Idaho Reports airs Friday at 8 pm on Idaho Public Television.
School facilities bill clears first hurdle
Lawmakers heard a wide range of worries Tuesday about a far-reaching school facilities funding bill, but the amount of money offered up for local school buildings seems to have brought most of the education stakeholders on board.
Beginning last year, Idaho began a massive shift from its unconstitutional county-based public defense system to a state-based system. Idaho Association of Counties executive director Seth Grigg sat down with Ruth Brown this week to discuss the final details being ironed out as the October 1 changeover date approaches, including funding for child protective service cases and employee benefits for the public defenders who will soon start working for the state.
The legislature is taking steps to remedy what could have been an expensive gap in last year’s public defense bill, funding directed to public defenders assigned to child protection cases and to the counties for guardian ad litem representation.
HB 539 would have required school principals to notify parents and guardians of a student's involvement in harassment, intimidation, bullying, violence, or self-harm, and provide parental empowerment materials on preventing self-harm and suicide.
Idaho code spells out how county coroners can dispose of unclaimed ashes, but the law does not currently address whether private funeral businesses are able to do so.
Senate narrowly kills bill to prevent pesticide manufacturer lawsuits
SB 1245 would have said the only required labeling on a pesticide is the labeling that comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to satisfy warnings of health and safety hazards. The bill would have impacted both tort law and common law lawsuits.
Idaho Reports on Idaho Public Television is made possible through the generous support of the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, the Friends of Idaho Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
