Idaho State Capitol – On Tuesday, Governor Little vetoed HB 340, which would have allowed residential alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs for juveniles to operate without a license. All the House and Senate Democrats voted against the bill while it was making its way through the legislature. “We are deeply disappointed that the Governor chose to sign HB 440, …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Monday, Governor Little signed HB 440, 500, and 509 into law. House bill 440 will remove discrimination protections for hiring practices in public entities. House bill 500 will require high school girls to prove their gender to participate in high school sports through a genital exam, DNA test, or testosterone levels test. House bill 509 …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Friday, Governor Little signed into law a bill that will make electronic smoking devices less accessible to Idaho’s youth. House Bill 538 aims to create parity between traditional tobacco products and new, electronic smoking devices. This legislation allows the Department of Health and Welfare to permit the retailers of vaping products in the same way …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Friday, Senate State Affairs voted to print two property tax bills. The first would raise the homeowners exemption to $120,000 and restore indexing. The second would increase the Circuit Breaker property tax relief. Representative Lauren Necochea/(D-Boise) commented on the two pieces of legislation. “I was pleased to see that Republicans are finally willing to hear …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Friday, the House debated amendments to Senate Bill 1277. The original legislation made changes to the application process for the Idaho homestead exemption. However, the legislation was sent to General Orders on Friday morning. “SB 1277 was heard at the last minute this morning in House Revenue and Taxation.” Representative Ilana Rubel/(D-Boise) explained. “Republican leadership …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Wednesday, a bill to create a fund for bridge maintenance and replacement passed the house floor. It previously passed the house 52-18. The bill allocates money to the transportation expansion and congestion mitigation program and establishes the bridge maintenance and replacement program fund. The goal of this legislation is to repair dilapidated bridges across the …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Wednesday, Representative Jake Ellis’/(D-Boise) Idaho Medal of Honor legislation passed the House floor with a 65-1 vote. The bill now heads to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Senate bill 1355 would streamline the process of giving an Idaho Medal of Honor to Idaho law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical service providers …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Monday, the House voted 32 – 37 against the proposed budget for higher education. House Bill 603 would have appropriated funding to Boise State University, Lewis Clark State College, Idaho State University, and the University of Idaho. Senator David Nelson/(D-Moscow) expressed his disappointment that the House had not voted to fund Idaho colleges and universities. …
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Our responsibility as representatives of the people is to make decisions that make life better for Idahoans. Our legislation should be rooted in concern and compassion for our community. As a state representative, one of my chief priorities is supporting the mental health of all Idahoans, including the LGBTQ community. Members of the LGBTQ community in Idaho have been ignored …
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Boise, Idaho – On Thursday, the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee voted to send HB409 to the amending order on the Senate floor. This legislation would freeze the portion of a taxing district’s budget that they could receive from property taxes. This bill will limit the operating budgets of districts and will not help the property tax crisis. The …
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