A bill that would allow the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to begin selling licenses good for three years to resident and out-of-state hunters and anglers sailed through a Senate committee Wednesday, the AP reports. Agency officials, citing research, say multiyear permits for sportsmen…
A new report released this afternoon by the Legislature’s Office of Performance Evaluations points out “discrepancies between the intent of state compensation policies and their actual implementation,” noting that 90 percent of the state’s classified employees are paid less than the benchmark rate, and 45…
As the debate over Idaho Gov. Butch Otter's proposed state health insurance exchange heats up, a North Idaho senator has sent out a mass email and posted a message on Twitter comparing the role of insurance companies to "the Jews boarding the trains to concentration…
The Senate Resources Committee has introduced legislation endorsed by the state Land Board to change the membership of the state’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from the Land Board members themselves to five gubernatorial appointees, who will serve staggered, four-year terms. They’d include one member…
Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, a leading advocate for addressing the state’s milfoil problem – he pushed so hard to fight the invasive aquatic weed in the 2006 legislative session that he nicknamed himself “Rep. Morty Milfoil” - said the state’s efforts have been highly…
“Oh, how we love Idaho,” declared Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, as he began presenting HCR 5 in the House this morning, his resolution to name the Capitol Auditorium the “Abraham Lincoln Auditorium,” and marking March 4, 2013 as the 150thanniversary of the creation of…
It’s Pie Day at the state Capitol today, the day when the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators brings home-schooled students to the Capitol to show off their skills and projects to lawmakers, and also hands out lots and lots of delectable homemade pie. Pecan reportedly…
With 12 members of JFAC new to the committee this year, or at least not having served last year, there was an even newer face among the group for the last five days: Acting Rep. Charles “Lee” Barron, R-Corral, who was filling in for freshman…
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Director Curt Fransen is making his first budget presentation to JFAC this morning, so he introduced himself, noting that he was appointed by the governor last February after serving five years as deputy director under then-Director Toni Hardesty. “I think…
Herbicides are the most cost-effective way to control invasive Eurasian water milfoil in Idaho waters including North Idaho lakes, state Department of Agriculture officials told lawmakers this morning. “To us, today, it’s still our best tool available, to utilize herbicide first,” Lloyd Knight, administrator of…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A bill that would give disabled veterans an edge when applying for a job with the state is headed for debate in the Idaho Senate. Democratic Sen. Brandon Durst of Boise is the…
The armed man rifling through lawmakers' desks in a Jan. 10 security video taken on the House floor has been identified, reports Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey; Brian Carter, 47, of Meridian says he didn't mean any harm. You can read Popkey's full report here.
Twin Falls Times-News reporter Melissa Davlin reports today on two dueling petitions, as Gov. Butch Otter yesterday posted a petition in favor of a state-based insurance exchange on his website for Idahoans to sign, and Idaho Freedom Foundation executive director Wayne Hoffman posted his own…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
