The Senate has now adjourned until tomorrow, but before it did, there were a couple of announcements: The JFAC meeting scheduled for 8 a.m. tomorrow has been canceled, because several members are on the Senate Ethics Committee that's meeting at the same time; it's been…
The House has revived and amended - twice - a Senate-passed bill that sought to limit future specialty license plates to government purposes; the bill, which doesn't do that any more, instead now requires several accountability measures for those who sponsor special license plates. This…
The House Commerce Committee has approved SB 1295a, the bill to license massage therapists in Idaho, after extensive testimony, nearly all in favor of the bill. The Senate-passed bill now moves to the full House for a vote. Suzanne Budge, lobbyist for the American Massage…
The amended version of the "8 in 6" program, a plan to allow some Idaho students to take additional summer or online courses at state expense so they can complete both the first two years of college, two years of junior high and four years…
The Senate is has voted 24-10 in favor of SB 1348a, Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll's bill to forbid health care providers from withholding food or medication to dying patients without the patient's consent. Nuxoll said pro-life groups support her bill. Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, asked the…
Washington is among the least “corruptible” states in the nation, while Idaho placed 40th out of 50 in a scorecard released Monday, reports S-R reporter Jim Camden. Two watchdog organizations, the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity joined with Public Radio International and journalists…
Medical care is so poor at an Idaho state prison that it amounts to neglect and cruel and unusual punishment, the AP reports, according to a report that was unsealed Monday. Correctional health care expert Dr. Marc Stern said there have been some improvements at…
The House has recessed its after-lunch session to 4 p.m., while the Senate will be back on the floor at 3 p.m....
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The House has approved a bill that would cap annual general fund spending at a little more than 5 percent of total amount of Idaho's total taxable income. The bill approved 48-21 Monday…
Ten House Republicans have voted against a non-binding memorial backing improved cooperation with Canada on trade and security, but HJM 13 passed the House, 56-10, and now moves to the Senate. The memorial, co-sponsored by Reps. George Eskridge, R-Dover, and Max Black, R-Boise, and Sen.…
Here's how Idaho senators voted on SB 1387, the bill to require Idaho women to undergo an ultrasound before they could have an abortion; the bill passed 23-12 and now heads to a House committee: Voting in favor: Sens. Andreason, Bair, Brackett, Cameron, Darrington, Davis,…
The Senate has voted 23-12 in favor of SB 1387, the pre-abortion ultrasound requirement. Retiring Sen. Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello, rising to explain her vote, said, "You know, fellow senators, as a woman, and as a person of faith, this bill makes me want to cry.…
In his closing debate in favor of SB 1387, Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said, "This bill does not require a trans-vaginal exam. ... It leaves that up to the patient and the physician to make that determination." He said, "Rape and incest was used as…
Senators puzzled over rule books and gathered in back rooms during a 10-minute break in the SB 1387 debate, the pre-abortion ultrasound bill; then the Senate reconvened, and Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, withdrew his request to be excused from voting.
As the vote nears on SB 1387, the pre-abortion ultrasound bill, Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, rose and said, "Senators, I feel deeply conflicted here. I, like the good senator from 30, also have two daughters of child-bearing age, both are unwed. Now depending upon the,…
Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, posed a question to Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, the only practicing physician in the Senate. "I'm calling on you as a physician," Goedde said. "I heard the good senator from 25 (Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum), talk about pregnancies 10 weeks…
Retiring Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d'Alene, said, "In my last primary election, I had an opponent who alleged that I was pro-abortion, of all things. I don't think anyone is pro-abortion. ... In the years that I've served in this body, I've had to examine…
Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, addressing questions about why SB 1387 would require a rape or incest victim to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, told the Senate that a third of rape victims "keep their babies, well not keep their babies, but give life…
The Senate is taking up SB 1387, the pre-abortion ultrasound bill. "Fellow senators, you've been bombarded with emails over the last week or so," Senate Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder, R-Meridian, told the Senate. "I can tell you that I come here with no malice…
Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, ruled that the Senate minority leaders must provide more specifics on their ethics complaint against Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, by 8 a.m. tomorrow, including the "specific definition for private pecuniary gain being alleged." Senate…
As the Senate Ethics Committee continued discussing the definitions of conflict of interest and Senate disclosure rules this morning, Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d'Alene, said, "Most of the time we try to err on the side of making sure that we do disclose rather than…
To determine if a state senator had a conflict of interest, Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane told the Idaho Senate Ethics Committee this morning, "The real key is are you creating legislation that benefits you more personally than it does everyone else." Sen. Elliot Werk,…
"The sunshine of disclosure cleanses your interest," Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane told the Senate Ethics Committee this morning, "because now it puts everyone on notice that you have competing interests within a piece of legislation, meaning you have interests as a private citizen, and…
Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane told the Senate Ethics Committee this morning that there is a "broad presumption" that a senator may vote on a bill, even despite a conflict of interest. "This preference for voting arises from the strong interest in insuring that a…
Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, announced that as required by Senate rule, he has notified Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce of the ethics complaint against him. "He has until 8 a.m. tomorrow ... to respond in writing if he…
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