With Idaho lawmakers leaving the Capitol in Boise, Gov. Butch Otter signed more than two dozen laws into the books on Tuesday. He approved proposals passed by both the House and Senate that would create two new car license plates, and set the budgets for several state agencies, including the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Legislation that would create a new commission to study childhood immunization, allow prison inmates more opportunity to request DNA tests to overturn their convictions, and remove seasonal workers for the state from the Public Employees Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) will also become law on July 1.
Other legislation approved by the governor this week includes:
- offering immunity to police and emergency responders from other states that cross into Idaho.
-allowing the Crime Victims Compensation Fund, which covers health care and other costs for victims of crime, to have more authority in setting prices it will pay for medical costs.
-changing Idaho’s Child Protective Act to encourage the Department of Health and Welfare to place children who can’t live with their parents in the custody of grandparents or other relatives.
-allowing the Department of Environmental Quality to issue permits to landfills that want to research and develop new bioreactor landfills, which could rapidly decompose or degrade solid waste.
-requiring that instructors at private driving schools have a high school diploma and pass a criminal background check.
Otter has already signed more than 150 pieces of legislation into law. He has yet to consider much of the legislation that lawmakers approved in the last few days of the session.
