Idaho lawmakers could wrap up their business on Friday, but it’s all a matter of timing, according to Senate President Pro Tem Bob Geddes, R-Soda Springs. He said lawmakers will have an afternoon deadline on Friday.
“We have to adjourn at about 3 p.m. at the latest to allow the northern Idaho people to catch their flights (home),” Geddes told IdahoReporter.com. “I think we’ll work hard until then … We’ll see how it goes.” Geddes said if work by the Idaho House and Senate isn’t finished by Friday, it should wrap up on Monday.
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, had said lawmakers would be coming back to the Capitol next week to finish the session. On Thursday afternoon, after a caucus meeting, Davis said on the Senate floor that lawmakers would attempt to close out the session this week. “It is my intent, and our collective intent, to work aggressively as we can to see if it’s possible to adjourn by tomorrow,” he said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it is within the realm of reason.” At the end of the Senate’s floor session, Davis said senators had approved 62 pieces of legislation, but that work might not have been enough to send them home finished on Friday. "The wheels have kind of fallen off," Davis said on the floor.
Most of the legislation approved Thursday received little debate and 34-0 votes. Sen. John Andreason, R-Boise, was absent all day from the Senate. Each additional day of the legislative session costs the state around $35,000.
