The House State Affairs Committee today killed the Video Service Act, HB 156, on a 10-9 vote. Here's a report from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A House panel voted 10-9 to reject Qwest Communications' push to tinker with how video franchises are…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers are mulling a bill supporters say would make it easier for farmers to enlarge their feed lot operations and more difficult for opponents to challenge those plans in court. The House…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's Senate passage of two controversial school-reform bills, including a far-reaching measure to strip the state's teachers of many of their existing contract rights. Both measures now move to the House, where there's more support…
About a hundred people are walking around the Capitol in a vigil, carrying small candles shielded by paper cups, silently protesting the Senate's votes today to pass two school-reform bills, including a measure removing many of Idaho teachers' existing contract rights. The event is one…
House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, said just now, "After visiting with leadership, we have decided to hold the hearings beginning next Tuesday morning." The two school reform bills that already have passed the Senate - SB 1108 and SB 1110 - will be…
Twenty-three candlelight vigils will be held around the state today in response to the Senate's passage of the first two bills in state schools Supt. Tom Luna's school reform plan, the Idaho Education Association announced, starting with one on the sidewalks ringing the state Capitol…
Senate Education Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, asked what's next on the third, and biggest, piece of the school reform plan, said, "We've had individual committee members working on parts of it. We will schedule it for discussion Monday or Tuesday." At that point, he…
Senate Democrats have issued a statement calling today "a sad day for educators," after the Senate's two 20-15 votes in favor of the first two school reform bills; you can read their full statement here. Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, said, "It saddens me…
State schools Supt. Tom Luna had this statement in response to today's Senate passage of two of this three reform bills: “This is a great day for Idaho and its children. With these two bills, we have reformed the way we pay teachers, and we…
SB 1110, the teacher performance pay bill, has passed the Senate on a 20-15 vote - the same vote as the previous bill, SB 1108 on teacher contracts.
Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, a longtime 8th grade teacher, recalled having students come up to him years later and tell him what they learned from him. He told the Senate, "The greatest measure of the success of a teacher is not at the moment, it's…
Sen. Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, told the Senate of teaching troubled and disadvantaged children. It's a challenge, he said, to help those youngsters in cases where their parents aren't involved. "Ladies and gentlemen, this bill doesn't figure it out," he said of SB 1110, the teacher…
Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, debating in favor of SB 1110, the teacher performance pay bill, said, "Today I think is one of the most exciting days in Idaho history, where we've had the nerve and the internal fortitude to stand up and say it's…
In the debate on SB 1110, the teacher performance-pay bill, Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, said, "I believe this bill is not ready and it certainly is not funded." Passing it without a funding source, she said, threatens to compete with existing school funding for already-strapped…
Sen. John Goedde, opening debate on SB 1110, the teacher performance pay bill, said it will reward teachers with bonuses for outstanding work, and let districts pay more to those in hard-to-fill positions. "Senators, we have an educator pay scale that's built in the 19th…
Here's the Senate vote breakdown on SB 1108, the teacher contracts bill: Voting in favor: Sens. Bair, Brackett, Davis, Fulcher, Goedde, Hammond, Heider, Hill, Lodge, McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Mortimer, Nuxoll, Pearce, Siddoway, Smyser, Toryanski, Vick, and Winder. Voting against: Sens. Andreason, Bilyeu, Bock, Broadsword, Cameron,…
The Senate has been debating school reform bills since 10 a.m., and it's now twenty to 2. It's launched right in to SB 1110, the teacher performance pay bill, and once again, Democrats have objected to waiving the requirement for full reading of the bill.…
SB 1108 has passed the Senate on a rather close 20-15 vote, with bipartisan opposition. The Senate has now moved immediately to take up SB 1110, the teacher performance pay bill.
Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, in his closing debate on SB 1108, the teacher contract bill, read from a speech by President Obama, "We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones." He said, "This is a first step in providing…
Sen. John Andreason, R-Boise, told the Senate, "This bill has some good points to it, but in my view, it's an unfinished product." He said his local school districts "especially don't like sections 6, 10 and 12." Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, said, "I cannot see…
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d'Alene, told the Senate, "Teaching is worthy of greater respect from our society than what we currently give it, and it's worthy of compensation relative to its importance." The former school principal said, "This bill is about starting over, it's about…
Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said the school board members and school administrators in her district aren't supporting SB 1108, and have urged her to "not allow SB 1108 to go forward today." There are some things in it they like, she said, "but there are…
Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, debating in favor of SB 1108, told the Senate, "This bill returns control to the school boards, invests them with proper authority they should have as elected officials of their school district. This bill prevents past boards from binding future…
Sen. Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, who said he's one of just three senators in the chamber who's taught as a classroom teacher, told the Senate, "I do know something about this. This bill is going to hit at the heart of every teacher. ... This I…
Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, told the Senate that under SB 1108, "Our predecessors put this in place because there were problems, and those problems were many, and those problems have not disappeared." Sen. Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello, said, "SB 1108, in my opinion, is the beginning…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
