The Senate has voted 27-6 in favor of HB 496, House-passed legislation from Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, to require voters to show a photo I.D. card in order to vote, or sign an affidavit. "You can't drive, you can't cash anything, you can't virtually function…
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna issued the following statement on Attorney General Lawrence Wasden's Idaho Supreme Court filing today challenging the Land Board's decision on cabin-site rents: “I question why the Attorney General is spending precious taxpayer dollars on this lawsuit rather than bringing…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Sen. Tim Corder's push to revamp laws governing big swine and poultry farms has been called the "ham and eggs bill." And its goose is now cooked: The measure, SB 1411a, won't get…
Rep. Phil Hart's proposal to create an official Idaho silver medallion that Idahoans could use to pay their state taxes was killed on a 7-2 vote in the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee this afternoon. The bill, HB 633, also would have granted big…
The House has voted 38-30 in favor of HB 701, the Medicaid budget, after intense debate.Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, lead sponsor of the bill, said, "We find ourselves in truly extraordinary times, and I'm as uncomfortable with this budget as anybody in this room, because…
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who chaired the Land Board subcommittee that developed the rent proposal for state-owned cabin sites that Attorney General Lawrence Wasden is now challenging in the Idaho Supreme Court, said he was disappointed at the legal challenge, which he said…
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has filed a legal challenge with the Idaho Supreme Court over new lease rules for state-owned cabin sites - including rent increases - approved this month by the Idaho Land Board, contending the rental rates aren't high enough to bring…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An animal cruelty bill that cleared the Senate 34-1 has been put down by a House committee leader who says there isn't sufficient time to fix it. The measure makes running a cockfighting…
The House has voted 67-1 to suspend its rules to allow immediate consideration of HB 701, the Medicaid budget. Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise, cast the only vote against suspending the rules. The House then went at ease to allow both parties to go into caucus;…
The House has voted 44-23 in favor of HB 590, legislation from Rep. Marc Gibbs, R-Grace, that would let county commissioners in any county take over the issuing of permits for residential septic systems from their local health district. Several House members questioned why the…
Surprisingly, there was no debate at all in the Senate on the GARVEE bonding bill, SB 1427, which calls for just $12 million more in Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle bonding next year. It'd almost all go to right-of-way acquisition for a project on State Highway…
The Senate has voted unanimously, without debate, in favor of SB 1426, the Idaho Transportation Department budget. Next up: The GARVEE bonding bill, SB 1427.
The Senate has voted 26-9 in favor of SB 1419, the budget bill for state colleges and universities for next year - which reflects a 14.1 percent cut in state general funds and a 7.8 percent overall cut. Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, said if…
The House has voted near-unanimously in favor of HB 698, the bipartisan budget bill for the state Tax Commission which calls for adding both temporary and permanent auditors to bring in an additional $16 million in taxes already owed. It was sponsored by Reps. Darrell…
Rep. Dick Harwood's "Idaho Firearms Freedom Act" is headed for the Senate's amending order, the 14th Order, after senators raised an array of questions this morning about the bill's wording. They ranged from an "or" that needs to be changed to "and" - to clarify…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
