Idaho
Proposed amendment to Idaho Constitution would limit special legislative sessions to 20 days – Idaho Capital Sun
A proposed new amendment to the Idaho Constitution would ask Idaho voters to decide in November whether to limit the length of any special session of the Idaho Legislature to 20 days.
The Idaho Legislature’s Senate State Affairs Committee voted Friday to send Senate Joint Resolution 104 to the floor of the Idaho Senate with a recommendation it passes.
In 2022, voters approved an amendment to the Idaho Constitution that allows the Idaho Legislature to call itself back into session upon a written request of 60% of the members of the Idaho House of Representatives and Idaho Senate. Previously, only Idaho’s governor had the power to call a special session of the Idaho Legislature.
During Friday’s Senate State Affairs meeting at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Sen. Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs, said the amendment voters approved in 2022 should have included language limiting a special session called by the Idaho Legislature to 20 days, but it was overlooked by legislative drafters at the time.
“It’s not really a correction, it’s an omission we discovered,” Harris said during Friday’s meeting.
“This was not the intent of the Legislature; we don’t want to be a full time Legislature,” he added.
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Citing the original version of the Idaho Constitution, Harris said it has always been the state’s intention to have a citizen-led, part-time Legislature. The Idaho Constitution limits the length of any special session called by Idaho’s governor to 20 days. Harris said the new proposed amendment, SJR 104, would make it so that special sessions called by the Idaho Legislature would have the same 20-day limit as special sessions called by the governor.
In a public hearing Friday, Trent Clark, former chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, spoke in favor of the amendment. He told members of the committee that passing the new amendment with the 20-day limit would make it so the two sections of the Idaho Constitution conform and the terminology used is not disjointed.
Originally, Harris said there was a limit of 60 days for the length of a regular session of the Idaho Legislature, but the Idaho Constitution was amended in the 1950s to repeal the limit. Today, there is no limit to the length of a regular session of the Idaho Legislature.
SJR 104 heads next to the Idaho Senate for consideration.
If two-thirds of the members of both the Idaho Senate and Idaho House vote to approve the proposed amendment, it will be put on November’s election for voters to decide. It would take a simple majority of Idaho voters to approve the amendment if it makes it to the November ballot.
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BOISE, Idaho (Idaho Capital Sun) — Day use access fees at all Idaho state parks will be waived for Idaho residents on July 4 as part of a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, Gov. Brad Little announced Friday, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun.
“As we prepare to mark 250 years of American independence, there is no better way to celebrate than by getting outside with our loved ones and enjoying the freedoms and natural treasures that define our great nation,” Little said Friday. “Idaho’s state parks showcase the very best of our state, and we are proud to welcome families, friends and visitors to explore them free of charge during this special occasion.”
While day use fees for Idaho residents will be waived, normal camping and reservation fees will apply, officials said.
Idaho has 28 state parks, which offer a variety of recreational and outdoor activities including hiking, horseback riding, skiing, bird watching, rock climbing, fishing, boating, swimming, bicycling and more.
State officials with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation are in the process of unveiling improvements and enhancements at several state parks, including Lucky Peak State Park outside of Boise, which recently opened a new dog beach and accessible kayak launch on the Boise River.
Other state parks include Bruneau Dunes State Park and Observatory, Harriman State Park, Bear Lake State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve, which is a national reserve and state park that attracts climbers from all over the world to its dramatic granite rock spires.
Little said the July 4 fee waiver is a part of a larger effort to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence being signed in 1776.
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We’re lucky to live in a place as safe as the Treasure Valley. Despite our growth, one of the things that makes our area so special is the way that we look out for one another–for our neighbors! That’s a principle that seems to have held on as Boise has boomed.
Despite low crime rates, there seems to always be one incident or so that makes us scratch our heads.
A recent string of fraud incidents in the Treasure Valley area is one of those.
Nampa Police initially warned the public of this because cases of fraud began to ‘mushroom’. Then, it took an interesting turn–people that HAD their credit cards were being ‘taken to the bank’, so to speak.
In a statement originally released on April 30th by the Nampa Police Department, officials advised the following:
We are not sure how the suspects are gaining access to the victim’s credit cards. There is a growing fraud scheme, “ghost tapping”, that scammers are using to access victims’ credit cards. This is possibly occurring in these instances. “Ghost tapping” uses stolen credit card details in Apple Pay or Google Pay, then remotely relays the tap signal over the internet to a ‘mule’ at a store, allowing them to make high-value purchases that appear completely legitimate. (We’ll share more information on ghost tapping in a later public service announcement that will also suggest ways to protect yourself.) The app used by these criminals obscures the actual credit card number, making it harder for investigators to link a victim to a particular crime. Keep in mind that victims still have their physical credit cards while suspects use the stolen card information to make purchases, which also affects how victims are alerted. So far, local investigators have not been able to identify a common theme among the victims (e.g., a specific bank, a website they visited, a gas pump they used, etc.) in the fraud cases we are investigating.
The investigation spans far and wide.
Authorities say that some suspects are in custody, others are being contacted, and others are still at large.
Now, a week later, the police are back to reaching out to the public–this time, urging people to check their bank accounts.
Nampa Police say that they have caught onto a pattern– there are fraudulent charges at Albertson’s to purchase gift cards, at Costco to purchase Apple products, and at Best Buy, also for Apple products.
Check those bank statements!
Inside The Arrest of 3 Venezuelan Fraudsters
What on earth was happening in Eagle this week?
Gallery Credit: Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM
It’s Not Hard To See Why This Idaho Police Photoshoot Is Going Viral
The Jerome Police Department is going viral thanks to Twin Falls photographer, Layton Henderson. Once you see the hilarious photos, you’ll see why!
Gallery Credit: Chris Cardenas
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