The top member in the Idaho House on Wednesday said he’s concerned the Legislature might have to shut down if House members continue getting sick with COVID-19.
BOISE — Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug said he received a positive COVID-19 test Friday morning.
Lawmakers are trying to significantly defund his office by removing the attorney general as the primary defender of state agencies. If the effort succeeds, opponents say, it would essentially create a slush fund for political allies and Republican lawyers, costing the state millions of dollars in legal fees and possibly more if it loses in court.
A proposed law that would allow state agencies to skip the Idaho attorney general's office to instead hire more expensive private-practice attorneys whenever they choose overwhelmingly passed the Idaho House on Wednesday.
A proposed law to allow state agencies, boards and commissions to go around the Idaho attorney general’s office to hire private-practice attorneys headed to the full House on Thursday.