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.
Texas Governor Rick Perry said Monday he will not expand his state’s Medicaid program or create a health insurance exchange, leaving 6.2 million Texans without health insurance.
That’s according to Reuters, which also reported Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the country.
“The announcement makes Texas the most populous state that has rejected the provisions. Some 6.2 million people are without insurance in Texas, or 24.6 percent of the state population, the highest percentage in the nation. California has more people without insurance but a lower percentage.
Perry joined fellow Republican governors in Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Louisiana in rejecting the two provisions of the new law, according to AmericanHealthline.com. They hope that November elections will result in Republicans winning the White House and enough seats in Congress to repeal the law.” – Reuters.com
In Idaho, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter hasn’t reached a conclusion about whether to expand the state’s Medicaid program. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Affordable Care Act did away with the broad penalties states would have faced for opting out of the expansion. Otter’s spokesman said last week the governor is consulting with legislative leaders, Idaho’s Attorney General and government agency directors.
Idaho is among states with the highest percentage of people without health insurance. According to this Gallup report, nearly 20 percent of Idahoans are uninsured. As we reported last week, if Idaho’s governor decides not to expand Medicaid, a sizable chunk of the population could be left in limbo.
Each week we look back at the five posts that you clicked on, commented on and shared the most. So, we think of it as the weekly essentials. Take a look, and let us know what you think.
Governor's Housing Committee members Sen. Les Bock and Rep. Phylis King (D-Boise) want to sell the governor's mansion.
Idaho’s never-lived-in governor’s mansion will cost the state about $180,000 to maintain from now until next July.
The state has justified that cost by saying the mansion is frequently used by government departments and the first family. So, we wanted to know just how often it’s used, and how much rent it brings in on a yearly basis.
The hilltop house was donated to the state by the Simplot family in 2005. The Idaho Department of Administration has kept track of state agency events at the mansion since 2009. Since June 19 of that year it has been used for 42 state retreats and meetings. Those events brought in a total of $6,800 in rental fees over the last three years. Continue Reading →
At the table, from left to right Sen. Les Bock, Rep. Phylis King, Sen. Chuck Winder, Rep. Max Black, Dept. of Administration Director Teresa Luna.
After a dust-up over an email budget vote, the Governor’s Housing Committee has agreed to fund maintenance of the vacant governor’s mansion. That’s on the condition the committee hosts a public meeting in mid-September to discuss the possibility of selling the donated house.
Senator Les Bock (D-Boise) raised concerns last week that the committee violated Idaho’s open meetings law by voting on the annual budget via email. At the same time, Bock expressed his frustration with the fact the state spends about $180,000 per year to maintain the seldom-used mansion.
“My frustration is in our inability to bite the bullet,” Bock said at the committee’s Tuesday meeting. Bock wants to stake a for-sale sign on the property, which was donated by the Simplot family in 2005. No governor has lived in the house. Continue Reading →
Chances are, the potatoes in your potato salad come from Idaho.
Say you’re invited to a 4th of July-themed potluck, you may or may not be surprised to find China brings a big chunk of Americana to the table.
The U.S. Census Bureau looks at exports and imports of goods many Americans associate with July 4. Things like fireworks, flags, hotdogs, and potato salad (this is where Idaho comes in).
$232.3 million: The value of fireworks imported from China in 2011. Most, $223.4 million, of all fireworks imported to the U.S. are from China. Continue Reading →
Visitors attend an open house at the Idaho Governor's Mansion.
A public meeting has been scheduled for the Governor’s Housing Committee after a Democratic lawmaker on the panel said the chairman violated Idaho’s open meetings law by conducting a vote via email.
In the email vote, the committee approved the annual $177,400 budget for maintenance of the governor’s mansion. In a 3-2 vote, Both Democrats on the panel voted no.Â
The committee oversees management of a fund used to maintain the governor’s hilltop mansion in Boise. The home was donated to the state by J.R. Simplot in 2005, but it’s never been lived in by a governor. Continue Reading →
Each week we look back at the five posts you clicked and commented on, and shared the most. Before you take off for the weekend, make sure you’re caught up on this week’s must-read StateImpact news.
Boise-based anti-fraud company Kount has watched its business grow by more than 350 percent in the last year. That’s according to an article from the Idaho Business Review.
“Fraud, especially credit card fraud, is nothing new in the marketplace, but it has only been a recent development that third-party companies focused specifically on Internet transactions have shown the potential to become behemoths in the industry.
While the technology has gotten far more complex, the dynamic is still simple, said Don Bush, marketing director for Kount.
“What fraudsters try and do is mask who they are, they don’t want anybody to know who they are,” he said. “Our technology basically takes that mask off.” Continue Reading →
Transform Solar received $1.68 million in state training grants shortly before announcing it's closing and laying off about 250 people.
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 National Conference of State Legislatures, nearly half of all states attach some kind of provision requiring businesses to pay the state back in such circumstances.  This tool is often referred to as a “clawback.” Continue Reading →
Employees leave the XL Four Star Beef plant in Nampa in 2011 after the company announced plans to shut the plant down and layoff 522 people. XL Four Star received $564,231 in training fund grants.
Last month, Transform Solar announced that it was closing and laying off about 250 people at its facility in Nampa. As StateImpact reported, the manufacturer of high-tech solar cells, had received $1.68 million in workforce training grants from the state of Idaho — money that the company will not have to pay back.
It’s not the first time that’s happened. Eleven companies that have received more than $5.3 million in training grants from the Idaho Department of Labor since 1996 no longer exist in the state. That’s according to data from the department and StateImpact‘s analysis. Continue Reading →
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