Idaho Gov. Butch Otter was supposed to have a surgical procedure called hip resurfacing today, but his office reports that his surgeon determined that a total hip replacement was necessary instead, to repair deterioration discovered in the governor’s left hip. The hip replacement surgery was...
New North Idaho Rep. Sage Dixon introduced his first bill in the Legislature on Tuesday – to create a new specialty license plate to benefit the Friends of the NRA. The NRA actually already was the beneficiary of an Idaho specialty license plate, but it was discontinued in 2012 for lack of sales.
A state Board of Education subcommittee is backing away from one of the 20 recommendations issued by Gov. Butch Otter’s Task Force for Improving Education, reports Clark Corbin of Idaho Education News. The proposal to change the way the state calculates school funding was studied…
New legislation introduced in Idaho today could clear the way for Elio Motors’ new vehicle, which has three wheels, two seats one in front of the other, gets 84 mpg and sells for $6,800, to be operated in Idaho with a driver’s license. Without the…
A highly pathogenic strain of avian flu has been confirmed in wild waterfowl in western and southern Idaho, the state Department of Agriculture announced today, and has spread to falcons and backyard chickens. The department has initiated a multi-agency investigation. Wild ducks in Gooding County;…
There have been two patient deaths at Idaho assisted living facilities in the past year for which the state has received complaints; at one, in Idaho Falls, where an elderly woman with dementia wandered away from the facility and died, the facility received a serious…
The state agency responsible for inspecting and certifying health care facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living centers, has a huge backlog, including 135 complaints awaiting investigation, and is experiencing heavy turnover due to stress and an unmanageable workload, lawmakers heard this morning....
As questioning began in the Medicaid budget hearing this morning, Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, told Medicaid Administrator Lisa Hettinger, “Your budget always gives me a headache. There is so much to grasp.” He had questions about a supplemental budget request for drug payments...
Medicaid makes up more than 80 percent of the budget of the state Department of Health & Welfare, the state’s largest agency. This morning, legislative budget writers are holding their budget hearing on Medicaid, the state-federal program that covers health care for disabled and poor...
After much debate, lawmakers last year agreed to move food stamp distribution in Idaho from all happening on the first of the month to being staggered over 10 days, but it hasn’t happened yet. “Although legislation was passed last year, funding was not,” Lori Wolff,…
One in three Idahoans received state services through the Division of Welfare, which handles eligibility for state programs including food stamps, Medicaid, welfare, child support orders, home energy assistance and more. Lori Wolff, division administrator, told legislative budget writers this morning that after seeing the...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
