State of Technology, Sharon Fisher
state politics: idaho
Idaho House has “Madame Speaker” on Historic Day
Members and followers of the Idaho House of Representatives heard something today they may not have heard before: "Madame Speaker."
Representative Margaret Henbest, D-Boise, filled in for Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, for a while during today's session, primarily consisting of a series of appropriations bills (beginning with, coincidentally, the appropriations bill for the Women's Commission).
Representative Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, was the first to say "Madame Speaker," drawing a round of applause from the House, and representatives seemed to make a point of finding an excuse to say "Madame Speaker."
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state politics: idaho
Idaho House Shoots Down Real ID
The Idaho House passed unanimously yesterday a bill directing the Idaho Department of Transportation not to implement the federal REAL ID Act – a decision that, if passed by the Senate and signed by Governor Butch Otter, could theoretically prevent Idahoans from using their driver’s licenses for boarding planes and opening some kinds of bank accounts.
The so-called Real ID is an unfunded Congressional mandate from 2005 for nationwide specifications for drivers’ licenses that was ostensibly intended to help protect Americans from terrorists, but it has since been opposed by more than 30 states, including Montana.
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state politics: idaho
Idaho House Works to Get ‘er DoneThe Idaho House hopped to it today, clearing not only the backlog of its own bills and Senate bills but also whipping through several appropriations bills that typically wouldn’t have been voted on til tomorrow.
It’s a slick legislative maneuver that gets done to bring up a bill from the second reading calendar to be voted on. It was previously done in this session on a field-burning bill to get it completed as quickly as possible, but in this case it was just being done to reduce the backlog of bills and get done faster.
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state politics: idaho
Idaho JFAC Lets Goodies Out of the JarWhen you feel poor, if you’re smart, you go pay the mortgage and the utilities and buy groceries first, and then go see what you might have left to spend on goodies.
Today, after having finished last week setting tight budgets for state agencies, Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee went for the goodies, some of which had been passed over in the normal budget-setting process out of concern about declining state revenues, as well as wanting to leave room for a grocery tax credit. The committee also made appropriations to bills that had passed after it had already set budgets for those agencies; such appropriations are called “trailer bills.”
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Idaho Politics: Commentary
Astroturf Seen in Two ‘Unrelated’ Treasure Valley ProtestsEditor's note: This column originally ran March 1, but since it didn't seem to make it onto the local radar screen, we thought we'd run it again.
"Astroturf" defines efforts intended to make it appear that there is a groundswell of popular support for something, when the effort actually comes from a small group of people (Astroturf = fake grassroots, get it?)
Two current events in the Treasure Valley that at first seem unrelated -- a "concerned parent" protesting The Joy of Sex an the Joy of Gay Sex at the Nampa Library, and a demonstration demanding the firing of a Planned Parenthood staffer for her supposed racism -- are related, through the same man -- an associate of conservative gadflies Bryan Fischer and Brandi Swindell.
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state politics: idaho
Idaho House Passes Rural Broadband BillThe Idaho House of Representatives passed this morning a bill to create a broadband network-- especially underserved rural areas -- throughout Idaho by directing the Department of Administration to begin the process.
“This kind of legislation could solve a big problem about trying to hire 500 math and science teachers” by increasing the options for interactive courses in rural schools, said Representative Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, chair of the education committee and one of the sponsors of the Idaho Education Network bill. “Some of the more rural areas of the state, those children shouldn’t be denied the opportunities that other children have.”
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state politics: idaho
Idaho Abortion Coercion Bill: What’s the Strategy?Is the Idaho House of Representatives deliberately avoiding voting on an abortion bill in order to get through the session faster?
H464, sponsored by Representative Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, makes it a felony to "coerce" or attempt to coerce, physically or otherwise, a woman into having an abortion. It is not clear how often this happens and how much of a problem this really is, or whether it is another example of the "nibbling to death by ducks" strategy of anti-abortion advocates -- they don't have to make it illegal, just have to make it impossible to get, in this case by waving the threat of a felony charge against people giving women information about abortion.
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state politics: idaho
Idaho JFAC Whips Through ITD BudgetAfter taking two days to slog through the public school budget, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee sizzled through the Idaho Transportation Department budget, getting through the whole thing in 38 minutes.
Perhaps it was just the knowledge that it was the last major budget to be set for the session.
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"leave of absence" acknowledged as permanent for first time
Otter Says Commerce Chief Won’t ReturnIn the first acknowledgment that Idaho Director of Commerce Jim Ellick will not be returning from his personal leave of absence, Gov. Butch Otter told the Idaho Press Club Wednesday that he was starting a new round of interviewing for the position.
Ellick, who was hired in 2007, went on personal leave in January, the day before he was scheduled to give his presentation to the Joint Finance and Appropriations (JFAC) committee of the state legislature.
Otter said that Ellick fit the profile of the sort of person he wanted - aggressive, able to speak the language of high technology, familiar with capital markets - but that Ellick, whose background is in industry, had found himself frustrated with the slow pace of the public sector - frustration that actually affected his health.
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state politics: idaho
TechConnect Chastised for Dearth of Information in Idaho Commerce BudgetIdaho’s TechConnect business catalyst program received half a loaf from the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee today amid complaints from legislators that it was not providing enough information on what it did.
“I’m getting to the point where, if we can’t get detailed, reasonable information, I don’t know whether I’ll be able to support it,” said Senator Elliott Werk, D-Boise. “I think you have a lot of company on that one,” agreed co-chair Representative Maxine Bell, R-Jerome.
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