Les Bois Junior High seventh grader Ilah Hickman returned to the Senate State Affairs Committee on Friday for a hearing on SB 1271, the legislative measure that would make the Idaho Giant Salamander our official State amphibian. Members of the Senate State Affairs Committee peppered the Boise tween with questions about the salamander before voting almost unanimously to send the bill to the floor that it pass. Only Sen. Jeff Siddoway (R-Terreton), voted against the bill.
Ilah became interested in introducing the legislation as a fourth grader. Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise), who has been helping shepherd the bill through the legislative process for the past few years, will be the bill’s official sponsor on the Senate floor.