State of Technology, Sharon Fisher
state politics: idaho
Bit and Pieces from the Idaho Legislature
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.
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state politics: idaho
Idaho Government Needs Uniform Conferencing Plan, JFAC SaysThe 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.
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state politics: idaho
JFAC Doesn’t Raise Medicaid Payments in Idaho, AgainIn 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.
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State politics: Idaho
Bill Underway to Develop Idaho Broadband NetworkAn 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.
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State politics: Idaho
Idaho Senate Passes Bill to Set Up Electronic Document RepositoryIdaho’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
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state politics: idaho
Idaho House Limits Sex Offender Transition HousesWith no debate against it and a unanimous vote, the Idaho House has passed a bill giving cities and counties more control over residential houses for sex offenders, including requirements for notifying neighbors. [more]
state politics: idaho
JFAC Limits 2009 Budget Increase to 3.7%In an effort to leave a space to allow for a grocery tax credit, the Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted this morning to hold increases in the 2009 budget to 3.7%.
This seriously limits the ability of the Legislature to approve any new programs, said Division Administrator Cathy Holland-Smith. While the committee could have set a higher spending target, that would have made a decrease in the grocery tax impossible, she said.
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