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Your Guide To The 2013 Idaho Legislature

Background

Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact

Idaho's Senate Chamber sits empty nine months out of the year. Lawmakers typically in session from Jan. until late March or early April.

This page will no longer be updated. For future coverage of Idaho’s legislature go to Boise State Public Radio’s website.

Idaho’s 2013 Legislature convened in Boise on January 7. We’ve put together a guide to the session, including ways to contact your lawmaker, how to get involved, and comprehensive information about the people elected to office.

The Basics

Exploring the Demographics of Idaho’s 2013 Legislature

What Lawmakers Are Saying

Before the start of the 2013 legislative session, we sat down with a few key lawmakers to discuss a handful of issues. We focused on three areas sure to be hot topics; education funding, economic development and taxes, and healthcare.

State of the State Address

Latest Posts

Top Idaho Lawmakers Weigh In On Gov. Otter’s Health Insurance Exchange Decision

After years of resisting the Affordable Care Act and months of deliberating over whether Idaho should create a state-based health insurance exchange, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter on Tuesday set Idaho on that course.  In a release that lambasted “Obamacare,” the governor said Idaho should build its own exchange. Health insurance exchanges are the online marketplaces […]

PhDs, MDs And JDs Among Idaho Lawmakers’ Diverse Educational Backgrounds

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 […]

Gov. Otter Says Idaho Should Build Its Own Health Insurance Exchange

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter is opting for a state-based health insurance exchange. The Republican governor’s office distributed that news late this afternoon in a release that criticizes Obamacare, but says the state must assert its “commitment to self-determination” and fulfill its “responsibility to the rule of law.” The decision is subject to the Idaho […]

How Feds’ Rejection Of Partial Medicaid Expansion Affects Idaho

The Obama administration told states Monday they cannot partially expand Medicaid eligibility and receive the federal funds the Affordable Care Act provides to cover the expansion. As the ACA was originally written, people with incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty level would be eligible for Medicaid.  The U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling on […]

How Lawmakers’ Day Jobs Affect Policy Decisions In Idaho

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 County And City Leaders Brace For Personal Property Tax Debate

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and prominent state legislators have lined up behind the idea of eliminating or scaling back Idaho’s personal property tax.  The issue was high on the agenda as local government leaders came together at an Association of Idaho Cities meeting on Friday. Nearly all property tax dollars collected in Idaho are collected […]

2013 Idaho Legislature Committee Chairmanships Announced

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. Here’s a list of committee assignments for the Senate.  One of the panels we watch closely is the […]

What We’re Reading: Idaho Legislative Leadership Changes

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 […]

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