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state politics: idaho

In a demonstration that it was just as tough on itself as on any state agency, the Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted to give the Legislature a fairly bare-bones budget for support staff and equipment, rejecting requests for new employees.

However, the committee did vote to give legislators new laptops. The ones the legislators are currently using are four years old – state agencies are typically on a three-year cycle – and in the new location, House members must use their laptops to record attendance and to vote. [more]

internet technology

A company that sees its role as providing broadband Internet to underserved rural communities is offering an innovative service in a third Idaho city, Hailey, and is planning to add it to Idaho Falls and Twin Falls early this year.

DigitalBridgeCommunications Inc., based in Ashburn, Va., uses WiMAX technology to provide Internet connections of up to 3 Mbps. WiMAX uses a base technology that is similar to that used by cell phones, meaning it has a much wider range than the wireless Internet technology typically used – up to three miles. Because of this, WiMAX is said to be well-suited for providing broadband access to rural areas, which are woefully underserved in most of the country. [more]

state politics: idaho

After some discussion – where everyone expressed their support for scholarships and for Governor Butch Otter’s plan to fund them – the Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted today to put $10 million of one-time funding into a fund for scholarships, down from a request for $50 million from Otter.

Senator Stan Bastian, R-Eagle, made the original $10 million motion; Senator Eliot Werk, D-Boise, made a substitute motion of $50 million, while Representative Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, made an amended substitute motion of $20 million. [more]

state politics: idaho

Despite statements by Wayne Hammon, administrator of the Division of Financial Management, earlier this session that Governor Butch Otter had told the Department of Transportation to consider other options for registration costs, the Department yesterday revealed a plan to charge everyone in Idaho a flat fee of $150 to register each vehicle.

Hammon had told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee originally that the Department had requested a 75% increase in fees across the board in order to pay for a $200 million shortfall in maintenance. He had also said at that time that the Department was told to consider other options, such as charging vehicles by weight or fuel efficiency rather than the current system of charging by age.

The age requirement was removed, but nothing was put in its place. Instead, the fee goes to $150 per vehicle for everyone. [more]

Idaho Politics: Commentary

In an effort reminiscent of Idaho Representative Bill Sali’s bill to repeal gravity, the Idaho House passed yesterday a joint memorial calling on Congress to use a technological solution to fight Internet pornography.

“The purported solution incorporates both legal and technical elements,” said Derek Bambauer, fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, on a blog sponsored by the Harvard Law School. “My analysis: it’s not only a terrible idea, but it won’t work on either front.” [more]

state politics: idaho

The Idaho Legislature can be pretty funny. Once a week I'll run a collection of bits that don't really fit in anywhere else.

This week: Just say no, who's on first? surprise, your turn! and why they call them rule-ers. [more]

state politics: idaho

The Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee rejected a recommendation by Governor Butch Otter this morning by turning down videoconferencing equipment for the Department of Environmental Quality, saying that the state should have an overall policy for obtaining and using videoconferencing equipment.

Otter had recommended $100,000 in one-time funding for DEQ as a “Governor’s Initiative,” meaning it was something he was putting into the budget that the agency hadn’t asked for. Oddly, agencies that did ask for videoconferencing equipment did not receive recommendations from him. [more]

state politics: idaho

In less than an hour, the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee spent more than $1.4 billion today, on Medicaid and other medical services for the poor.

This amount -- the largest share of the budget other than for public education -- was done, however, without any increases in the rates paid to providers, which Representative Margaret Henbest, D-Boise, said could end up increasing costs in the long run. [more]

State politics: Idaho

An education bill passed out of committee on Monday is intended to provide high-speed Internet access throughout Idaho, including currently underserved areas, and eventually to provide such access to industry and to state government itself.

There has been some dispute over the past couple of years regarding how many people in Idaho lack high-speed Internet access. U.S. West (Qwest) has indicated that it believes that a majority of the people in Idaho who want such high-speed connections have access if they want it, but some people have disagreed, saying they want it but can’t get it – and that Qwest has stymied efforts by other companies to provide it. [more]

State politics: Idaho

Idaho’s state Senate passed a bill this morning that sets up an electronic repository for state documents to make it easier for citizens to gain access to state documents and, eventually, to save money.

Currently, state agencies are supposed to send 20 printed copies of public documents to the Idaho Commission for Libraries, ostensibly to make them available to the public. “A lot of agencies are not complying with the requirement, and even if they are, it doesn’t make sense, because they’re created electronically in the first place,” said Senator Kate Kelly, D-Boise [more]

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