The Idaho Legislature will now archive its audio and video recordings of committee meetings and floor debate. Until now, those audio and video sessions were live-streamed by Idaho Public Television and deleted after five days. The new rule will require the director of legislative services or a designee to hang on to the recordings for […]
In an effort to become more transparent, the state of Idaho has launched a new website that details state spending and revenue. Transparent.Idaho.gov was created by the state controller’s office, after the state continually received failing grades on its openness. Last year during ‘sunshine week,’ StateImpact Idaho reported on two separate transparency report cards — […]
Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey today wrote this blog post that raises this question: should the video or audio record of legislative proceedings be archived? Since the Capitol’s recent upgrade, nearly every legislative committee hearing, and House and Senate floor session has been broadcast through Idaho Public Television. Those broadcasts are recorded, and according to […]
Idaho Commerce Department Director Jeff Sayer filed for personal bankruptcy in 2003, less than a decade before Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed him to his current job. That’s according to an Idaho Statesman report this weekend. Director Sayer’s bankruptcy was not public knowledge ahead of his appointment last fall, but it was known to Gov. […]
Every state, including Idaho, offers tax breaks, grants or subsidies to businesses in hopes of spurring economic development. But the states vary widely in terms of what they do when a company doesn’t create as many jobs as it agreed to, or otherwise follow through with its end of the incentive bargain. According to the […]
This story has been updated, you can read the updated version right here. A Nampa-based solar company partly owned by Micron Technology will close its doors and lay-off about 250 people over the next three months. Transform Solar was a joint venture between Boise-based Micron Technology and Australian energy company “Origin.” The company launched in […]
Thirty-one companies in Idaho have been granted nearly $20 million in workforce training grants. The Idaho Department of Labor reports the active grants range from about $10,000 up to nearly $6 million. Businesses typically have two years to use the grant money, but Labor Department spokesman Bob Fick says contracts are often extended. Here’s a […]
A recent report from Pew Center on the States lists Idaho among 26 states ‘trailing behind’ when it comes to evaluating tax incentives. That is, having a mechanism in place to take a closer look at the state-specific incentives and exemptions on a regular basis, and to evaluate if they’re doing what they were intended […]
Good Jobs First is a non-partisan, non-profit government transparency advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1998 by Greg LeRoy, who is now executive director. LeRoy has been studying tax incentive transparency for more than two decades. We recently spoke with him to learn more about what he considers ‘transparent enough,’ and […]
The state of Idaho will give up an estimated $845 million this year in the form of tax credits and exemptions. And only a select few at the Idaho Tax Commission know exactly where that money goes. Idaho’s law is pretty clear, individual and business tax information is confidential. Tax returns, specifically, are confidential under […]
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