A key piece of Gov. Butch Otter’s literacy initiative is on hold for now, Idaho EdNews reports this afternoon, after several members of the Senate Education Committee asked skeptical questions about the plan. The measure, HB 526, is the cornerstone of Otter’s $10.7 million initiative,...
Fallout from the state’s latest court loss on Tuesday in the Idaho Education Network contract case has included a halt to settlement talks with two vendors over more than $6 million in legal claims, the possibility of vendors filing new lawsuits against the state, the…
After an emotional, two-hour hearing, legislation that’s been in the works for 16 years to recognize job-related cancer risk for firefighters in Idaho’s worker’s compensation laws has won the endorsement of the House Commerce Committee. “It obviously has support,” said committee Chairman Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin...
Idaho’s nearly four-year-old law that allows people to salvage roadkill is surprisingly popular, reports Eric Barker of the Lewiston Tribune. According to an online database maintained by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, more than 4,800 animals have been salvaged from the state’s roadways…
The Senate has agreed unanimously to amendments to HB 447, legislation to expand an existing public records exemption for information about government infrastructure. The current law exempts those records from release only when their release “would jeopardize” public safety. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho...
Gov. Butch Otter has named Magistrate Scott Wayman of Coeur d’Alene to the First District judgeship that opened with the recent retirement of Judge Fred Gibler. Wayman has been a magistrate judge since 2000; he holds a law degree from the University of Idaho and…
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will hold campaign rallies in Boise and Idaho Falls on Sunday, hitting Idaho Falls first at 5:30 p.m., and then Boise at 7:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public, but registration is required; there’s info on the…
The Idaho Senate has rejected HCR 34, the House-passed resolution recognizing community water fluoridation as a “significant public health achievement,” on a 16-18 vote. Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, asked the Senate, “How can we pass legislation like this where there’s a big contention on the...
Sen. Roy Lacey, D-Pocatello, announced today that he won’t seek re-election, and instead is endorsing Rep. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello, to replace him. Lacey has served two terms in the Senate and one in the House before that. The two both represent District 29, Bannock County....
The Idaho Senate Resources and Environment Committee recommended approval of legislation Wednesday aimed at giving county officials a "stick" to use against federal land managers, reports Bill Spence of the Lewiston Tribune. Supporters say the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, and…
On a 16-2 vote, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has approved legislation to raise salaries for Idaho’s PUC, Tax Commission and Industrial Commission commissioners by 3 percent next year. That matches the funding for merit increases for state employees that’s being covered in state agency budgets;…
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has set a budget for the state Department of Lands for next year, after a small group led by Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, tried unsuccessfully to slice out a Forest Legacy Project in North Idaho that will preserve the largest contiguous…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
