Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today’s double-killing in the House of legislation to create a “pet-friendly” special license plate, though several lawmakers said they'd received hundreds of emails in support of the proposed plate...
After several parliamentary hiccups, the House agreed, on a 33-30 vote, to reconsider Rep. Hy Kloc’s “pet-friendly” special license plate bill. Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, who originally voted against the bill – which died on a tied vote – said, “I felt like there...
On a party-line vote, with all minority Democrats voting no, the House has passed SB 1243, requiring the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare to provide information to women seeking abortions about reversing a medication-induced abortion part-way through. Rep. Gayann DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, urged House members…
Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, just served notice of reconsideration of the tied vote by which the House killed Rep. Hy Kloc’s “pet-friendly” license plate bill, saying she was doing so “out of respect for that good gentleman that has been gone so long.” Kloc is…
The Idaho House has unexpectedly killed legislation to create a “pet-friendly” special license plate, a proposal that the ailing Rep. Hy Kloc, D-Boise, had worked on for several years and which was successfully amended earlier this session. HB 540a died on a tied 31-31 vote.…
After a stormy debate, the House has passed legislation to ease some of Idaho’s mandatory minimum drug sentences in cases where a judge finds imposing them would be a “manifest injustice” and there’s no danger to society. The bipartisan legislation, HB 581, passed on a...
It took two full hours of contentious debate, but the House has passed Rep. Judy Boyle’s bill to crack down on trespassing, voting 45-22 in favor of the measure, HB 658. Boyle, R-Midvale, told the House, “The law-abiding citizen does not need to worry if...
The Senate has voted 28-7 in favor of HB 465, the bill to restore non-emergency dental coverage to close to 30,000 Idaho Medicaid patients who haven’t had it since a 2011 budget cut – leading to much higher charges to Idaho’s Medicaid program for serious…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter today signed HB 463, the $200 million-plus income tax cut bill, into law, praising lawmakers for passing the bill and indicating he’s also looking favorably toward a follow-up bill to add another $25 million in cuts by expanding a child tax…
The House Revenue & Taxation Committee has voted unanimously in favor of Rep. Mike Moyle’s bill to increase the new child tax credit that was created by the earlier tax-cut bill, HB 463, to relieve the burden on large Idaho families who otherwise would see…
The latest version of an anti-trespassing bill in the Idaho Legislature is raising new questions, the Idaho Statesman reports, about the interplay between it and "stand your ground" legislation that already has passed the Senate...
An Idaho state lawmaker urges her constituents to submit entries for her "fake news awards." The Kentucky governor tweets #FAKENEWS to dismiss questions about his purchase of a home from a supporter. An aide to the Texas land commissioner uses the phrase to downplay the significance of his boss receiving donations from employees of a company...
Eight days after a stunned Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney said lawmakers had “gutted” his budget, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee did a re-do, and relented on providing $1.2 million in one-time funds next year for an elections system technological upgrade; there’s more in my…
Joe Palmer’s having a smile Remote-control fart machine style And what a success Let’s embarrass the press! House dignity? That’s sunk a mile. Some context here: I wasn’t on the floor last week when a remote-control fart machine was placed under the press desk, but...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
