Idaho's Senate minority caucus has backed its leadership's call for an ethics committee on non-disclosure of a conflict of interest by Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, and the ethics panel likely will be convened within the next 24 hours. "If that's what they…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Small breweries in Idaho are toasting a plan under debate by House lawmakers that would lift restrictions on investing in more than one company that brews beer. The House State Affairs Committee said…
As State Board of Education Member Milford Terrell came up for his confirmation hearing this afternoon in the Senate Education Committee, Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, grilled him about the board's decision to remove the word "flagship" from the University of Idaho's mission statement. Terrell,…
After a long and passionate debate, the House has killed HB 585a on a 32-36 vote, short-circuiting Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts' legislation to ease Boise County's ability to cope with a multimillion-dollar court judgment. "In comparison, this would be like a $3 billion lawsuit…
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, met behind closed doors with all members of both the Senate's minority and majority leadership, and then briefly with Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth. When he emerged, he said an ethics committee could be convened within 24 hours on…
Idaho's Senate minority leadership has filed an ethics complaint against Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, alleging that he voted 22 times in committee or on the Senate floor on oil and gas issues before finally disclosing, before the Senate's final vote on HB…
The Senate is following a bit of an odd schedule today, recessing now until 2 p.m., coming back on the floor briefly, then breaking again for a closed-door majority caucus. That will end by 3 to allow for scheduled 3 p.m. committee meetings, and the…
The Senate has voted 22-12 to lift all caps on creation of new charter schools in Idaho, both the six-per-year cap and the one-per-school-district cap. The House-passed bill, HB 481, now heads to the governor's desk. Backers said Idaho's caps make the state not seem…
The House has voted 66-2 in favor of HB 551, legislation from Rep. Carlos Bilbao, R-Emmett, to allow county coroners to order unclaimed bodies cremated, not just buried. "Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence that upon a death, a body does not get claimed," Rep.…
The Senate has voted 25-8 in favor of SB 1358a, the long-sought anti-bullying law. The bill clarifies the definition of bullying in Idaho schools, an infraction; requires school districts to have policies and to train staff on the issue, and to report and address cases…
Mildred Rinker Bailey was known to fans as “Mrs. Swing,” whose slight, throaty voice won her acclaim as one of the great white jazz singers of the 1930s and 1940s, reports AP reporter John Miller. But the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe is now hoping to…
House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, pulled his salary-based apportionment bill, HB 656, from his committee agenda this morning, citing "some moving targets." Nonini said later that the bill, which differs substantially from a measure that unanimously passed the Senate, is the topic of…
The House Education Committee, on a divided voice vote, has approved legislation to let the state's charter schools tap into a share of the bond levy equalization fund that now subsidizes a small part of voter-approved building bonds for school districts. Charter school supporters estimate…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
