The Pew Charitable Trusts - State and Consumer Initiatives from Idaho

Drone Limits Become Law

Police agencies in five states already have drones, and lawmakers want to make sure protections are in place before more agencies spend more money. Which cities already have drones?

Election Day Registration in the 2012 General Election

In the eight states — Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming — and the District of Columbia that allow Election Day registration, nearly 1.25 million voters registered or updated their information and cast ballots on Election Day last November.

The 5 States Most Vulnerable to Sequestration’s Education Cuts

Automatic federal budget cuts will slash more than $1 billion in K-12 education dollars this year, paring everything from Title I money for low-income students to school improvement initiatives.

Pay Boost on the Horizon for Some State Workers

Far fewer people are working for state governments than before the recession began, but those who remain may get modest salary increases this year.

Governors Ask Lawmakers to Prevent Future Shootings

The recent mass shootings in Colorado and Connecticut reshaped governors’ legislative agendas this year, and many used their once-a-year legislative addresses to ask lawmakers to take up gun control, mental health treatment and school safety.

Issue To Watch: School Testing

A number of states are pushing to up the stakes on reading tests for younger students and assign letter grades to schools.

Falling Short on Dental Sealants: Idaho

How well is Idaho protecting kids from tooth decay?

Idaho State of the State Address 2013

BOISE, Idaho -- Jan. 7 -- Following is the prepared text of Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s (R) 2013 State of the State Address:

Wildfire Epidemic Leaves States Searching for Answers

The West is getting hotter and drier and stoking more destructive fires. They have left fire control officials looking for ways to fight them more effectively with fewer dollars.

In the West, GOP Governors, Skeptical of Cap-and-Trade, Will Watch California

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-- Stateline asked several Republican governors about the role of climate change in energy policy in the West, asking them to weigh in on California’s new experiment with large-scale carbon trading.

The Impact of the Fiscal Cliff: Idaho

Federal and state finances are closely intertwined, and the fiscal cliff’s tax and spending provisions will have consequences for states.

States Challenge ‘Secret’ Campaign Money

With the rise in undisclosed political spending by non-profit groups, officials in several states are trying to figure where the money is coming from.

Unions Make Strong Showing at the Polls

Labor won big contests in Indiana, California and New Hampshire, while results were mixed in Michigan.

Idaho Education Changes Under Attack

Last year Idaho passed comprehensive new education laws aimed at altering classroom practices. Now there’s an effort to repeal them at the polls.

Best of #StateReads: Abuse Suits Against Scouts Hinge on State Laws

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Still Risky: Checking Accounts in Idaho

Checking accounts, the most widely used financial product in America, contain hidden risks that can harm consumers. Four of the 12 largest banks nationwide offer checking accounts in Idaho and hold 47 percent of all deposits in the state. Here’s what consumers in Idaho may be paying.

Punch-Card Voting in Idaho

Nearly 12 years ago, the world learned about the hanging, dimpled, and pregnant chads produced by punch-card ballots. That voting technology and the chads that come with it are now mere memories—except for voters in four Idaho counties.

Widening Gap Update: Idaho

Although Idaho consistently paid, or exceeded, its full annual pension contribution from 2005 to 2010, the system was 79 percent funded in fiscal year 2010 and faced a $3 billion funding gap.

Best of #StateReads: Changed Minds on the Death Penalty

This week’s extraordinary journalism about state government, tagged to #StateReads on Twitter.

Idaho Education Chief Tom Luna Talks Reform

Tom Luna, Idaho schools superintendent and president of the Council of Chief State School Officers, sat down with Stateline recently to share his vision on federal and state education policy.

Caucus Confusion: A Recurring Headache for GOP

For the first time, Idaho Republicans are trying presidential preference caucuses on Tuesday. Jonathan Parker, the state party's executive director, is excited about the chance to hold party building exercises on such a broad scale. "For the first time, maybe ever, Idaho is relevant in the nominating process," he says.

States Try to Help Veterans Find Jobs

With U.S forces out of Iraq and combat troops slated to leave Afghanistan in 2013, states are readying for an influx of returning troops who will be looking for work.

Idaho State of the State Address 2012

BOISE, Idaho - Jan. 9 - Following is the prepared text of Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter's (R) 2012 state of the state address: Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Honorable Justices, my fellow constitutional officers, distinguished legislators and members of my Cabinet, honored guests, friends, my family and our Fi

Governors Preview Their 2012 Priorities

TODAY'S TAKE: From a constitutional amendment to expand gambling in Kentucky to creation of a health insurance exchange in Idaho, some governors are not waiting until 2012 to declare their agendas.

Election Websites: Idaho

Being Online Is Still Not Enough provides state-by-state reviews and analysis based on detailed criteria of election websites for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

States Seek Waivers From No Child Left Behind law

EDUCATION BEAT: The No Child Left Behind law has given some state school systems targets they know they can't meet. They are asking the federal government to relax the rules.

Measuring Transportation Investments: Idaho

A May 2011 report, Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road to Results, found considerable differences among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Children's Dental Health: Idaho

Idaho meets five of the eight policy benchmarks aimed at addressing children’s dental health needs. Idaho led the nation in Medicaid utilization; in 2009, the state reported that more than two-thirds of enrolled children received dental care.

Abuses in Delaware Weatherization Program Revealed

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT BEAT: Delaware's troubled energy efficiency efforts ... a deal to remove protections for wolves ... Iowa leads in wind power and other energy and environment news.

A Three-Year College Degree in Ohio?

EDUCATION BEAT: Ohio governor wants colleges to offer three-year degrees ... Idaho ends its legislative session after approving three controversial education bills ... Oregon lawmakers want the governor to double as school superintendent and other education news from state governments.

Idaho Governor Signs Anti-Tenure Teacher Law

TODAY'S TAKE: Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter agreed to measures to introduce merit pay and end tenure for public teachers, ideas that he said were "a long time coming." Efforts to weaken public sector unions also advanced in Florida and Tennessee, while New Jersey labor leaders sought to limit the damage by offering early concessions.

Idaho's Tom Luna Offers Sweeping School Overhaul Plan

If Idaho's school superintendent gets his way, the rights of teachers would be sharply curtailed.

Idaho State of the State Address 2011

BOISE, Idaho - Jan. 10 - Following is the prepared text of Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter's (R) 2011 state of the state address: Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Honorable Justices, my fellow constitutional officers, distinguished legislators and members of my Cabinet, honored guests, friends, my family and our First Lady …

Serving the Wide Open Spaces

Representing rural constituents is a chore when it takes a day's drive for a legislator to reach them. The problem is about to get worse.

State Lawsuits Likely Over Health Care Bill

TODAY'S TAKE: If and when President Obama signs legislation revamping the nation's health care system, several Republican-led states appear likely to fight a key provision of the new law in court. Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter on Wednesday (March 17) became the first governor to sign a bill setting up a legal showdown, while Virginia's attorney general vowed to do the same.

The Squeeze on Big Bird

Idaho Reports is a weekly news program about politics that appears all over the state on public television. Normally it's quite civil. But one recent show took an awkward turn when the host asked about Governor Butch Otter's proposal to eliminate the program's funding. "Can you give us an update," moderator Thanh Tan asked, "on where we stand in terms of the agencies that face a possible phase-out…which includes the agency that produces this program?" Guest Wayne Hammon, the state budget director, replied that "the governor felt he had no other choice." The challenges that Idaho Public Television is facing are emblematic of the decisions that public television agencies and stations around the country will have to make if states decide that public television is no longer a business they can afford to be in. According to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), state and local funding for public television stations nationwide declined by $36 million between 2008 and 2009. CPB forecasts an additional $45 to $49 million in state and local cuts for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Trillion Dollar Gap: Idaho

Idaho is a top performer when it comes to managing its long-term pension liability, but needs to improve how it handles the bill coming due for retiree health care and other benefits.

Weekly Wrap: States Could Hand Off Liquor Stores

Three states weigh privatizing liquor sales; Lawmakers take aim at shorter, fewer sessions.

Summary of the Idaho State of the State Address

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter (R) used his combined state of the state and budget address on Jan. 11 to push a "responsibly conservative" spending plan based on no growth in tax revenue, even though the state's economist has indicated growth is a possibility in fiscal 2011.

Idaho State of the State Address 2010

BOISE, Idaho - Jan. 11 - Following is the prepared text of Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter's (R) 2010 state of the state address. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Honorable Justices, my fellow constitutional officers, legislators, members of my Cabinet, Senator Risch, honored guests, friends, my family and our First Lady … my

Report: 11 States Emerging From Recession

It's going to be a long, hard climb out of the current economic downturn for many recession-ridden states hit hard by the housing crash, unemployment and shrinking revenues. But as the national economy starts its slow recovery, 11 states and the District of Columbia are showing signs of emerging from the recession, according to a new report.

States Draw Down Rainy Day Funds

Faced with historic revenue drops, lawmakers in states across the country tapped rainy day funds in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 at levels not seen since the recession following the 2001 terrorist attacks. And more seem poised to join them.

At Least 26 States Spend Less on Prisons

The recession is taking a dramatic toll on what had been one of the fastest-growing areas of state government spending: prisons. A new survey says corrections budgets are down in at least 26 states, with prison officials laying off workers or reducing their pay, eliminating vocational and other programs for inmates and granting some prisoners early release.

One in 31: Idaho

One in 18 adults is under correctional control in Idaho.

Idaho State of the State Address 2009

BOISE, Idaho - Jan. 12 - Following is the prepared text of Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter's (R) 2009 state of the state address. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Mr. Pro Tem, honorable members of the Legislature, Mr. Chief Justice and distinguished members of the Judiciary, my fellow Constitutional Officers, First Lady Lori,

State Budget Gaps Balloon to $97 Billion

Still reeling from high gas prices this summer and plummeting retirement savings this fall, Americans will soon be feeling the pinch in other ways - from increased tuition to potentially higher taxes, as states try to close some $97 billion in budget gaps over the next two years.

WORTH NOTING: Idaho kids get a new state history book

Idaho's first lady publishes "Ida Visits the Capitol." Wine drinkers have mixed feelings about a syrah named Palin. And Marylanders are urged to take a walk after eating the state cake. In case you missed those stories this week, "Worth Noting" fills you in.

States Revisit Prohibition-Era Booze Laws

Seventy-five years after the repeal of Prohibition, state lawmakers across the country are marking the anniversary by relaxing or eliminating some laws that have restricted alcohol sales since as long ago as the 1930s.

Ultrasound at Center of State Abortion Wars

A new Oklahoma law slated to take effect Aug. 1 requires doctors to show a woman considering abortion an ultrasound image of her fetus and recite details of its development. Experts expect a slew of similar statutes next year as abortion foes push states to require the procedure for all abortions.

WORTH NOTING: 'Gas Pain' Troubles for Utah Governor

Utah's chief executive gives reporters too much information. An influential Idaho politician endorses two legislative candidates - for the same House seat. And Arkansas tourism officials are taking "Clinton Country" to the next level. In case you missed those stories this week, "Worth Noting" fills you in.