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The Idaho Legislature is the place where laws are made that affect every resident of the Gem State. Each year, 105 lawmakers gather at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise for three or four months to make the important decisions regarding everything from taxes to education to health and welfare.Each week during the 2017 session, we’ll update you on what’s happening in the legislature. We’ll follow bills as they work their way through the Stateshouse to become laws. We’ll take a look behind the scenes at what lawmakers are doing and what it means to you. And we’ll put it all in a broader context, as we examine what other state legislatures are doing around the country.We’ll chat with Gary Moncrief, who has years of experience with state legislatures in the U.S. and Idaho’s lawmakers. He’s a University Distinguished Professor of Political Science (Emeritus) at Boise State University. He is a frequent speaker at meetings of state legislators around the country and is the coauthor or editor of six books, including the new second edition of WHY STATES MATTER, available in February of 2017. So tune in to our 2017 Weekly Legislative Update every Friday morning at 6:44 a.m. and 8:44 a.m. on KBSX 91.5.

Committees Ramp Up Hearings As Idaho Legislature Hits Bill Deadline

capitol, JFAC
Emilie Ritter Saunders
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Boise State Public Radio

On Monday, the Idaho Legislature fielded a flurry of bills from committees. That’s by design.

The 36th calendar day of each legislative session is the last day that personal bills can be introduced in most committees. That was Monday, which resulted in a glut of bills popping up in committees.

Boise State University Political Science professor Gary Moncrief says after the deadline, it gets harder to get bills into the Legislature.

“There are a few committees in the House and the Senate that are called privileged committees and they can continue to introduce bills beyond that deadline of February 13,” says Moncrief.

Typically, another 100 or so more bills will be introduced by “privileged committees,” including the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee and the two State Affairs committees.

Moncrief says now that a majority of the bills have been introduced, most of the action over the next few weeks will be in committees, where public hearings will be held on those bills.

Find Samantha Wright on Twitter @samwrightradio

Copyright 2017 Boise State Public Radio

As Senior Producer of our live daily talk show Idaho Matters, I’m able to indulge my love of storytelling and share all kinds of information (I was probably a Town Crier in a past life!). My career has allowed me to learn something new everyday and to share that knowledge with all my friends on the radio.

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