Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's developments on SB 1387, the pre-abortion ultrasound bill, from a live ultrasound demonstration in a Capitol hearing room, to sign-waving protesters gathered outside, to the abrupt cancellation of tomorrow morning's House committee hearing on…
Reaction to the abrupt cancellation of tomorrow morning's House committee hearing on the ultrasound bill has been rippling through the Statehouse. "This is a bill that we thought was invasive to women, so we're glad to see that it's been postponed," said Rep. Phylis King,…
Hannah Brass, legislative director for Planned Parenthood in Idaho, issued this statement on today's live ultrasound demonstration in the Capitol: “The biggest difference between today's demonstration and this legislation is that the women today all chose to have an ultrasound. Idaho’s Senate Bill 1387 takes…
After an hour-long, closed-door House GOP caucus, House Republican leaders refused to say whether or not SB 1387, the pre-abortion ultrasound bill, is dead - but if it's not, it appears to be on life support. "We don't know," said House Speaker Lawerence Denney. "We…
House Assistant Minority Leader Elfreda Higgins, D-Garden City, said 10 minutes ago, House State Affairs Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, came to her office and told her that tomorrow morning's hearing on the pre-abortion ultrasound bill, SB 1387, has been canceled and the committee won't hear…
HB 542a, the controversial bill to bar the state Fish & Game Commission and department from in any way restricting motorized vehicles or ATVs on trails or roads, has squeaked through the Senate Resources Committee on a 5-4 vote. However, Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, who…
The House committee hearing on SB 1387, the bill to require Idaho women to undergo an ultrasound before they could get an abortion, has been scheduled for tomorrow at 7:45 a.m. in the Capitol Auditorium. The controversial bill passed the Senate Monday on a 23-12…
The House voted 52-14 in favor of HB 682, the Medicaid budget for next year, with no opposing debate; it then adjourned for the day. Both the House Republicans and House Democrats are headed into closed-door caucuses. Meanwhile, the Senate has reconvened. Senate Majority Leader…
Legislation to ease outdated restrictions that are crimping a joint venture between Ponderay's Laughing Dog Brewing and a new microbrewery starting up in Post Falls, Selkirk Abbey, has passed the House on a 58-5 vote and is headed to Gov. Butch Otter's desk. "This gives…
Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, has issued a statement responding to the Senate Ethics Commission's unanimous vote today to dismiss an ethics complaint against him, saying, "I welcome the committee’s unanimous decision to clear me of the charges leveled last week. I did nothing wrong…
Anti-abortion activist Brandi Swindell is conducting the live ultrasound demonstration in the Statehouse today with the enthusiastic air of a lively state fair product-demo host. "Isn't this fun? Who doesn't love seeing an ultrasound image of a baby?" she asked, adding, "Remember, this is first…
About 150 sign-waving protesters gathered outside the state Capitol at noon to protest the pre-abortion ultrasound bill, SB 1387, and comments made in the Senate debate by the bill's sponsor, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder, R-Meridian. During the rally, James Mace, a 36-year-old self-published…
Denis Stevens, consul general of Canada for the Pacific Northwest, is addressing both the House and the Senate today. Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, told the Senate, "He is the highest representative of the nation of Canada for this region." Based in Seattle, Stevens is Canada's…
The Twin Falls Times-News reports today that Gov. Butch Otter has allowed HB 574, the supplemental appropriation for the Catastrophic Health Care Fund for the current year, to become law without his signature. Otter, in a letter to House Speaker Lawerence Denney, said he was…
Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, said, "I'm going to recommend that this committee make a recommendation to the Senate to adopt a disclosure rule. Several things have surfaced in regard to disclosure and conflict of interest. There's been confusion, for example committee vs. on the floor…
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d'Alene, moved to dismiss the ethics charges against Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce. "In terms of public perception, he would've been well-served to disclose in committee," Hammond said. "That would have helped the situation. But what I don't want to do…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Senate's conflict-of-interest cup runneth over. Since Democrats complained about Sen. Monty Pearce's alleged disclosure transgressions, Republicans have been disclosing en masse. Maybe it's a protest of solidarity with Pearce, like Sen. Jeff…
Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane reviewed oil and gas leases on Payette County's website, and reported to the Senate Ethics Committee this morning, "Each of these leases, for most of the operable purposes, are pretty much the same." He submitted a packet of leases for…
Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, told the Senate Ethics Committee that she doesn't believe Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce is exempt from conflict-of-interest issues regarding his oil and gas lease as a member of a broad class of similarly situated people. "There are 22,600 inhabitants in…
The Supreme Court has sided with an Idaho couple in a property rights case, the Associated Press reports, ruling they can go to court to challenge an Environmental Protection Agency order that blocked construction of their new home and threatened fines of more than $30,000…
Chuck Peterson, defense attorney for Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, told the Senate Ethics Committee this morning that regardless of Senate rules, "There is a kind of notion of fair play in the United States that if somebody is going to accuse us of something,"…
The Senate Ethics Committee has reconvened this morning, and heard first from Senate Assistant Minority Leader Les Bock, who urged the panel not to summarily dismiss the ethics complaint against Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce. Citing Senate rules, Bock said, "It says this committee shall…
JFAC has voted unanimously to transfer $500,000 to the Constitutional Defense Fund, which has been drained by lawsuit settlements; and by a 16-4 party-line vote to put $200,000 in state general funds into a new legal defense fund for the Legislature, to be controlled by…
JFAC has voted unanimously to fund half the requested increase in payments to foster families next year, after earlier setting a budget for the Division of Child Welfare that included no increase. Idaho's foster care payments are the fifth-lowest in the country, at just $274…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is meeting this morning for the first time since finishing up most agency budget-setting on March 9. Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, told the joint committee that this may not be its last meeting this session, but it could be…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
