About 150 supporters of SB 1387, the stalled bill to require any Idaho woman seeking an abortion to first undergo an ultrasound, are gathered on the state Capitol steps to rally for it; later this evening, opponents of the measure have scheduled a vigil for…
The Senate has adjourned for the day, and Senate Republicans have headed into a closed-door caucus. The Senate will convene at 9 a.m. tomorrow, as will the House. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, said the Senate will work through the morning and finish…
The budget for Medicaid for next year has passed the Senate on a 29-4 vote and now heads to the governor's desk; the bill, HB 682, earlier passed the House 52-14. It's for $474.2 million in state funds, $1.9 billion in total funds; that's an…
After more than an hour's debate, the Senate has voted to kill HB 542a, the ATV hunting bill; the vote was 15-20.
Here's this session's legislative limerick No. 3: Making it right? Lawmaking sputters along And no one has banged on the gong From Occupy tents To speed-trap offense They're targeting all they find wrong.
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Idaho lawmakers' latest skirmish with Occupy Boise, and here's a link to my full story on the Idaho House's vote today to back a new $200,000 fund for the Legislature to hire its own lawyers.
The House has now adjourned until tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Meanwhile, the Senate is debating HB 542a, the ATV hunting bill, which emerged from committee by only a one-vote margin. After a lengthy opening debate in favor of the bill from Sen. Tim Corder,…
Legislation to penalize employers who, after a warning, still fail to report new hires to the state Department of Labor, allowing those workers to fraudulently continue to collect unemployment benefits, has been returned to the House Commerce Committee by unanimous consent of the House. Rep.…
Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, has asked for and received unanimous consent from the House to sent SB 1303, the Senate-passed animal cruelty bill, to general orders for amendments. "We have heard HB 650, which most of you supported," Andrus told the House; that's…
Both houses are back in session; the Senate plans to go 'til 4 p.m., then adjourn as the majority party holds a closed-door caucus. In the House, HB 561, Rep. Erik Simpson's two-year moratorium on new wind farms, was moved to the top of the…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawmakers set aside a plan to give school districts along Idaho's borders more bargaining power when sending students out of state. The legislation was proposed at the urging of the Bruneau-Grand View School…
Both the House and Senate have recessed until 1:30 p.m.; a slew of quick committee meetings are planned between now and then, including a just-announced joint House/Senate Agriculture Committee meeting at 12:30 in the 4th floor House GOP caucus room to discuss HB 650 and…
HB 485a, expanding a tax deduction for energy-efficiency upgrades to existing Idaho residences, has passed the Senate on a 31-4 vote. The bill, which earlier passed the House unanimously, now heads to the governor's desk. Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, the bill's Senate sponsor, said the…
The House has voted 53-16 in favor of setting up a $200,000 legal defense fund for the Legislature, funded from the state's general tax funds and controlled by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro-Tem of the Senate. "It is for any time…
The House is suspending its rules to take up House bills on its 2nd Reading Calendar this morning, which includes HB 695, the bill to set up a new $200,000 legislative legal defense fund. First up is HB 694, amending a provision of the "Students…
The Senate has voted 31-4 in favor of SB 1410, the single largest piece of the state budget: The public school budget for next year. The appropriation bill includes a 4.6 percent increase in state general funds, but just a 0.4 percent increase overall. Sen.…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The House is once again due to vote on a plan to help Boise County satisfy a $5.4 million federal court judgment stemming from its commission's illegal handling of a youth treatment center…
The House State Affairs Committee has approved HB 693 on Capitol Mall rule-making, aimed at restricting behavior in the area that's the site of the Occupy Boise vigil, on a party-line vote; the bill now moves to the full House. The committee's Democrats opposed the…
The Senate has voted 28-7 in favor of HCR 47 to authorize construction of a new multi-level parking garage on the Capitol Mall, using savings from refinancing other current state bonds. Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Meridian, the resolution's Senate sponsor, said, "This has been a project…
The latest legislation dealing with the Capitol Mall, site of the Occupy Boise vigil, is up for a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee this morning. State Department of Administration Director Teresa Luna told the committee that HB 693 would "better define the Capitol…
The Senate has convened this morning with a whopping 123 pieces of legislation on its calendar. However, that figure includes measures that already have passed, and simply are awaiting a signature or transmittal. The actual number on the calendar today that are still up for…
Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, pitched SB 1348, the death bill, to the House State Affairs Committee this morning, saying her measure, backed by pro-life groups, would ensure that treatment, food and fluids aren't denied to a dying patient if the patient wants them and if…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
