What You Should Know About Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter

Background

State of Idaho

Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter (R-Idaho)

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C.L. “Butch” Otter has been a fixture of Idaho politics since 1973 when he was elected to his first term in the state House of Representatives.

Otter was elected to his second term as Idaho governor on Nov. 2, 2010. He was first elected governor on Nov. 7, 2006.

StateImpact Idaho sat down with the governor before the 2012 legislative session began to ask about a few key economic issues. Click the links below to see video of where he stands:

A Brief Biography

Otter, a Republican, is the longest serving Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, his tenure spanned from 1987-2000. In 2000 he was then elected to the United States Congress and served until 2006.

According to the Washington Post, Otter voted with his party most of the time, 86 percent, but has been known to have an independent streak on some issues.

“He was among three Republicans in the House to vote against the USA Patriot Act in 2001 and he later sponsored a bill to repeal parts of it. But independent streaks are sometimes tolerated in a state that would rather not be told what to do by the federal government.” – William Yardley, New York Times

Otter was born on May 3, 1942 in Caldwell, Idaho. He attended St. Teresa’s Academy in Boise and graduated from Boise Junior College (now Boise State University) with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1967. After college, Otter joined the Idaho National Guard and served in the 116^th Armored Calvary until 1973.

Butch Otter is married to his second wife, Lori. He has four children and several grandchildren.

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March 1, 2013

Gov. Otter Makes Another Plea With Idaho Lawmakers To Approve A Health Exchange

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter is making another plea with Idaho House members to pass his state-based health insurance exchange bill. Last week, after nearly six hours of debate, the Idaho Senate passed Otter’s exchange plan 23-12. Now, the House will determine the fate of an Idaho-based, online health insurance marketplace. The debate is between Republican […]

February 7, 2013

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 […]

February 5, 2013

The Ideological Tug-Of-War Continues Over Creating An Idaho Health Insurance Exchange

The debate among Idaho lawmakers started in earnest today over whether the state should create its own health insurance exchange. At its heart, the debate is an ideological one: does Idaho work within the confines of the federal health care law to establish its own exchange? Or, does Idaho continue to fight the law and […]

Governor Otter: Lawmakers May Not Come Up With A Personal Property Tax Plan This Year

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter this morning told a crowd of county officials he’s not sure the Legislature will be able to come up with a plan to eliminate Idaho’s personal property tax. “Whether we’re going to get anything done this year or not, I can’t predict that,” he said. “There’s probably more options out there […]

January 29, 2013

Gov. Otter’s Health Exchange Plan Clears First Hurdle In The Idaho Legislature

A panel of Idaho senators voted unanimously to give a full hearing to legislation that would create a state-based health insurance exchange. Gov. Otter’s chief of staff introduced the proposal to the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee today. It’s the first step toward creating an online insurance marketplace for Idaho. “It’s important to understand […]

January 28, 2013

A 7-Year Plan To Phase Out Idaho’s Personal Property Tax? Not Quite

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter began and ended his talk to the Idaho Chamber Alliance this morning by cheering Chobani, the Greek yogurt manufacturer that opened a plant in Twin Falls last month. But the real subject of his talk was the 2013 legislative session, and his priorities for the months ahead. One of those priorities […]

January 24, 2013

Explaining Idaho’s Personal Property Tax, With A Little Help From A Boise Candy Store

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and many of the Idaho Legislature’s Republican leaders are in agreement: something has to happen on the personal property tax this session. And by “something,” they mean a plan to get rid of it. But there’s a problem. The tax generates $140 million dollars each year for local government. In this […]

January 11, 2013

Gov. Otter Acknowledges Idaho’s Doctor Shortage, Proposes One Step Toward A Fix

As we reported earlier this week, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter showed his support to Idaho’s medical educators and doctors by including money for additional access to med school. Otter’s budget proposal includes funding for five additional seats at the University of Washington Medical School, the WWAMI program. That would expand the opportunity for Idaho med […]

January 10, 2013

Idaho Seeks Flexibility In Medicaid Expansion Plan, But Feds Have Yet To Weigh In

In Monday’s State of the State address, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter made clear to lawmakers and the public that he’s not pushing to expand Medicaid eligibility at this time. Instead, he has asked Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong to develop an Idaho-specific plan. As StateImpact reported yesterday, Armstrong says the federal […]