Stories and content relating to Idaho’s 2012 Legislative session
The Idaho Legislature put its stamp of approval on 342 bills this year, more than half of the measures introduced, according to legislative services. As of today, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has signed a fraction of them, 182. The session ended last Thursday. That means Otter has ten days to sign or veto bills he received […]
A bill that cut nearly $100 million in combined state and federal Medicaid spending was a flashpoint of last year’s legislative session. This year, the question was whether the Legislature would reinstate any of that funding and, if so, how much. Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter kept mum about state health and welfare spending in his […]
The Legislature’s main duty is to create a budget that spends less than it takes in. Lawmakers did. They also agreed to a more than $35 million tax cut for Idaho’s top earners. They’re setting aside about $35 million for the state’s general fund reserves, and they agreed to an almost $35 million pay increase […]
Idaho corporations and top individual taxpayers will pay less to the state next year. A plan to lower the top tax rates passed the Senate this afternoon. It’s final stop will be a signature by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter. As soon as Otter signs the bill, which he is expected to, the new tax rates […]
Idaho lawmakers won’t take up a plan to raise the state’s cigarette tax. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee killed a bill that would have done just that by a 11 to 5 vote. The plan, supported by the American Cancer Society and about 25 other groups, would have raised Idaho’s cigarette tax by $1.25 […]
The House Health and Welfare Committee has given unanimous support to a bill that would reinstate key Medicaid services, in the wake of deep cuts last session. “Since the legislation was passed last year, we have learned more about the impact of some of these cuts on certain populations,” Chairwoman Rep. Janice McGeachin (R-Idaho Falls) […]
A ranking House Republican is sponsoring a bill to reverse key cuts in Medicaid services. Rep. Janice McGeachin (R-Idaho Falls) chairs the House Health and Welfare Committee. That committee oversaw the state’s process of reining in Medicaid services as the state’s economy suffered the effects of the downturn. Rep. McGeachin now says lawmakers made one […]
A bill to cut Idaho’s top corporate and individual income tax rate overwhelmingly passed the House this afternoon. House Bill 563 would cut the top individual income tax rate from 7.8 percent to 7.4 percent and the top corporate rate from 7.6 percent to 7.4 percent. It would cost the state an estimated $35.7 million […]
A handful of new tax and spending bills are making their way through the Legislature this week. Here’s an update of what’s happening and what we’re watching. Tax Cuts A bill to reduce the income and corporate tax rates of Idaho’s top earners got an initial nod of approval from the House tax committee. The […]
The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee began budget setting in earnest this week, after weeks of hearings. Writing the budget is the legislature’s only constitutional requirement, and it has to be balanced. For a primer on the nuts and bolts of the process, StateImpact reached out to Cathy Holland-Smith. She oversees budget and policy analysis […]
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