Federal agencies need to do a better job considering state and local ideas when it comes to making decisions about species facing possible extinction, Gov. Butch Otter said Tuesday. "Being part of the process, being part of the solution, and being seriously considered with our…
Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney is issuing a warning to those who use his office’s Uniform Commercial Code filing process to file fraudulent and malicious liens against businesses or individuals. “Fraudulent lien filings are illegal, and can be punishable by heavy fines and/or jail…
Stand-up paddleboards , or SUP’s, are certainly among the latest ways to have lots of fun on the water. So it’s not surprising that the latest revision to the state’s sales tax law that distinguishes between big motorboats and smaller, non-motorized craft – out-of-state buyers…
An “Add the Words” bill was introduced in the Senate today by two Boise Democratic senators, Sens. Grant Burgoyne and Cherie Buckner-Webb, to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The deadline to introduce personal bills – those that don’t first…
More than 100 bird-watchers flocked to the Capitol today to protest the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon, waving signs with slogans including, “Keep public land public,” “Bobolinks, not Bullies” and “Bundys, Time to Migrate – to Jail!” Nancy DeWitt…
Gov. Butch Otter is recommending funding a third community crisis center in next year’s state budget, at a cost of $1.7 million. Two centers already have been established, one in eastern Idaho and one in North Idaho; Ross Edmunds, administrator of the Division of Behavioral...
Gov. Butch Otter is leading a workshop on species conservation and issues surrounding the Endangered Species Act today at the Riverside Hotel in Boise; there’s info here. It’s part of a Western Governors Association series, which also included a workshop in Wyoming and others coming...
Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health care to the poor and disabled in Idaho, is up for its budget hearing in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning. Medicaid makes up 79.7 percent of the Department of Health & Welfare’s budget. The governor’s proposed budget...
Sen. Fred Martin’s motion to adopt the governor’s recommendation – 3 percent merit-based raises for state workers next year, plus covering the increase in health insurance costs so that doesn’t cut into any raises state workers receive – has passed the joint legislative CEC committee...
Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, has made a new motion to match the governor’s recommendation for 3 percent merit raises for state employees, but charge employees for 1 percent of the cost of the increase in health insurance costs, and direct what the state would have...
Sen. Dan Schmidt’s for 3 percent merit-based raises for state employees plus another 1 percent for pay grades that fall the farthest below target has failed on a party-line vote, with only the four minority Democrats on the panel backing it.
Rep. Stephen Hartgen's motion for 3 percent raises for state employees - 2 percent of that based on merit, and 1 percent across the board - has failed on a tied 9-9 vote.
Rep. Robert Anderst’s motion for just 2 percent merit raises, plus charging state employees for part of a health insurance cost increase, has failed on a 4-14 vote. Anderst said he wants to save money for other budget priorities. “Essentially what that would do is...
Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, has made the first motion on state employee compensation: 3 percent merit raises, per the governor’s recommendation, plus an additional 1 percent across-the-board increase for the nine pay grades that fall the farthest below standards. That would add $6.7 million to...
The Legislature’s joint Change in Employee Compensation Committee has convened this morning at an early hour – 7 a.m. – to decide on its recommendation on pay and benefits for state workers. Gov. Butch Otter has recommended 3 percent merit raises for state employees next...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
