. She’s now an 8^th grader – and an accomplished citizen lobbyist whom many lawmakers have repeatedly advised to consider, sometime in the future, running for office.