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Idaho policymakers ‘confident’ parental rights fix will come
by Idaho Reports staff Despite multiple reports of issues with the original law and a Senate attempt to fix those problems, the House declined to amend the Idaho Parental Rights Act during the 2025 legislative session. That means medical providers must wait at least another year until they get clarity on how they can treat…
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Idaho Reports ‘best blog’ at Idaho Press Club awards
Congratulations to all Idaho Public Television staff who brought home accolades from the Idaho Press Club “Best of 2024” Awards, including the Idaho Reports crew for “Best Blog” with this site for the third year in a row. The full awards list can be found here. BEST BLOG 1st – Logan Finney, Ruth Brown, Melissa…
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More than 12,000 Idahoans attend Fighting Oligarchy rally in Nampa
by Mia Maldonado and Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Idaho Capital Sun U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came to Nampa with a message about fighting back against policies that benefit the wealthiest at the expense of working class Americans, but the comments about health care from every speaker seemed to resonate the most with…
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Little issues line-item veto to retain emergency fund balance
by Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Monday issued a line-item veto on a bill to retain the governor’s emergency fund. House Bill 482, passed nearly unanimously by the Idaho Legislature, would have eliminated the balance of the governor’s emergency fund. In recent years, Little has used the emergency fund to support…
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Idaho Legislature adjourns 2025 session
by Clark Corbin, Idaho Capital Sun As expected, the Idaho Legislature wrapped up its business Friday and adjourned the 2025 legislative session after 89 days at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. The 2025 session was dominated by a series of tax cuts that also reduce the amount of state revenue that is available to…
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Responding to veto, Legislature passes new ‘medical freedom’ bill
by Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun As the Idaho Legislature ended the 2025 legislative session on Friday, lawmakers quickly passed a reworked version of a so-called medical freedom bill. Senate Bill 1210 is the Legislature’s response to a similar bill Gov. Brad Little vetoed Saturday. The new bill still pursues a similarly broad medical mandate ban, which would…
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Senate kills transportation budget after majority leader says it could violate Idaho Constitution
by Clark Corbin, Idaho Capital Sun In one of the most lopsided votes of the whole year, the Idaho Senate voted 3-31 to kill a fiscal year 2026 budget for the Idaho Transportation Department. Senate Bill 1205 would have provided an additional $236 million in next year’s budget for the Idaho Transportation Department. The budget bill…
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Adams nominated to federal Health and Human Services role in Trump administration
by Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. with additional information. President Donald Trump nominated Idaho’s new top health official to a role in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. Alex Adams, who has been the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Director since June 2024, is…
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North Idaho legislators bring bill to add health exceptions to state’s abortion ban
by Mia Maldonado, Idaho Capital Sun North Idaho legislators on Friday introduced a bill to add exceptions to Idaho’s strict abortion ban, the first effort in two years to create a health exception. Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, introduced the bill to the Senate State Affairs Committee to allow doctors to provide an abortion “to prevent…
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Gov. Brad Little signs bill to let Idaho doctors refuse care if it violates beliefs
by Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill that prevents health care professionals and entities from being forced to participate in nonemergency procedures that would violate their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs. Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, co-sponsored House Bill 59, dubbed the Medical…
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Digital driver’s license bill narrowly passes House
by Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun The Idaho House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly passed a bill to let Idahoans have digital identification cards. House Bill 78, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls, would allow the Idaho Transportation Department to issue electronic driver’s licenses and ID cards that people could access on their mobile phone’s…
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Department of Justice intends to drop case over Idaho emergency abortion care, court filing says
by Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Idaho Capital Sun The U.S. Department of Justice plans to dismiss its lawsuit against the state of Idaho that would allow physicians to provide abortion care in emergency situations without facing prosecution, according to a court document filed on Tuesday. Attorneys for St. Luke’s Health System, Idaho’s largest hospital network, filed a separate…
