2011 Idaho Legislature, Week 12

The 12th week of Idaho's 2011 legislative session in pictures

Section:Gallery

Fri., April 1, 2011

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee prepares to set the public schools budget on Monday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, speaks in favor of the proposed school budget for the teachers division, which drew opposition from two of the joint budget committee's Republicans as well as all four of its Democractic members. It passed, 14-6.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Democrats on JFAC, including Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, right, tried to add $10 million to the public school budget on Monday morning, but the move failed on a 6-14 vote.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
State schools Supt. Tom Luna responds to a question from legislative budget writers Monday about a proposed new requirement for reporting on how much is spent for dual enrollment under SB 1184; he said it'd be no problem for the state, but school districts might see the reporting as a burden. Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, noted that the state department will distribute the funds, so it'll have the information and won't need to tap districts for it.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, opens debate in the Senate on Monday on HB 260, the bill to cut $108 million from Idaho's Medicaid services, including $35 million in state general funds.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, pushed for $10 million more to cover enrollment growth at Idaho colleges and universities, but was defeated in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Monday.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Idaho state schools Supt. Tom Luna presents SB 1184, his third school reform bill, to the House Education Committee on Tuesday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Sherri Wood, president of the Idaho Education Association, speaks against SB 1184, the school reform bill, at the House Education Committee on Tuesday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Karen Echeverria, executive director of the Idaho School Boards Association, speaks against SB 1184, the school reform bill, on Tuesday. The group can't support mandated cuts in salary funds for the next five years, she said; that's how the bill pays for technology investments and a teacher merit-pay bonus program.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Members of the House Education Committee listen to testimony about SB 1184, state schools Supt. Tom Luna's third school-reform bill, on Tuesday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
From left, House Democratic leaders Brian Cronin of Boise, Elfreda Higgins of Garden City and John Rusche of Lewiston announce Tuesday afternoon that they use every means available to them to slow down the legislative session if majority Republicans don't allow hearings on two bills: A $1.25 per pack increase in the cigarette tax, and a measure calling for an advisory vote on schools Supt. Tom Luna's school reform legislation.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, presents closed-primary election legislation to the Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Senate State Affairs Committee members ask questions about the proposed modified-closed primary election bill, SB 1198, on Wednesday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Gary Allen, attorney for a group of independent Idaho voters, testifies against the new primary election bill in the Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa addresses the Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday; he said Idaho primary election turnout is "abysmal" now.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House State Affairs Committee members hear testimony on Wednesday morning on SB 1165, to ban abortion after 20 weeks on grounds of fetal pain. The bill passed the committee on a straight party-line vote, with Republican members voting yes and Democratic members voting no.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House Chief Clerk Bonnie Alexander reads the full text of a 25-page bill on catastrophic health care on Wednesday, after House Democrats made good on their threat to slow down House action until majority Republicans allow a hearing on two bills the Dems support: A $1.25 cigarette tax increase, and a measure calling for an advisory vote of the people on this year's school reforms.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House Speaker Lawerence Denney talks about Democratic protests that bogged down action in the House on Wednesday, bringing it to a near-standstill

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House Minority Leader John Rusche, left, and Minority Caucus Chair Brian Cronin, right, discuss the Democrats' stalling tactics that forced an hour-long reading of a 25-page bill in the House on Wednesday. The minority wants hearings on two bills, a cigarette tax hike and an advisory vote on school reforms, but the majority has refused.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House GOP leaders hold a press conference Wednesday to announce that they'll work into the weekend rather than comply with House Democrats' demand to hold hearings on two as-yet unheard bills; the Democrats have forced full reading of bills in the House in protest, slowing the legislative process to a crawl even as lawmakers pushed toward a hoped-for adjournment next week..

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, listens to testimony at an informational hearing Wednesday afternoon on his bill to legalize medical marijuana for limited use by the chronically ill. The hearing will continue on Monday, but no action is planned on the bill.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Idaho Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen answers questions from the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee on Gov. Butch Otter's proposed "Hire One Act," which would provide a tax credit for new jobs.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Outside the state Capitol on Thursday afternoon, it was sunny and 66 degrees with light winds - gorgeous spring weather. But inside, political storm clouds still were looming.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Rep. Julie Ellsworth, R-Boise, presents a sex offender registration bill to the House on Thursday; Democrats had forced full reading of the bill, but its wording offended some lawmakers, so the minority agreed to cut off the full reading. The bill, which makes changes to Idaho’s registration law to reflect court rulings, passed unanimously.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, left, talks with House Speaker Lawerence Denney, right, before Friday morning's House session, at which the House is set to debate the final bill in the school-reform package.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House members listen, talk on the phone or chat with one another as SB 1184, a 24-page school reform bill, is read in full in the House chamber on Friday morning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, opens debate on SB 1184 on Friday morning, after more than an hour of reading the 24-page bill in full; it's the final school-reform bill that includes shifting teacher salary funds to technology purchases.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, debates against SB 1184 in the House on Friday morning. A retired teacher, he said it would lead to fewer teachers and more computers, and that won't help learning.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, debates against SB 1184, the school reform bill, in the House on Friday morning. Cronin said bill spends even more on buying laptop computers than the previous version, even though education stakeholders made that one of their top objections to the earlier bill.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, debates against SB 1184 in the House on Friday; a retired teacher, she said the bill is "not going to do anything for the quality of education."

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Rep. Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, debates in favor of SB 1184 on Friday in the House, saying technology lets education transform from "the sage on the stage to the guide by the side."

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, debates in favor of SB 1184 in the House on Friday; he said various moves made by JFAC in setting this year's public schools budget soften the blow for schools.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
In the public gallery of the House on Friday, people watch the debate over SB 1184, the school reform bill.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review
Legislative leaders huddle at the speaker's desk after Rep. Jim Marriott, R-Blackfoot, moved to cut off debate on SB 1184 on Friday, the school reform bill.

Betsy Russell The Spokesman-Review