Former one-term state Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, who lost to Rep. Rich Jarvis, R-Meridian, in the GOP primary in 2008 by 65 votes, has filed for a rematch in this year's Republican primary. To see the full list of candidate filings so far, click…
Benewah County Sheriff Bob Kirts sat in the front row of the large audience at today's tribal law enforcement hearing, but never spoke, leaving that instead to county Prosecutor Douglas Payne. Disappointed lawmakers said they wished they'd heard from Kirts. Asked about that afterward, he…
During today's tribal law enforcement hearing, when Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, asked Clearwater County Commissioner Don Ebert what caused his county’s animosities with the Nez Perce Tribe to dissipate, Ebert mentioned several things, including how a Harvard mediator helped all sides work out tensions over…
Idaho lawmakers are stepping up the pressure on Benewah County and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe to reach a cross-deputization agreement, after a four-hour hearing Thursday that left some appalled. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.
In the end, there was no decision from the House Judiciary Committee today on HB 500, the tribal law enforcement bill - other than to put a decision off for six days, in hopes of the two sides reaching a cross-deputization agreement between now and…
Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, was the final person to testify at this afternoon's hearing on the tribe's law enforcement legislation, before each side started wrapping up. "It's just a bill for public safety," Allan told lawmakers. "It's a vote for putting…
Idaho and the Corrections Corporation of America have been sued by the ACLU over what the lawsuit describes as an extraordinary level of violence at the Idaho Correctional Center, the privately operated state prison south of Boise. "Our country should be ashamed to send human…
Clayne Tyler, Clearwater County prosecutor, testifying on behalf of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association, spoke against HB 500, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's law enforcement bill, but his comments riled Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls. "'Yielding to a foreign government' - I have a problem with…
More than two dozen college students, most of them from ISU, are at the Capitol today to protest cuts in funding for higher ed and proposed fee hikes. At a rally on the Statehouse steps this afternoon, students chanted, “Cuts hurt,” “fight for the future,”…
Budget-setting for the next phase of the Idaho Education Network won't happen tomorrow, the AP is reporting, and instead is being put off until mediation begins next week in a lawsuit over the $60 million statewide broadband system. Sen. Dean Cameron, head of the Joint…
Testimony is continuing the hearing on the tribal law enforcement bill. Here's some of it:Don Ebert, Clearwater County commissioner, told the House Judiciary Committee, "We don't have any problems to fix. We get along good with the tribe. It used to be there were differences…
Keith Hutcheson, police chief of the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police Department police chief, told lawmakers, "Since termination of the agreement, the department has been confronted on a daily basis with inability to enforce law with regard to non-tribal members on the reservation. We experience a…
Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne is now testifying. He opened by saying he couldn't count all the objections he has to the bill. "This bill should not pass. ... It confuses the public," he said. "They get a ticket into tribal court and they say,…
After Mike Kane, lobbyist for the Idaho Sheriffs Association, told the House Judiciary Committee that he's confident that Benewah County and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe can work out their disagreements and reach a new cross-deputization pact, Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, asked him, "You guys have…
Mike Kane, lobbyist for the Idaho Sheriff's Association, said, "There has been some very vigorous lobbying on both sides of this bill. ... At the end of the day, there is no good guy and bad guy. These are all law enforcement entities." Kane told…
Coeur d'Alene Tribe legislative director Helo Hancock told the House Judiciary Committee, "Our intent here is to encourage cooperation among the county and the tribe, and if cooperation cannot be reached, there's still recourse ... for the residents and the tribe to have the law…
The hearing this afternoon on HB 500, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's legislative proposal on policing on Indian reservations, has attracted a large crowd, including representatives of several of Idaho's Indian tribes and numerous uniformed law enforcement officers. It's beginning with Helo Hancock, legislative director for…
It was unanimous - the House has voted 64-0 in favor of HB 604, legislation to ban the practice of buying extra PERSI service for state employees as bonus for certain employees when they retire. That's what the state did three times last year -…
The latest candidate filings show a slew of new legislative challengers filing in the past day and a half; you can see the full list here. Among them: Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, has drawn two Republican challengers, Mark Goodman and Rusty Satterwhite, both of…
The Senate has voted unanimously, 33-0, in favor of creating a "higher education stabilization fund," to hold money deposited in good years to help see the state's colleges and universities through down times. There's not much to put in the fund now. Sen. Joe Stegner,…
Rep. Donna Boe, D-Pocatello, won't be seeking re-election, the Idaho State Journal newspaper reports today. The seven-term lawmaker said in a statement, "Serving in the legislature has been an exciting, challenging, and growing experience for me. ... However, it is time to make way for…
The Senate was fairly deep into debate on HB 493, the education "mastery" bill, when its Senate sponsor, Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, abruptly asked to move the bill to the 14th Order for amendment. Fulcher said he thought the program set up by the bill…
The House has voted unanimously, 69-0, in favor of HB 630, the bill co-sponsored by Gov. Butch Otter, Senate Tax Chairman Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, and House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star. "This is a good bill," Moyle told the House. House Minority Leader John Rusche,…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Quit talking about repealing tax exemptions. Bring a bill. That's the message Rep. Dennis Lake, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee chairman, is sending to the Senate. Lake said he will shelve a…
Gov. Butch Otter went on-air last night to help boost fundraising for Idaho Public Television, saying viewers need to give any amount they can - even if it's just a dollar - to help keep the educational network on the air in this time of…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
