After 33 people testified at today’s education “listening session,” House Education Chairman Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, said, “Well, folks, it is that time 6 o’clock. I apologize, we have not gotten to evbody who wanted to testify today.” More than 65 people had signed up to…
More than 350 people have turned out for this afternoon’s “listening session” on education with the House and Senate education committees; in addition to a full Capitol Auditorium, two additional committee rooms across the hall, where the hearing is being broadcast, are close to full.
Among the testimony at this afternoon's education "listening session": Scott Rogers, superintendent of the Minidoka school district, said, “We desperately need an increase in operational funding from the state of Idaho. What we’re facing is a real, live financial crisis for local school districts.” He…
Those testifying so far at this afternoon’s listening session have included two charter school representatives, both of whom appealed for more funding for charters; several school district administrators, who appealed for resources and more attention to teacher recruitment and retention; a school board chairman who…
The Capitol Auditorium is full and overflowing as the second “listening session” on education of this year’s legislative session kicks off this afternoon. House Education Chairman Reed DeMordaunt said first the joint House and Senate education committees will hear from representatives of stakeholders – Robin…
The agenda for this afternoon’s Senate Education Committee has swelled to 14 RS’s, which stands for “routing slip” and refers to a proposed bill before it’s introduced. There’s a deadline today for non-privileged committees to introduce bills, so there’s a slew of these on various…
The House Business Committee has voted unanimously in favor of HB 100, the Otter Administration’s “Idaho Opportunity Fund” bill, pitched by Otter’s state Commerce director, Jeff Sayer. The bill sets up the fund “to assist in securing commitments for the retention and expansion of existing…
The House and Senate Education committees have scheduled a joint "listening session" in the Capitol Auditorium from 4 to 6 p.m. today; anyone who would like to testify is asked to limit their comments to 3 minutes, and to submit a written copy for the…
The last time an Idaho governor’s appointee to the Fish & Game Commission was rejected by the Senate was in 1974, when Robert Thomas of Coeur d’Alene, who had been appointed by then-Gov. Cecil Andrus, was voted down as senators labeled him an “extreme environmentalist.”…
The Senate has voted 16-19 on the motion confirm Joan Hurlock to the Idaho Fish & Game Commission, after a debate that ran for nearly two hours and pushed back both the Senate’s scheduled Lincoln Day ceremony and the lunch hour. That rejects that motion;…
As the Senate prepares to vote on Joan Hurlock’s confirmation to the Fish & Game Commission, in his closing debate, Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson said, “I would submit, as far as qualifications, it’s not more qualified, it’s not most qualified – it’s qualified.” Responding to…
Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, chairman of the Resources Committee, said, “I haven’t wanted to bring it here, I apologize to you that it is here.” He said, “I’ve gone to the attorney general and offered to put it in my drawer so it didn’t…
As the debate over confirmation of embattled Fish & Game Commissioner Joan Hurlock continues in the Senate, Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston said, “It’s not about having a hunting or fishing license. It’s about bringing a new perspective to that seven-member commission." She said, "This…
Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, said much attention has been focused on a gap between 2002 and later in the 2000s when F&G commissioner nominee Joan Hurlock didn’t have hunting and fishing licenses, though she held them from 1999 to 2002. During that time, Stennett said,…
Rep. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, debated in favor of Joan Hurlock’s confirmation to the Fish & Game Commission. “This candidate is from my district,” he said. “I have people both for and against, and so I have to look at this in one way: Was…
Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, told the Senate, “I didn’t know Joan Hurlock from Adam until last summer at the Republican convention when I was standing in a lunch line.” He said he met Hurlock, and “I said, so what do you think about wolves? Her…
“Tag sales are decreasing, age is increasing,” Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson. “Joan Hurlock has some ideas on how to address this problem.” He quoted from her application to be on the Fish & Game Commission, in which she wrote, “Idaho’s legacy of fishing, hunting and…
After Sen. Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, opened debate against confirming Joan Hurlock to the Fish & Game Commission, Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, offered a substitute motion, to approve her nomination. Heider contended Hurlock should not be confirmed because she’s not an avid hunter. “She has…
The Senate is now taking up the confirmation of Joan Hurlock to the Idaho Fish & Game Commission, the confirmation that its Senate Resources Committee voted 5-4 to oppose.
Tribe-owned lands on Indian reservations haven’t been charged property taxes by surrounding counties since statehood; the Idaho Constitution prohibits it. But in 2006, an array of counties in Idaho started sending tax bills to Indian tribes for tribal-owned properties. This year, Idaho’s five Indian tribes…
Idaho could lose a third of its federal funding for highways - $100 million – in the fall of 2014 if Congress doesn’t take action, Idaho Transportation Director Brian Ness told legislative budget writers this morning. The problem, he said, is that the federal highway…
At least 21 legislators, or 20 percent of 105 senators and representatives, speak a language other than English, reports AP reporter John Miller, belying the image some might have of Idaho as a isolated hinterland whose residents pay little mind to what happens beyond their…
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