The Idaho State Police budget would see a dramatic $16.7 million drop in funding under a new bill headed to the Senate floor. Instead, those funds would be shift to repair the state's aging roads and bridges. Currently, state police receive 5 percent of...
After hearing from advocates for the mentally ill and people who suffer from mental illnesses that an “Orofino Maniacs” specialty license plate would be offensive, the House Transportation Committee has voted to send Rep. Paul Shepherd’s specialty plate bill to the House’s amending order to…
The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections has paid $450,000 to a youth who was sexually abused by a staffer at a Nampa juvenile correction center. The youth, called "John Doe I" in legal documents, filed a lawsuit against the state last year contending that officials failed to take action to prevent...
After some fairly bitter debate, the House has voted 55-15 in favor of HB 387, Caldwell Rep. Greg Chaney’s bill to require community college trustees to be elected from five zones – and to boot out of office those currently serving from the same zones...
As is its custom, the state Historical Society brought a historical treasure to the Capitol today when it came before JFAC for its annual budget hearing. It’s what Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, called, “A photo album of the most important camping trip in the…
House and Senate Democrats today unveiled a legislative agenda they’re calling the “Creating Opportunity Plan,” from minimum wage increases to expanding Medicaid to creating an inspector general’s office to investigate waste, fraud and abuse in government. “We think that there’s a dearth of leadership here...
County assessors, in town for an Idaho Association of Counties meeting, were stunned to hear the House Rev & Tax Committee vote this morning to remove the annual indexing of the homeowner’s exemption from property taxes. “It’s like Groundhog Day – déjà vu all over...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
