Emilie Ritter Saunders was StateImpact Idaho's multimedia reporter until the project merged with the Boise State Public Radio site in July 2013. She previously worked as the Capitol Bureau Chief for Montana Public Radio and was a Senior Fellow with NPR's Economic Training Project from 2009 until 2010. She graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2007.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today gave conditional approval to Idaho’s state-based health insurance exchange.
Here’s a news release from HHS:
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that more states are on track to implement the health care law and establish health insurance marketplaces, or Exchanges, in their states. California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Vermont and Utah are conditionally approved today to operate a State-based Exchange, and Arkansas is conditionally approved to operate a State Partnership Exchange. HHS is also providing more guidance to states today on marketplaces that will be operated in partnership with the federal government. Continue Reading →
Idaho’s revenue estimating panel with a difficult-to-remember acronym meets this week in Boise. EORAC, the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee, meets to come up with a starting-point for Idaho’s annual state budget.
The 18-member legislative panel will spend tomorrow and part of Friday getting briefed on Idaho’s finances and economic condition. Then, lawmakers will regroup later this month to determine what they think Idaho’s revenue estimate (the basis for crafting how Idaho spends its money) should be for fiscal year 2014.
As we explained last year, the EORAC process isn’t an exact science, rather it’s more of a crystal-ball-method.
You can find the agenda for the Thursday and Friday meeting here. Plus, the meetings will be live web-streamed here.
State Sen. John Goedde is a Republican from Coeur d’Alene. He’s chairman of the Senate’s Education Committee. It’s a panel that will be closely watched during the upcoming legislative session as lawmakers figure out what to do now that voters rejected three sweeping education laws.
We spoke with Goedde earlier this month to get his take on a few issues sure to be hot topics during the session; education, the personal property tax, and health care. Much as it is annual, Goedde says his number one focus will be watching the budget.
A: A huge part will be the budget. We’re not living up to our projections from our last budget session. We’re going to have to take a close look at what kind of growth we might expect this time around and be very, very careful. The worst thing we can do, and I understand that now from 12 years of experience, is to over-forecast and then have to do hold-backs mid-term. That’s terrible. We have to deal with the Affordable Care Act, which is Medicaid expansion or not. And the establishment of a state health exchange, or to accept by default a federal exchange. Those issues will be hotly debated, and it will take us a lot of time to get through that. Continue Reading →
As 2012 draws to a close, we took a look back at some of the stories we think are worth another read or a second listen.
Why Idaho’s Doctor Shortage Won’t Be Easy To Solve: Idaho has fewer doctors per capita than every state in the country except one. Why? That simple question led us down the path of several weeks of reporting to get at a nuanced answer. Check out this collection of posts which include an interactive map, data and the story of one Idaho doctor that fights the statistics.
The Times Square ball prepares for a New Years Eve drop.
The end of December is always a great time to reflect on the past year. That’s just what we’ve been doing at StateImpact Idaho. We looked back at some of the posts you clicked on and shared the most. We’ve created a top 10 countdown of our most popular posts from 2012, in raw numbers. Take a walk down memory lane with us, and maybe you’ll find a few stories you missed over the last year.
North Idaho lawmaker Shawn Keough just started her 9th term in the Idaho Legislature. For 18 years she’s been representing Idaho’s 1st Senate District, that’s Bonner and Boundary Counties. Keough, a Senate Republican, has spent much of her tenure on the Legislature’s main budget committee, JFAC.
In advance of the legislative session that starts Jan. 7, we spoke with Sen. Keough about issues sure to rise to the top; education, taxes, and health care.
Q: What are your priorities this session?
A: We need to have a continued look, and do not lose sight of where we are with our state revenue. There is a level of service that the public expects. It doesn’t matter, one philosophical bent, if someone wants to get out of their driveway to get to work, and the road isn’t plowed, we hear from them. Continue Reading →
Ahead of Idaho’s legislative session we sat down with some key lawmakers to ask about issues we’ve been following here at StateImpact Idaho over the last 18 months. We’re also looking at some of the issues that are sure to be debated once the gavel falls on Jan. 7, opening day.
We begin with Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett. She’s a long time Ketchum resident and was just reelected to her 2nd term in the Legislature.
We asked Sen. Stennett about Idaho’s personal property business tax. It’s long been a foe of business and industry groups. This session lawmakers may decide to start phasing the tax out. But some are concerned, especially local governments, about how to make up for that lost revenue.
Q: Should Idaho get rid of the personal property tax? If so, how could that happen? Continue Reading →
Since 2008, Idaho has steadily climbed up the volunteerism ranks, landing in this latest ranking as the second most civically engaged and volunteer-ready state in the country.
Corporation for National and Community Service
Click on the map to enlarge.
The annual Volunteering and Civic Life in America report from the Corporation for National and Community Service measures things like total volunteer hours in each state, the number of people who volunteer, the percentage of people who eat dinner as a family, and percentage of people who spend time talking about political issues. Continue Reading →
The Post Registerreports Battelle Energy Alliance plans to cut at least 300 jobs at the Idaho National Laboratory.
Battelle, the contract company in charge of INL, could cut up to 450 jobs.
Budget constraints, increased daily costs and a need to remain competitive have prompted Battelle, the contractor in charge of INL, to reduce the workforce.
“When we take actions like this, a lot of thought and planning goes into it,” Human Resources Director Mark Holubar said. “We do not take this lightly.”
Employees can apply for voluntary separation through Jan. 9, Holubar said.
“There are always people who are considering other options,” Holubar said. “This will give them the opportunity to exit the lab and take the pressure off those involuntarily leaving.” – Post Register
The Post Register reports the job cuts will include all areas of the lab, including administrative and engineering positions.
Last year, Battelle cut more than 150 jobs at INL. That doesn’t include people who left voluntarily.
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