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 vast majority of Idaho legislators have a college degree. Seventy percent of Idaho’s 2013 Legislature has a bachelor’s degree or higher. U.S. Census data show 24 percent of Idaho’s general population has a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Data Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Project Vote Smart, Idaho Legislators
Over the last month, StateImpact Idaho collected basic demographic information on Idaho’s incoming Legislature. We’ve looked at lawmakers’ ages compared with the population they represent, their occupations, and the male-female split. We want to better understand the make-up of Idaho’s Legislature and how it compares with the general population. Continue Reading →
The general fund is Idaho’s main bank account that’s used to pay for state government. Its balance is what legislators use to appropriate spending to all state agencies.
Idaho's Senate Chamber sits empty nine months out of the year. Lawmakers typically in session from Jan. until late March or early April.
Almost half of the legislators in Idaho work in agriculture or business when they’re not making policy in Boise.
Over the last month, StateImpact Idaho has collected basic demographic information on the 2013 Idaho Legislature. Some of the information we gathered came directly from lawmakers. Some of it was gathered from Project Vote Smart, the Idaho Legislature, or Nexis.
We wanted to better understand the makeup of the Legislature, and whether the people making laws in Idaho truly represent the overall population. When you look solely at occupation, it’s safe to say Idaho’s citizen Legislature isn’t very representative of Idaho. Continue Reading →
A statue of George Washington sits on the fourth floor of the Idaho Capitol.
The 2013 Idaho Legislature is ready for business. Now that the organizational session has wrapped up, and committee assignments have been made, lawmakers will launch into what’s sure to be a packed session one month from today.
On the Senate Finance side of JFAC, Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, will continue to chair the panel. Although, as the Spokesman Review reports, the Finance Committee has a large number of new members. Continue Reading →
Idaho’s House of Representatives will start its 2013 legislative session under new leadership. The Republican majority voted out incumbent Speaker Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale) last night. Here’s more about what that means from the Spokesman Review.
Idaho House speaker Denney ousted — Three-term Idaho House Speaker Lawerence Denney, arguably the most powerful member of the Idaho Legislature, lost his leadership post tonight to rival Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, in a dramatic political upset. The ouster, which happened during closed-door legislative caucus elections, marked the first time in three decades that a top Idaho legislative leader has been deposed by his own party.  Spokesman Review
Minority Dems elect legislative leaders in Idaho — Idaho’s minority Democrats in the House and Senate elected leaders for the 2013 session. The House’s 13 Democratic members reaffirmed Rep. John Rusche of Lewiston as minority leader Wednesday. The Associated Press
The 2013 Idaho Legislature is more than a quarter women. The Legislature has actually lost three women from the previous session. Still, the male to female split at Idaho’s Statehouse is better than the national average. The National Conference of State Legislatures’ data show women make up 24 percent of state lawmakers nationally.
So, does the gender make-up of our elected officials matter? It’s one of the questions StateImpact wanted to explore as we gathered basic demographic information on all of Idaho’s legislators after November’s election. Continue Reading →
Frank Henderson, a former newsman, says being a reporter gave him the confidence to ask important questions. That, he says, has made all the difference in his political career.
The 2013 Idaho Legislature is in town today for it’s biennial organizational session. This is when lawmakers confirm their leaders and prep for the session which begins next month. Today also happens to be Rep. Frank Henderson’s (R-Post Falls) 90th birthday.
Henderson, born in 1922, was a soldier in World War II and a reporter for a Chicago-area Hearst newspaper. Henderson worked in advertising, publishing, and owned the Post Falls, Idaho newspaper before being elected to mayor and later county commissioner. It wasn’t until 2004, at age 82, Henderson decided to run for the Legislature.
Idaho is one of the youngest states in the country. We’re third youngest, right behind Texas (#2) and Utah (#1). The median age here is 34.6, according to the most recent Census. More than 30 percent of Idaho is made up of people 19 and younger.
Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact
More than 33 percent of Idaho's 2013 legislators are new. This week, the freshman have been going through orientation to get ready for the session.
Like most states, the people who make laws and set policy are much older than the general population. Idaho’s median, and average, age of a state legislator is 61. That’s older than the national average, which according to the National Conference of State Legislatures was 56 last year. Continue Reading →
Over the weekend, The New York Times started rolling out its in-depth, national look at how states are enticing business to their region through tax breaks, exemptions and subsidies. The series includes three lengthy articles plus subsidy data on all 50 states.
How Taxpayers Bankroll Business — “A Times investigation has examined and tallied thousands of local incentives granted nationwide and has found that states, counties and cities are giving up more than $80 billion each year to companies. The beneficiaries come from virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains.” The New York Times
The Times’ Deal Book Blog also published a commentary on the future of Hewlett-Packard, a California-based company with a long history in Boise, Idaho.
To Save H.P., Break It in Two — “Hewlett-Packard’s $8.8 billion write-down of its Autonomy acquisition is just the latest evidence of the steady decline of one of the world’s great companies. Don’t blame Meg Whitman, the chief executive. She is just cleaning up the messes created since 1999 by her three predecessors and H.P.’s strategically challenged board of directors.” Deal Book
Idaho lawmakers will be back at the Capitol this week as new legislator orientation gets underway and for the organizational session (that’s when legislators vote on party leadership).
We know it’s a month before the 2013 legislative session officially kicks off, but we wanted to introduce you to some lawmakers via Twitter.
We’ve compiled a list of 68 current, former and newly elected lawmakers who are on Twitter. They don’t all tweet regularly, but here’s a list of handles and Twitter bios from some of the lawmakers who use it often: Continue Reading →
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