The Senate has adjourned until tomorrow morning, after receiving the election consolidation bill and referring it for a committee hearing later this week. "We made some great progress today," said Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls. "We got those education bills all passed. This way the governor can have those bills probably by Friday," and school districts can proceed with budgeting plans. "That really was important." The Senate also passed the ITD budget. "It's my understanding from the governor's office that they need that," he said, to "get those contracts let and get some people back to work."

Meanwhile, the House voted 49-17 in favor of HB 373, its second version - just introduced today - of legislation to eliminate an early retirement program for teachers, after the Senate voted against that move earlier. The House then took a 10-minute break; it plans to work into the evening to try to unilaterally adjourn for the session, though if the Senate doesn't follow suit, the House will be back on Monday. Said Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, "I'm having trouble understanding their logic - at this point it doesn't make sense."

Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, the House education chairman and sponsor of HB 373, told the House, "Counter to everything you might read in the newspaper, I don't hate teachers - I admire teachers. I think it's an admirable profession." But he said no other state employees get an early retirement incentive. "In a time of budget constraints ... we need to try to keep as much money in the classroom as possible," Nonini told the House.

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