Lawmakers: Idaho growing pains will affect prisons, health care and education issues this session
BOISE — Idaho’s highest ranking elected officials offered hints of what this year’s legislative session might look like at the Associated Press’s annual legislative preview event Friday morning, touching on topics including education, health care, and criminal justice reform.
Each of those areas will be affected by Idaho’s status as the fastest-growing state in the country.
House and Senate leaders addressed concerns about Idaho’s crowded prison system, an issue the Magic Valley has increasingly felt the effects of over the past year. As state prisons reach capacity and beyond, more inmates are staying in the Twin Falls County Jail for longer periods of time, contributing to a crowding crisis.
“We will experience growing pains in each of these areas, because the prison population is always going to be a percentage of the overall number,” said House Speaker Scott Bedke, a Republican from Oakley.
Read more: http://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/lawmakers-idaho-growing-pains-will-affect-prisons-health-care-and/article_bb3ebdb4-4abb-5ad3-8d07-66c09a6e541d.html