Legislative update: Week 5

The fifth week of the legislature was the busiest yet. Last week, the legislature took action on 146 pieces of legislation.

A large part of the first few weeks of legislative sessions are spent reviewing state agency rules, interim committee reports and recommendations, budgetary information and hearing simplistic bills, which are often brought to the legislative body by state agencies to clean up language or make mild alterations to resolve issues within the agency.

So far this session (the sixty-fifth session):

  • 215 pieces of legislation have been printed. 27 of those were printed on Friday.
  • 6 bills have been signed into law by Governor Little.
    Five of the six were appropriations bills and the other amended existing law to update references to the Internal Revenue Code.
  • 8 more bills are awaiting the Governor’s signature.
  • 4 bills are awaiting the signature(s) of the Speaker of the House and/or President of the Senate. Assuming they receive those signatures, they will be sent to the Governor.
  • 12 bills in are in the second reading stage.
  • 15 bills in are in the third reading stage.
  • 5 bills are in the “14th Order,” where bills go to be amended.
  • 6 Resolutions and 2 Memorials have been adopted by at least one chamber.
  • 13 pieces of legislation are in Ways and Means Committee.

Only one bill in the Ways and Means Committee was proposed by a Republican. The title of the resolution which Priscilla Giddings (R-White Bird) presented reads, “Stating findings of the Legislature and rejecting a certain rule of the Department of Health and Welfare relating to Immunization Requirements for Idaho School Children.”

The other 12 pieces of legislation in Ways and Means were proposed by Democrats.

The more you know: What is the Ways & Means Committee?

One legislator described it as “The place where bills go to die.” Read more here.

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