The Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee will hold a public hearing Friday morning on the state budget, and the public is invited to have its say on any state budget issue. The hearing will run from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Lincoln Auditorium in…
Corrections Corp. of America is pushing to get a forensic audit declared inconclusive after the auditors found the private prison company understaffed an Idaho prison by more than 26,000 hours, the AP reports. This comes after the prison company agreed to pay the state more…
Idaho’s state health insurance exchange, YourHealthIdaho.org, reports today that 32,899 Idahoans have now selected a health insurance plan through the exchange, up 65 percent from a month ago. That ranks Idaho second in the nation for per-capita successful enrollments, behind only Vermont. “We are excited…
Today’s justice reinvestment hearing ended without a vote. Afterward, the Senate and House judiciary chairs said they’re not sure yet whether there will be changes to the bill, SB 1331, before it moves forward. “This could go on and on – we had to bring…
The criminal justice reinvestment bill – the measure to start the work outlined by an interim study committee and task force that worked with the Justice Center of the Council for State Governments and the Pew Trusts – is up for a hearing before the…
Former Democratic Sen. Bert Marley of McCammon announced today that he’s running for lieutenant governor, running in tandem with Democratic candidate for governor A.J. Balukoff. Marley is a farmer and former long time school teacher who served in both the House and Senate before running…
Sherri Ybarra, a school administrator from Mountain Home, announced today that she’ll run for state superintendent of schools as a Republican. Ybarra has been an administrator for six years and previously was a classroom teacher for 10. “Education is my focus and passion, proven through…
Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson, who waited through the nearly three-hour hearing on the guns-on-campus bill expecting to testify, has released a strongly worded statement objecting to how the hearing was handled. Masterson said he arrived early to sign up to testify, but committee Chairman…
House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said after the House adjourned this morning that amendments to HB 427 won’t be taken up in the House this week. “I think we’re taking a thoughtful pause at this point,” Bedke said. The bill still could come up for…
House Appropriations Chairwoman Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, told the House that HB 479, which she is sponsoring in the House today, does the crucial water planning work that’s been put off during the recession. The bill makes the $15 million transfer that Gov. Butch Otter called…
The House has gone into its 3rd reading calendar, which normally precedes the 12th order of business in the House - general orders, where amendments to bills are considered. That was a surprise, as the House was expected to skip over that today to get…
Rep. Gary Collins, R-Nampa, has appointed his wife, Ann, to substitute for him in the House while he's out due to surgery to remove his spleen; Ann Collins was formally welcomed to the House this morning.
Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, is addressing the House on the life of Abraham Lincoln, as part of the Legislature's annual Lincoln Day ceremonies. The public gallery above is full, in part because of what's scheduled to happen next - amendment of Rep. Lynn Luker's…
The Senate State Affairs Committee has voted 7-2 along party lines, with only the panel’s two Democrats objecting, to approve SB 1254, the guns-on-campus bill, and recommend to the full Senate that it pass. Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, said only about a third of those…
Former Speaker of the House Bruce Newcomb, now director of government relations for Boise State University, spoke out against SB 1254, the guns on campus bill, to the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning. “This is not very well thought-out. It’s a bill that is…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning, after much discussion, voted unanimously in favor of writing in funds for 2 percent raises for state workers as it sets each agency budget, with 1 percent of that permanent and one percent in one-time bonuses. That follows the…
After lots of questions from the Senate State Affairs Committee for NRA lobbyist Dakota Moore, public testimony started on SB 1254, the guns-on-campus bill, with opponents and proponents alternating. Among those testifying: University of Idaho interim President Don Burnett, who also heads the council of…
JFAC has voted 14-6 to adopt the revenue figure for the coming year recommended by both Gov. Butch Otter and the joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee. It’s not a target budget, just an acceptance of the revenue forecast. Prior to the vote, two…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is making the statewide budgeting decisions this morning on which it will base budget-setting for all state agency budgets, which starts next week. So far, JFAC has voted unanimously to adopt the governor’s revenue forecast, which also was adopted by the…
“It’s a broad infringement on constitutional rights,” Dakota Moore, National Rifle Association lobbyist, told the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning, of the state’s current policy of allowing public colleges and university to regulate guns on campus; all ban them. He contended that Idaho’s colleges…
There’s a quiet crowd in the Lincoln Auditorium this morning for the hearing on SB 1254, the bill to allow guns on Idaho’s public college campuses. Senate State Affairs Committee Chairman Curt McKenzie said, “We’ll just try to get through as much testimony as we…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
