On tonight’s “Idaho Reports,” I join Jim Weatherby, Bill Dentzer, and co-hosts Aaron Kunz and Melissa Davlin to discuss the events of the sixth week of the legislative session, from taxes to budgets to former Gov. Phil Batt’s ground-breaking speech to Canyon County Republicans. Also,...
Legislation from House Majority Leader Mike Moyle would shift half of the roughly $20 million a year in property taxes from new construction that’s now collected by counties, cities, local highway districts and others to local school districts for bond repayment and addressing building safety…
Rep. Janet Trujillo, R-Idaho Falls, and Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, have introduced legislation to disqualify from the state’s medical indigency/catastrophic care program anyone who earns over 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The reason: They now qualify to buy subsidized health insurance through Idaho’s…
The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy has released a new analysis of the omnibus tax proposal that’s been debated in the back rooms of the Legislature this year, to raise the sales tax while eliminating it from groceries and dedicated increased funds to transportation, and…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho House panel sided with the concerns of family advocate supporters by approving legislation expanding parental rights in state law. The House State Affairs Committee voted 13-3 Friday, objecting to the multiple…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Reports from a state investigator and three staffers at an Idaho prison suggest that inmates' medical records may have been intentionally changed or destroyed in violation of a federal court order. The report…
A House committee this morning agreed to introduce legislation from House Majority Caucus Chairman John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, to require parental consent for people age 14-17 to use artificial tanning beds, and ban their use for those age 13 and under. That matches current state laws on tattoos and piercing, Vander Woude said...
Idaho currently holds a copyright on the Idaho Code – the laws of the state, Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the House Health & Welfare Committee this morning. “If ignorance of the law is no defense, people ought to have unfettered access to...
This morning’s public hearing on the state budget has wrapped up after just half an hour; seven people offered testimony. “We thank you, for those of you who came, and we thank you for those who are listening at home,” said JFAC Co-Chair Dean Cameron,…
Among those testifying at the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee’s public hearing this morning on state budget issues: Penni Cyr, president of the Idaho Association, said, “Idaho must take significant action in order to be able to attract and retain high-quality teachers.” She said the state needs...
There's a light turnout so far for this morning's JFAC public hearing in the Lincoln Auditorium, at which anyone who wants to may offer testimony on issues related to the state budget. It starts in just a few minutes, and so far only four people…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
