At a public auction today in Meridian, the Idaho Department of Lands auctioned off seven commercial properties owned by the state endowment for $17.3 million; two others didn’t sell. Three buildings in downtown Boise sold together as a package for $6.6 million, more than $2...
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the outcome of today’s organizational session of the Legislature, in which a reshuffling of key committee posts at the Idaho Legislature on Thursday brought 10 new members to the key panel that writes the state…
Finally, at 5 p.m. on the dot Boise time, the House has announced its decisions on committees and chairmanships. Here's the full list: APPROPRIATIONS (JFAC): Chair: Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome; Vice-Chair: Rep. Rick Youngblood, R-Nampa. Members: Reps. Miller, Horman, Burtenshaw, Malek, Anderson, Dixon, King and...
“I assume there are a lot of people who are celebrating that I’m not tax chairman any more,” said Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton. Asked why he was willing to give up the chairmanship of the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee to become the Senate…
New House Minority Leader Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, says House Democrats have lost two seats on the State Affairs Committee and one on the Revenue & Taxation Committee, but maintained their other committee posts, including two seats on the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. The minority lost…
The Senate has finalized its committee assignments, and is wrapping up its business for the organizational session. Here’s the full list of Senate committees, including chairs and vice-chairs: AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS: Chair: Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell; Vice-Chair: Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian. Members: Sens. Patrick, Bayer,...
It appears that House committee chairmanships are going through some shuffling for the coming year. Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, will chair the Local Government Committee. Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, who formerly chaired that panel, will chair the House Judiciary & Rules Committee, which was formerly…
Rep. Julie VanOrden, R-Pingree, is the new chair of the House Education Committee. That’s the first word on House committee assignments or chairmanships; both VanOrden and House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane, R-Nampa, confirmed it. VanOrden succeeds Rep. Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, who didn’t see re-election;...
It’s still being finalized, but it appears that big changes are in store in Senate committee assignments for the 2017 session. Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, has been replaced as chairman of the Local Government & Taxation Committee by Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, and Siddoway looks…
North Idaho College has settled a lawsuit filed by a young women who charged that she was gang-raped as a 17-year-old freshman at an off-campus party in 2013, and that rather than addressing the incident, the college disciplined her when she began drinking and acting…
With seat selection completed in both houses, both the Idaho House and Senate have gone at ease for the assignment of committees and selection of chairmen. That’s a process that could take all day; there’s no set time for either house to return to the…
Under the Idaho Constitution, the Senate itself is the judge in the case of a formal contest of Senate election results. So without comment, the Senate today received and filed the complaint from the election opponent of Sen. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello’s. Under a process laid…
New Sen. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello, defeated his Republican challenger, Tom Katsilometes – not the longtime county commissioner and current tax commissioner by that name, but a cousin – with 48.1 percent of the vote in the November election, while Katsilometes got 44.9 percent and independent…
House Speaker Scott Bedke has been re-elected speaker and sworn in to the leadership post, and the Senate has voted to re-elect Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, as Senate president pro-tem; Hill then also was sworn in and congratulated by senators of both parties. In addition…
The House and Senate both are convening their organizational sessions this morning, to swear in the new 2017 Legislature, assign committees and chairmanships and select seats in the chambers. One little glitch this morning: The governor is out of state, speaking in California, so Lt.…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
