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Meet Idaho Representative Lawerence Denney

Background

Rep. Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale) was first elected to the Idaho Legislature in 1990.  He was Idaho’s Speaker of the House from 2006-2012.

During the December 2012 legislative leadership votes, the House majority caucus voted Denney out as Speaker.

Being Speaker comes with a certain amount of power.  The Speaker can decide when or if a bill is debated.  He can choose which committee gets first crack at a piece of legislation, and he can determine the daily schedule of votes — all of which can be used very strategically at times.

[legislator leg_id=IDL000057 align=right]

Denney was born on February 25, 1948 in Adams County, Idaho.  He was raised in Midvale on the family farm and graduated from high school in 1966.  Denney received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics from the University of Idaho in 1970.  After graduation, Denney served in Vietnam and received a Bronze Star.  Denney and his wife have owned a dairy farm.  He also worked at an area lumber mill as a second job.

Rep. Denney believes in as little government as possible, and while he says on his website the legislature should do all it can to assure children get a good education, it’s up to parents not government, to make sure kids get that education.

Lawerence Denney and his wife Donna have four children.

Latest Posts

Session Wrap: All Wind, No Rain In Health Insurance Exchange Debate

It was expected to be one of the biggest debates of the 2012 legislative session: would Idaho create its own health insurance exchange?  The Associated Press held a special discussion of the issue during its January legislative preview.   In a series of interviews that StateImpact conducted in December, legislator after legislator predicted it would […]

Rep. Denney: Idaho Could Increase Tax Revenue by Decreasing Tax Rates

The Idaho Legislature convenes January 9th.  In advance of the session, we interviewed several legislative leaders and asked them about Idaho’s economy and what the state could be doing to boost growth and job creation. Rep. Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale) is the speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives.  He has also served as Assistant Majority […]

Power Brokers: Meet Five of Idaho’s Most Influential Legislators

We’ve been asking policy makers, news media and special interest groups, “Who are the Idaho legislators with the most influence?”  The list we came up with isn’t especially scientific.  But by and large, these names came up repeatedly.  That’s not surprising because each lawmaker who made our list is either a party leader or chairperson of […]

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