Background
Exploring the policies and politics that help or stand in the way of job creation.
Exploring the policies and politics that help or stand in the way of job creation.
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said this week that he will form working groups to study the two big questions arising from the Supreme Court’s health care ruling. Those are: should Idaho establish a state-run health insurance exchange? And should it adopt the Medicaid expansion provided for under the Affordable Care Act? One of the main […]
House leader Ken Roberts (R-Donnelly) has been appointed to be the fourth member of the state Tax Commission. The commission oversees state revenue collections and tax laws. Here’s the press release from the governor’s office: Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced the appointment today of Ken Roberts, Republican Caucus chairman in the Idaho House of Representatives, […]
Last week, Boise resident Will Cavanaugh, 77, found an email in his inbox. It was from left-leaning political action group MoveOn.org. Would he like to write a petition about anything? “Sure,” he thought. Healthcare was on his mind, given the recent Supreme Court ruling. “How about the Medicaid expansion?” So Cavanaugh, who describes himself as […]
The Idaho Department of Labor says it has started to withhold federal unemployment insurance benefits from people who’ve been overpaid. Department spokesman Bob Fick says the agency had been collecting overpayments by withholding half of a jobless person’s weekly benefit payment, now the department is able to withhold the entire benefit.
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter will form working groups to “research and carefully examine” Idaho’s options in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision upholding the main components of President Obama’s health care law. That’s according to an opinion piece distributed to media by the governor’s office this afternoon. The court’s ruling thrust large decisions […]
The director of the Idaho Department of Commerce and members of the Idaho Economic Advisory Council are meeting in Pocatello this week to tour area companies, talk with local county and city leaders, and explain the director’s plan to grow Idaho’s economy. Director Jeff Sayer took the helm of the Commerce Department in October 2011. […]
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 […]
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling on the federal health care overhaul left states with important decisions to make. One of the main questions is whether to go along with the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. So far, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter is not among the ten Republican governors swearing off the expansion. But if Idaho […]
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 […]
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 […]
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