After winning a close statewide race, taking over a troubled education department and making big structural changes, Superintendent Sherri Ybarra finally got a chance to sit down with Idaho Reports and give her take on the legislative session so far.   Watch the full interview here. For more coverage, plus a conversation about the legislature’s…

We’ve been trying to get House Majority Leader Mike Moyle on the show for a couple months now, and I finally got a chance to interview him this week. The problem with putting a show together at this time in the session: We have a lot to fit into an hour, and some of our…

We touched base with House Speaker Scott Bedke and Majority Leader Mike Moyle after the Senate killed their massive tax proposal on Tuesday afternoon with no debate. What we learned: Bedke said no transportation if the Senate won’t consider doing something for economic development, and Moyle said the House won’t pass anything else until the…

If you missed it, the House State Affairs Committee killed a Senate bill that would allow for patients with some types of epilepsy to obtain cannabis-derived oil. The bill died on an 8-8 tie vote, according to Kimberlee Kruesi of the Associate Press, with one absent committee member: Rep. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer. The missed vote…

Here are some takeaways from today’s Senate Transportation Committee hearing on House Majority Leader Mike Moyle’s huge tax package, which the committee sent to the floor with no recommendation: 1. Moyle wanted it to go to the amending order. Short of the committee endorsing it with a do-pass recommendation, Moyle told me he wanted to see the…

(Updated, 1:12 pm) A joint memorial calling for the impeachment of federal judges who support same sex marriage is DOA in the Senate. House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane, R-Nampa, said Senate State Affairs Committee Chairman Curt McKenzie told him his committee will not hear House Joint Memorial 4. “He’s made his schedule for the…

The Idaho Reports team got a cryptic look at things to come this morning. We ran into a grinning Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, in the hallway and asked his thoughts on House Bill 311, Rep. Mike Moyle’s sweeping bill on grocery tax, fuel tax, and flat income tax, being sent to the Senate Transportation Committee…

On Wednesday afternoon, I ran into Rep. Paul Shepherd, R-Riggins, in the hall and asked him about a college student buying Shepherd’s former campaign website domain and turning it into a resource site for LGBT youth. (In an interview with Motherboard’s Jason Koebler, the student, Dylan Hailey, said the move was in response to Shepherd’s House Joint…

Sneak peek for this Friday’s show: Wednesday morning, we taped a half-hour interview with Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, in which we discuss transportation, education, appointments and more. After the governor took off his microphone and walked off the set, he was handed a stack of bills that had to be signed before 10:30 a.m.  He…

Idaho State Police Col. Ralph Powell faced a friendly Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee for his confirmation hearing Monday afternoon. The committee will vote at a later date. Powell told Idaho Reports he feels good about his chances of confirmation, “but you always remain concerned until the final shoe drops,” he said. Last week, Idaho…

Third time’s a charm. This morning, Idaho Reports producer Seth Ogilvie ran into Rep. Ryan Kerby, R-New Plymouth, a member of the House Education Committee and a vocal opponent of the original career ladder proposals.  Kerby told Ogilvie he’s comfortable with the new career ladder bill, which was introduced Thursday morning. (Read the run-down by…

As Idaho Reports first reported Tuesday afternoon, Teresa Luna will resign as director of the Department of Administration at the end of the legislative session. The announcement came after Idaho Reports asked why Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter hadn’t yet submitted an appointment letter for Teresa Luna or Idaho State Police director Col. Ralph Powell. There…