BOISE, Idaho — In a scramble on the last day of the legislative session, Idaho House Republicans fast-tracked and approved a resolution that creates a working group to study children’s access to “harmful” materials in libraries. The resolution was intended to secure enough votes in the House to approve a new budget for the Commission for Libraries.
But hours later, the appropriation bill was shot down in the House, again — this time, by Democrats. The vote extended the session, which was expected to wrap up Friday. The Legislature must pass the budget before it can adjourn.
There was little debate on the budget Friday before it failed. Fifteen Republican lawmakers switched their votes to support the bill since the day before, when they had killed the budget after debate over controversial materials in libraries.
