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Idaho Legislature nears 100th day of work, as major budgets hang in balance
Friday was the 96th day of the legislative session, making it the longest session in the past 10 years. Where things go from here is still anybody’s guess. But the Idaho Legislature has plenty of work left before it can adjourn. Since returning from a 17-day recess on April 6, the House has killed three […]
House passes ‘fetal heartbeat’ bill
The Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill Friday that prohibits abortion procedures once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. House Bill 366 is the third so-called fetal heartbeat bill that legislators have considered this year. The bill includes an exception for rape or incest, but it requires rape or incest victims to first obtain […]
Reps. Chaney, Green forge unlikely bipartisan effort against ‘intimidation tactic’
Rep. Greg Chaney knew it was only a matter of time before the protesters showed up at his family’s home, under the cover of darkness, with torches and pitchforks. But when they did come in February, he did not expect the protesters would bring a stuffed animal, wearing a shirt with “Chaney” printed out neatly […]
Idaho Senate calls for a second recess, waits for House to finish business
The Idaho Senate abruptly called for a second recess of the year late Wednesday morning, guaranteeing the 2021 session will become the longest of the past 10 years. Where the session goes from there is still anybody’s guess. Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, called for the Senate to recess until Monday. Anthon blamed the […]
House committee advances bill prohibiting organizations, nonprofits from funding election work in Idaho
The House State Affairs Committee has advanced a bill that would prohibit outside organizations from providing funding for elections in Idaho. Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, said Senate Bill 1168 is necessary because of out-of-state grant funding that came into Idaho to support the 2020 elections. Souza said the nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic […]
House Republicans kill $1.1B budget for teacher salaries
Thirty-four House Republicans killed the $1.1 billion public school budget for Idaho teacher salaries Tuesday, raising even more uncertainty about the Legislature’s ability to adjourn the session. Hardline conservative legislators led opposition to House Bill 354 after a 70-minute debate that was dominated by conservatives’ concerns that social justice and critical race theory teachings were […]
Idaho legislators hold hearing on redrawing state border to take in Oregon counties
Two of the Idaho Legislature’s committees teamed up Monday for a joint hearing over a longshot proposal to redraw Oregon’s border so that about 20 rural Oregon counties would become part of Idaho. There was no bill, budget or formal proposal to act on. But the House Environment, Energy and Transportation Committee and the Senate […]
Idaho Senate passes bill to limit governor’s emergency powers
The Idaho Senate passed a bill Friday that would limit a governor’s emergency declaration powers and limit emergency restrictions that could be placed on residents or workers. If passed into law, House Bill 135 would make it so a governor could not extend an emergency or disaster declaration passed 60 days, except to continue receiving […]
Idaho Legislature comes out against Simpson’s salmon recovery plan
The Idaho Legislature formally came out against U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson’s salmon recovery proposal that calls for breaching dams along the Snake River. The Idaho House voted 58-12 along party lines Thursday to adopt Senate Joint Memorial 103, which is a statement of opposition to removing or breaching dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers […]
Idaho Legislature approves changes to initiative signature gathering requirements
The Idaho House on Wednesday sent a bill that would change the signature gathering requirements for citizen ballot initiatives to Gov. Brad Little’s desk for final consideration. If passed into law, Senate Bill 1110 would require organizers of a ballot initiative to collect signatures from 6% of voters in each of the state’s 35 legislative […]
Idaho House kills $200M welfare budget on first day back
The Idaho House killed next year’s $200 million Division of Welfare budget hours after the Legislature reconvened Tuesday following a COVID-19 outbreak that had put the session on hold since March 19. The failure of the budget bill likely means the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee will reconvene in the coming days and draft a new budget, […]
Legislature reconvenes Tuesday following Statehouse COVID-19 outbreak
The Idaho Legislature is preparing to resume the 2021 session Tuesday following a 17-day recess that legislators abruptly announced amid a COVID-19 outbreak inside the Statehouse. Legislators shut things down March 19 after at least six House members and one staffer tested positive over the previous week and a half. Two members of the Senate […]