A Conference Committee comprised of House and Senate leaders from the majority and minority parties spent the bulk of the day on Thursday haggling over how to pay for road repairs.
The House was represented by Transportation and Defense Committee Chairman Joe Palmer (R-Meridian), House Majority Caucus Chair John VanderWoude (R-Nampa), and Assistant Minority Leader Mat Erpelding (D-Boise).
The Senate team was comprised of Senate Transportation Committee Chairman (R-Bert Brackett), Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron (R-Rupert), and Sen. Roy Lacey (D-Pocatello).
Though committee members were able to reach consensus on a handful of issues, it became clear late in the day on that they would need more time to try and come to an agreement that both the House and the Senate could support.
Consequently, the legislature will continue to meet on Friday. You can read more about the various discussions held throughout the day on Betsy Russell’s Eye on Boise blog.
We will provide a final edition of this year’s Hotline message when the legislature adjourns sine die.