Bill Description: This bill amends the requirements and regulations for charter school applications Rating: +2 Does it increase barriers to entry into the market? Examples include occupational licensure, the minimum wage, and restrictions on home businesses. Conversely, does it remove barriers to entry into the market? 
 This bill would “streamline the process to open […]

Bill description: Senate Bill 1077 amends the Idaho regulations that concern Vehicle Insurance Contracts and regulates companies that provide vehicle-theft protection services. Rating: -3 Analyst’s note: This bill has two primary sections that deal with two different matters, one being a new program. First, it shifts the location of the Motor Vehicle Service Contract Act […]

Bill description: This bill amends the procedures for seizure of civil assets by law enforcement. Rating: +5 Analyst’s Note: This bill was amended March 16 in the Senate. These amendments made minor changes in the wording throughout and specifically clarified what information must be submitted by both state and local law enforcement agencies. Does it […]

Idaho Senate members will have their chance to decide if the state’s retirement system should continue to allow new private groups and associations to participate in the system. House members passed legislation Wednesday that would block new private groups from taking part in the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho. The measure, officially House Bill […]

Bill description: Taxpayers would fund a new government program in which the Department of Health and Welfare would educate the public about Cytomegalovirus prevention. Rating: -1 Analyst note: “Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that can infect almost anyone,”  according to the Mayo Clinic. “Most people don't know they have CMV because it rarely causes […]

Rep. Kelley Packer appears determined to swim against a current that is washing away occupational regulation across the country. Packer, R-McCammon, has again filed legislation, House Bill 46, that would make it a crime to do sign language interpretation without a state license. Her bill would give the state the authority to send a violator […]

A couple of months ago, the state of Idaho told Miranda Hale, Nadia Saakyan and Micalah Howard that their successful cosmetology business is illegal and must end. The trio learned their entire business model is prohibited because it is based on offering on-site makeup and hairstyling services where it’s needed instead of in a licensed […]

Word on the street: Some Idaho lawmakers want more health insurance regulations after consumer complaints about new, exorbitant out-of-network costs and the failure of some companies to pay claims. A real solution: Legislators in Idaho and elsewhere should remove insurance regulatory hurdles, including coverage mandates and market barriers. The healthcare system doesn't work because of […]

Every year we get to witness the raw economic value and human benefit that comes from those mad, mad, super-low, post-Thanksgiving SALES SALES SALES. Black Friday is now spread over an array of elaborately-named days that seem to extend clear ‘til Christmas. The benefit isn’t just to the shareholders of the big box stores, whose […]

Tell Idaho to stop hurting people like Josh Phillips! Sign the petition at HopeVetoed.com.

A few years ago, an Idaho businessman told me he wanted to hire a doctor to work with his employees, as a perk, to increase their quality of care and help keep insurance costs down. Idaho’s medical regulators rejected his idea because of a thinly-supported legal doctrine advanced by Gem State special interests since the […]

An Idaho law that allows public officials to award generous tax breaks to businesses that relocate or expand in the state has survived a legal challenge. On Monday, Idaho Fourth District Court Judge Samuel Hoaglund dismissed a lawsuit, filed by Boise-based human resources firm Employers Resource, because he believed the company lacked standing to bring […]