Governor Brad Little has acted on all of the bills delivered to his desk from the 2020 legislative session. During the session, the governor has five days—not counting Sundays—to act on bills. He can either sign them into law, veto them, or allow them to become law without his signature. The end of the session extends that deadline to ten days.
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On Friday, Governor Brad Little announced additional executive measures to assist Idaho’s response to the 2019 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Through executive order, he is directing a $39.3 million transfer from the Tax Relief Fund to the Disaster Emergency Account.
What is the Tax Relief Fund?
Read MoreSpring is in the air, and Idaho legislators are itching to wrap up and return home for the year. Their target date for the end of session has been March 20, which means bills are moving quickly at the capitol. Lawmakers are trying to push that adjournment date even earlier amid concerns over the spread of novel coronavirus.
Read MoreLawmakers are once again considering changes to Idaho’s voter initiative process, though not the ones attempted last year. Rather than upping the number of signatures or districts needed to qualify an initiative for the ballot, House Bill 548 and Senate Bill 1350—each approved by their respective chamber last week—make adjustments to how those signatures are gathered and how initiatives are prepared and presented to voters.
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The Idaho Senate Education Committee is considering a bill that would decrease the number of finalists that public state universities must name in presidential searches. The proposed legislation creates a new exemption in the public records law that would only require the names of three finalists for public four-year postsecondary institution president positions, rather than five.
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The presidents of Idaho’s four-year public universities delivered a joint presentation to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on the state of higher education.
Read MoreSen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, introduced a bill Tuesday to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs and allow commitment in treatment facilities for substance abuse disorders. The legislation is intended to shift the state’s drug approach from arrest and incarceration to treatment and rehabilitation.
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