On tonight's "Idaho Reports," I join Jim Weatherby, Scott Logan, host Greg Hahn to discuss the legislative developments of the week, from the Senate ethics issue to cigarette taxes to animal cruelty. The program also includes Hahn's interviews with longtime Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo; and…
Some Idaho communities have begun charging people who get involved in car accidents "incident response fees" in the hundreds of dollars, and Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, said lawmakers want to "limit this new practice and kind of nip it in the bud before it becomes…
The Senate Committee on Ethics will meet Monday at 8 a.m. in room WW17 on the lower level of the state Capitol, committee Chairman Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, has announced. The six-member, bipartisan panel will investigate an ethics complaint against Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce,…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers decided battlefield training is no substitute for a good hunter safety course. A Senate committee Friday unanimously rejected exempting military members from having to take a hunter education course before getting…
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, has named the six members of a Senate Ethics Committee that will investigate a complaint against Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth. Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, will chair the panel. The other members are Sens. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson; Jim…
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill said he's close to making the appointments for a six-member Senate Ethics Committee to handle a complaint against Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, charging undeclared conflict of interest. Hill said he's still trying to reach two potential appointees to see…
The House has passed the budget bill for the state Department of Environmental Quality for next year on a 42-23 vote, sending it to the governor's desk. Under the bill, SB 1359, DEQ will get a 3.5 percent increase in state general funds next year,…
The Idaho Democratic Party has responded to Sen. Monty Pearce's charge that an ethics complaint against him from Senate Democrats is "political" and a partisan-motivated attempt to sully his reputation. "There is nothing political about insisting that our statesmen act like statesmen and follow the…
The Senate won't get to SB 1387, the controversial bill to require Idaho women to undergo an ultrasound before they have an abortion, this week. The measure had been second-up on the Senate's 3rd Reading Calendar this morning, but the Senate spent much of the…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has signed legislation creating a $5 million plan intended to bolster university research and businesses that can help grow Idaho's economy. Otter's signature this week caps one of his…
After much debate, the House has decided by unanimous consent to return HB 662, the bill to declare the National Guard Youth Challenge program an alternative secondary school and make it eligible for state funding, to committee. Lawmakers have struggled to find ways to support…
The House has voted 50-13 in favor of HB 651, the bill to give Idaho's judges and justices the same 2 percent pay hike next year that most state employees will get; it'll be the first raise lawmakers have funded either for judges or state…
The Senate is commemorating the seven Idaho servicemen who died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past year with SCR 133, a resolution honoring them. The seven are U.S. Army Private First Class Robert Near, who has ties to the Nampa area; U.S. Army…
The House has passed HB 659, the budget for Idaho's colleges and universities for next year, which sponsor Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Idaho Falls, noted includes an 8.4 percent funding increase over this year - but only after a 26.4 percent funding decrease since 2009. The…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Faculty leaders at the University of Idaho want the state Board of Education to reconsider removing the term "flagship" from the school's mission statement. The board approved updated mission statements for Idaho's public…
The House has voted 40-27 in favor of HB 594a, Rep. Dennis Lake's bill to "sweep" budget surpluses into the budget stabilization fund whenever they occur. House Appropriations Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, spoke against the bill, saying it conflicts with the budget process the state…
Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, the subject of an ethics inquiry in the Senate over failing to disclose a conflict of interest through numerous committee and full Senate votes on oil and gas rules and legislation, tells the Associated Press he did nothing wrong, pointing…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
