On Friday, the Senate passed a bill to help educators in high-need and rural areas with various educational costs. Senate Bill 1290, sponsored by Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise) and Rep. Sally Toone (D-Gooding), establishes a rural educator incentive program for educators who work in high-need or rural school districts and charter schools. It would provide the maximum amount of eligible …
Continue reading
On Friday, a bill enabling Idaho school districts to access federal funding to purchase low or zero emission school buses unanimously passed the Senate. Senate Bill 1319, sponsored by Sen. David Nelson (D-Moscow), fixes a flaw in state code that was a barrier for some of Idaho’s bigger school districts and charter schools to apply for funds from the Federal …
Continue reading
On Tuesday, a bill to provide in-home caregivers property tax relief passed the Senate in a 29-5 vote. Senate Bill 1259, sponsored by Sen. Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise), would allow a person who is the owner of a certified family home to qualify for the state’s property tax reduction program, also known as the circuit breaker, by exempting the payment they …
Continue reading
Idaho public schools are the backbone of our local communities. But for many districts, facilities are crumbling due to age and a lack of resources needed to make repairs. This issue is further compounded by Idaho’s extreme population growth in recent years, leading to significant overcrowding in many schools, which can now only be fixed with new construction. The Idaho …
Continue reading
A bill to reduce supplemental levies for school districts was introduced in the Senate Education Committee Thursday. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. David Nelson (D-Moscow), would enable the Idaho Legislature to appropriate additional funding to K-12 schools. Per the bill, if a school has a supplemental levy in place, 75% of the allocated money must go to reducing the levy. …
Continue reading
The Senate Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee approved legislation Wednesday to remove racially restrictive language from property covenants and deeds in a unanimous vote. Senate Bill 1240, sponsored by Sen. Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise), now heads to the full Senate, carrying with it strong bipartisan support. The legislation would allow homeowners and/or tenants to go to their county clerk’s office and …
Continue reading
Senate Republicans forwarded House Bill 436 to the governor’s office in a party-line vote. All Democrats voted against the legislation, advocating instead for more critical tax solutions, such as reducing property taxes or repealing the sales tax on groceries, and using state funds to plug the holes in school budgets that must be filled by supplemental levies. Under the bill, …
Continue reading
On Wednesday, Gov. Brad Little appointed Carrie Semmelroth to the open District 17 Senate seat following Sen. Ali Rabe’s resignation after moving to a new district. Semmelroth, who will serve out Rabe’s remaining term for 2022, works in the College of Education at Boise State University, where she earned her doctorate in education with an emphasis in special education, master’s …
Continue reading
During a news conference Friday, Senate Democrats pushed back against the Idaho Legislature’s return to the Statehouse next week. Sens. Michelle Stennett, Grant Burgoyne, and Janie Ward-Engelking raised concerns about the possible legal ramifications that could stem from the Senate, specifically, coming back into session after adjourning in May, not recessing like the House. No mechanism exists for the body …
Continue reading
This week, the Senate will likely vote on House Bill 380, legislation that slashes income tax rates with the benefits flowing overwhelmingly to those at the top of the income spectrum. Sen. Ali Rabe, who argued against it in the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee, said the bill makes sweeping changes that are neither fair to working Idahoans nor …
Continue reading
