In the latest candidate-filing news, Republican Michael Chadwick of Post Falls has filed for the 1st District congressional seat, and Republican Chick Heileson of Idaho Falls has filed for the 2nd District seat. The filing period for all state offices, including every seat in the…
Here's a link to my full story on the budget that lawmakers set today for Idaho Public Television, a budget that Gov. Butch Otter, who earlier called for phasing out all state funding for IPTV, said today he supports. Otter also agreed to appear on…
The Idaho AARP has released a statement saying the Idaho Senate "fail(ed) Idahoans struggling with high health care costs" by passing HB 391a, the "Idaho Health Freedom Act," which now is headed for the governor's desk. "Idahoans buckling under soaring health care costs didn’t get…
The Senate has voted 24-10 in favor of HB 391a, the "Idaho Health Freedom Act," to ban the enforcement in Idaho of any federal requirement that all individuals and businesses purchase health insurance, and to require the state's attorney general to go to court to…
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Secretary of State Ben Ysursa have unveiled a new, updated version of their "ProtecTeens" DVD, which informs parents about how to protect children and teens from sexual predators on the Internet. State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna and an…
The House Resources Committee has voted 9-5 to amend HB 532, Rep. Judy Boyle's "conservation permit" bill to require permits for those without hunting or fishing licenses to use Fish & Game lands, rather than pass the bill as-is or kill it outright. Some on…
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire jabbed back at her Idaho counterpart today over whose state is better for business, saying at a press conference that her state has no personal or corporate income tax and got a better rating from Forbes Magazine for being business-friendly. Idaho…
Gov. Butch Otter has signed into law HB 422, the bill to allow prosecutors and law enforcement officers to exercise discretion over whether they go after any act of gambling; current law makes it a misdemeanor crime for prosecutors or officers to fail to prosecute…
When the House Resources Committee took up SB 1286 this afternoon, Sen. Gary Schroeder's bill to classify raccoons as "predatory wildlife" to ease control of the pesky animals, four members of the committee donned coon-skin hats in honor of the bill. "What creativity - I…
Gov. Butch Otter has issued the following statement, in response to JFAC's action today setting the budget for Idaho Public Television for next year, which trimmed the budget but not nearly as much as Otter originally had proposed, when he called for a four-year phaseout…
The House Ways & Means Committee held one of its rare meetings today, this time to introduce six new bills. The leadership panel voted to introduce: Legislation from the state's court system regarding the duties and responsibilities of a guardian ad litem; a resolution from…
This morning's report on additional candidate filings shows that 58 of the 105 incumbent legislators have now filed for re-election, plus one, Rep. Anne Pasley-Stuart, D-Boise, who's filed to run for the Senate. Also, Jerry Lockhart of McCall, a Democrat, has filed for the District…
The House has voted 52-17 in favor of HB 589, St. Maries Rep. Dick Harwood's "Firearms Freedom Act." The bill, which now moves to the Senate, seeks to declare guns or ammunition manufactured in Idaho exempt from all federal laws and regulation, including registration requirements.…
The final higher ed budget set in JFAC this morning is the budget for community colleges. Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, proposed the budget, which calls for a 9.2 percent cut in state general funds and a 12.6 percent cut overall. Not in the budget is…
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, said her motion to add another $5.7 million to an otherwise deeply trimmed budget for state colleges and universities for next year "is a choice that we could make to assist the higher ed budget. Certainly it wouldn't make a huge…
Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, proposed the first motion this morning on funding for Idaho's state colleges and universities. His proposal gives universities a 14.1 percent cut in state funding next year, and a 7.8 percent overall cut. Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, then proposed a…
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, proposed an austere budget for Idaho Public Television for next year, and JFAC Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, seconded the motion, which then passed unanimously. It includes a 16.2 percent cut in state funding from this year's level, and an 8.3 percent…
The budget for the medically indigent health care through the state's catastrophic fund has passed JFAC unanimously; it shows a 7.6 percent cut from this year, and backers acknowledged it likely contains only enough money to pay six months' worth of bills. JFAC member said…
A trimmed-down budget for psychiatric hospitalization, showing a 9.7 percent cut in state funds and an 8 percent cut overall, has passed JFAC unanimously, while there was considerably more debate about the budget for mental health services. "Our state has one of the highest suicide…
The first budget up in JFAC this morning, for substance abuse treatment and prevention within the Department of Health & Welfare, includes a 7 percent reduction in treatment - $866,500. It drew a heartfelt objection from Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise. "We have waiting lists in…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
