Idaho lawmakers finished the 2015 legislative session early Saturday morning, boasting major funding increases for Idaho's teachers and completing a last-minute proposal to address the state's crumbling roads and bridges.
The session stretched nearly two weeks past when legislative leaders had optimistically estimated they would adjourn, winning a spot as one of the top five longest legislative sessions in Idaho's history. The longest session was in 2009, when it lasted 119 days.
Tensions between both chambers caused long delays over a $95 million transportation proposal for most of Friday and spilling into the early hours of Saturday.
Other highlights of the session included a sweeping plan to raise salaries for Idaho's teachers. Lawmakers agreed to fund a 7.4 percent increase to the education budget, raising rookie teacher pay to $37,000 over the next five years.
