In a special meeting today, Idaho’s state Land Board, which consists of the five top elected state officials and is chaired by Gov. Butch Otter, voted to accept new values for state-owned cabin sites at Priest and Payette lakes on which renters have built and…
Former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt, author of the 1969 Idaho Human Rights Act, has distributed a guest opinion to Idaho newspapers calling on lawmakers to "Add the Words" and extend anti-discrimination protections under the law to include gays. In the article, Batt reviews the history…
Boise State University President Bob Kustra has sent out a statement on SB 1254, the bill to allow guns on Idaho college campuses, strongly objecting the measure. He contends that by removing Idaho public universities’ ability to regulate guns on campus, the measure opens his…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — House leaders ruled out a hearing on a bill meant to curb the number of children who die because their parents choose faith healing and not medical assistance for religious reasons. Judiciary Committee…
Gov. Butch Otter’s campaign finance director is a former Education Networks of America staffer in Boise who left the company in September, reports Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News. Martin Bilbao, former Idaho account services manager for Nashville-based ENA, was among staffers the firm touted…
The House has voted 56-14 in favor of SB 1337, the dairy spying or “ag-gag” bill, sending it to Gov. Butch Otter’s desk. “Threats of the activists and their outlaw justice is real and it’s on the rise,” Rep. Gayle Batt, R-Wilder, told the House…
Idaho Treasurer Ron Crane may soon be getting help making sure taxpayers' money is safe after auditors rebuked him earlier this year for inappropriately transferring tens of millions of dollars to state accounts where it was lost, the AP reports. The Senate State Affairs Committee…
Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, speaking in favor of SB 1337, the so-called “ag gag” bill, said those opposed to the bill are “extreme activists who wish to contrive issues to get donations for their cause. .. I cannot condone vigilante activity.” House Minority Leader…
The House has taken up SB 1337, the dairy spying bill. “This bill addresses interference with our agricultural operations,” Rep. Gayle Batt, R-Wilder, told the House. “Havoc has been brought on a broad spectrum of agriculture,” she said, decrying “activist groups” that use “extreme” tactics.…
In an odd juxtaposition, two events are happening simultaneously on the state Capitol steps this noon hour – fifteen members of the Interfaith Equality Coalition, including members of local clergy, are holding a silent prayer vigil “in solidarity with GLBT citizens,” and William “Breck” Seiniger,…
The Idaho Senate has voted 33-2 in favor of SB 1271, the bill to declare the Idaho giant salamander the state amphibian. The bill now moves to the House side. The two "no" votes came from Sens. Siddoway and McKenzie; the bill was proposed by…
The state Capitol’s internet has gone down, prompting the House to recess to 1 p.m., and the Senate to get paper copies of bills distributed; it plans to take up the bill to designate the Idaho giant salamander now.
The Idaho House has voted 65-2 in favor of HB 510, which would remove a special exemption dating back to 1939 that protects elected officials and legislators from having their wages garnished due to state court rulings. “Elective officials should not enjoy any rights to…
4th District Judge Patrick Owen has issued a ruling on several motions in the Syringa Networks lawsuit against the state Department of Administration over the award of the contract for the Idaho Education Network, and the outcome allows the case to continue to proceed. Syringa…
Dozens of protesters in black blindfolds, some with black tape over their mouths, gathered on the Statehouse steps yesterday to protest SB 1337, the so-called “ag gag” bill that would criminalize taking surreptitious video of photos of agricultural operations. Mercy For Animals, the group behind…
A lawmaker who says homeowner associations too often levy unfair and excessive fines against their residents pushed back Tuesday with a bill that limits these neighborhood groups' power to hand out penalties, the AP reports. Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, said he has received multiple complaints…
Though the chief of the Idaho State Police is warning that understaffing at ISP is creating safety concerns for both officers and the public, JFAC approved a budget for ISP this morning that’s about a million dollars less than Gov. Butch Otter’s recommendation. ISP requested…
Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, introduced legislation this morning to require verification that any substitute for a legislator is “a qualified person residing in that legislative district.” Nonini told the Senate State Affairs Committee that he was prompted by Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, naming…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is setting budgets this morning, and it’s getting into what Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, calls “the heavy lifting.” The biggest budgets up this morning are for the Idaho State Police and the Department of Juvenile Corrections. Also on today’s schedule are…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
