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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.

Legislative Update: Idaho Lawmakers Getting Close To The End Of The Session

Otto Kitsinger
/
Associated Press
Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard from a 2015 special session of the Idaho Legislature.

As we wrap up the 11th week of the 2017 Idaho Legislative Session, lawmakers have been struggling to finish up their work and go home. For several weeks, the goal has been to end the session Friday. House Speaker Scott Bedke said on Thursday lawmakers will have to come back on Monday.

This week lawmakers struggled with a large transportation funding bill. They tried and failed to pass a bill that would have helped some of the 78,000 people in Idaho who can’t afford health insurance. And tax cuts are still a sticking point.

Boise State University professor Gary Moncrief has been monitoring the House Floor, where most of the bills, and a lot of interpersonal infighting, have been in play. In this edition of our 2017 Weekly Legislative Update, he’s still not sure when lawmakers will leave for home.

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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