Tonight’s “Idaho Reports” rounds up the happenings of the first week of this year’s legislative session, including news from Gov. Butch Otter’s State of the State address, a discussion between co-host Aaron Kunz and three eastern Idaho reporters, Karole Honas, Todd Kunz and Bryan Clark;…
The joint legislative committee on Change in Employee Compensation has set its final meeting of the session for Tuesday at 7 a.m. in room EW 42 of the Capitol, where the agenda calls for committee discussion and consideration of motions .The panel will determine whether…
Hoping to end years of debate and complaints about Idaho's urban renewal statutes, an interim panel is finalizing a reform bill to present to lawmakers for approval this session, reports Lewiston Tribune reporter Bill Spence. The Urban Renewal Interim Committee spent months investigating urban renewal…
Idaho’s state general fund just got a $28.9 million one-time boost. It happened because the state’s Catastrophic Health Care program has been spending less than anticipated, both last year and this year, as more Idahoans have gotten health insurance. Gov. Butch Otter had recommended transferring...
Two other supplemental appropriation requests related to the defunct Idaho Education Network also have been approved by JFAC this morning. The first, at $176,000, transfers remaining funds from a federal grant that was formerly used for paying teacher stipends and training under the IEN back…
Legislative budget writers were a bit taken aback this morning to get a supplemental appropriation request for $229,300 for legal fees related to the Syringa Networks lawsuit over the now-defunct Idaho Education Network, which the state lost, but after discussion, unanimously approved the payment, which…
With back-to-back unanimous votes, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has approved the supplemental spending requests from the Idaho Transportation Department to spend revenues from last year’s gas tax and registration fee hikes, and from the surplus-eliminator bill lawmakers also approved last year. The tax and fee…
Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, co-chair of the Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee, reported to JFAC this morning that there’s an overall positive outlook for Idaho’s economy, based on the presentations the panel heard from representatives of various sectors of the economy and from experts.…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
