By KEITH RIDLERMarch 16, 2021 GMT
BOISE, Idaho (AP) The Idaho Land Board on Tuesday voted to oppose a proposed law backed by Republican lawmakers that would ban the attorney general’s office from representing the state department of lands.
Gov. Brad Little, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Schools Chief Sherri Ybarra are members of the Land Board and abstained from voting.
But Secretary of State Lawerence Denney and State Controller Brandon Woolf, the other members of the board, voted to oppose the bill, resulting in a 2-0 vote in favor. All of the board’s members are Republicans.
With the vote, the board instructed Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller to appear before lawmakers at public hearings and oppose the legislation on behalf of the board and the lands department.
A $10 billion plan that would pull OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma out of bankruptcy would direct profits to fight against the nation's ongoing opioid crisis, but Massachusetts Attorney General Maura said the plan would let the company's owners "walk away richer."
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Last year, Idaho’s three largest gas retailers settled with regulators over price gouging allegations. The state said these businesses didn’t lower fuel prices even though oil prices plummeted during the first few weeks of the pandemic.
They have one year to give customers $1.5 million in gas discounts.
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden in an op-ed said gas retailers’ profit margins generally hover around $0.10 per gallon, though the industry says it’s closer to $0.20 per gallon. Wasden said those profits ballooned to $0.63 per gallon three weeks into the pandemic.
Republican Rep. John Vander Woude, who used to own convenience stores with his son, said profits did go up.
Lawmakers are hoping to adjourn sine die on March 26. But there's still unfinished business - including property tax relief - to get to before they can go home.