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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

Idaho’s State-Based Health Exchange Passes The Senate, Heads To House

After nearly six hours of debate, Idaho Senators voted 23-12 in favor of creating a state-based health insurance exchange. Exchanges, or online health insurance marketplaces, are a cornerstone of the federal health care law. According to The Kaiser Family Foundation, Idaho is one of 18 states with plans to create a state-based exchange. Twenty-six states […]

Debate Over An Idaho Health Insurance Exchange Heads Into Fifth Hour

The Idaho Senate is heading into its fifth hour of debate on a bill written by the governor’s office to create a state-based health insurance exchange. Afternoon committee meetings have been canceled. Debate stopped and started after a motion to send the proposal back to committee to be amended, and a motion to begin amending […]

Ferguson: Idaho Public Schools Are “Big Loser” Under Personal Property Tax Plan

Local government and school officials from around the state have been weighing in on the Legislature’s draft bill for phasing out Idaho’s business personal property tax since news of it broke last week — even though the draft has not yet been introduced in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. The bill would phase out […]

With $140,000 On The Line, Idaho Girl Scouts Try Their Hand At Lobbying

Famous for its potatoes, trout fishing, and blue AstroTurf, Idaho might not have much in common with Hawaii. But here’s one thing: Idaho and Hawaii are the only two states in the country to tax Girl Scout Cookies. Now, some local Scouts are beefing up their sales pitches and learning to lobby.

Business Property Tax Bill Surfaces At The Idaho Legislature

Thirty-nine days into Idaho’s legislative session, there has yet to be a bill or any public debate over eliminating the business personal property tax. That could soon change. Chairman of the House Revenue and Tax Committee Gary Collins (R-Nampa) says a bill draft relating to the personal property tax exists, but he won’t divulge details […]

State-Based Health Exchange Wins Conditional Support From 16 House Freshman

Sixteen Republican House members, all of them freshmen, this morning announced their support for a bill to create a state-based health insurance exchange. That bill, promoted by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and currently in the Senate, is one of the most controversial of the 2013 session. The first-year lawmakers constitute a key block of support, […]

A Sales Tax Exemption For Anti-Abortion Resource Clinics Passes The Idaho House

A bill that would give a sales tax exemption to pregnancy resource clinics that don’t offer abortion services has passed the House. In a 58-12 vote, Idaho lawmakers approved Rep. Kelley Packer’s (R-McCammon) proposal. Packer introduced the bill on behalf of Boise’s Stanton Healthcare, after the organization purchased two ultrasound machines and were charged a […]

Many Of Idaho’s Top Business Property Tax Payers Keep Mum On Push For Repeal

Not long ago, Sen. John Tippets (R-Montpelier) found himself in a peculiar spot. This summer and fall, influential lawmakers and the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry made it clear that phasing out or eliminating Idaho’s tax on business personal property would be a focus of the 2013 legislative session. Tippets is a public affairs […]

Gov. Otter’s Health Insurance Exchange Plan Moves Forward

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s health insurance exchange plan will move forward for a full vote in the Idaho Senate. Lawmakers on the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee spent more than 90 minutes listening to a second day of public testimony and debating the proposal before voting 8-1. The overriding theme: Idaho will be able […]

Idaho Republican Party Encourages Lawmakers To Reject Gov. Otter’s Health Exchange

Idaho Republican Party chairman Barry Peterson says the GOP’s position on creating a state-based health insurance exchange is “clear and irrefutable”. In advance of this afternoon’s Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee vote on Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s health exchange proposal, the party sent this statement to media and lawmakers: The Idaho Republican Party today […]

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