27-685: Minority The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho Legislature . It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate seats. It meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho , in the State Capitol Building. The Idaho House of Representatives has been continuously controlled by
54-463: A composite of selenite, glue, and natural pigments, imitating marble and other hard stones. Making scagliola is a laborious 15-step process, which has to be restarted if a single mistake is made. During its construction, the Idaho state capitol’s architects used a combination of white marble and matching scagliola to create a "Capitol of Light," so called because the materials would glow in natural light in
81-478: A mere $ 120,000 for the project. In 2000, the master plan was completed and its total cost estimate put at $ 64 million. In 2001, the Legislature granted a one-time appropriation of $ 32 million; bonds were issued to cover the other half of the project. In 2002–03, crews completed Phase II of the project, which involved exterior repairs financed with a supplementary $ 1.5 million appropriation. In 2005, an increase in
108-486: Is expected to occur after the 2030 census and take effect as of the 2032 election. In the 1980s voters elected legislators from two districts, a smaller local district and a larger "floterial" district which often encompassed an entire region of the state. Legislative seats in floterial districts were last contested in 1990. Today floterial districts are prohibited by the Idaho Constitution. According to
135-574: Is made of bronze and black stone. The capitol also houses a display of 20 portraits of Idaho territorial and state Governors completed by artist Herbert A. Collins in 1911. Attractions in the restored and expanded building include a gilded equestrian statue of George Washington and information about the historic trees that surrounded the capitol building before the grounds were cleared for underground construction. ( Presidents Benjamin Harrison , Theodore Roosevelt , and William Taft planted trees on
162-449: The Idaho State Capitol in downtown Boise . The Legislature meets annually from January until mid-March, although sessions have been known to last into May. The Governor of Idaho may also call special sessions at any time. The Idaho State Capitol Commission was created by Governor Phil Batt in 1998. The Commission undertook the leading role of extensively remodeling the capitol building starting in 2007. The 2008 and 2009 sessions of
189-592: The Republican Party since the late 1950s, usually by a wide margin. Democrats picked up six seats in the 2006 elections. In the 2010 elections Republicans won back many of those seats, gaining five. In the 2012 elections, the first election after redistricting in 2011, Democrats gained two seats in Ada County , but Republicans offset those gains by winning a seat in Bannock County and a seat in
216-460: The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The most prominent feature of the capitol is its dome. Surmounting this dome is a bronze eagle, 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall. The capitol building is 208 feet (63 m) high, occupies an area of 201,720 square feet (18,740 m ), and contains over 50,000 square feet (4,600 m ) of artistically carved marble. There are 219 pillars in
243-461: The thirteen original colonies and the 43 smaller stars indicate that Idaho was the forty-third state to enter the union. The floor contains a compass rose ; in its center is a sundial that has minerals found in Idaho. The first floor also houses a statue called the Patriot by Kenneth Lonn , for those who worked in the mining industry. The second floor may be accessed via three entrances; from
270-497: The upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives . Idaho is divided into 35 legislative districts, which each elect one senator and two representatives. There are no term limits for either chamber. The crossing of upper and lower house districts into a single constituency is found in seven U.S. state legislatures : Idaho, Arizona , Maryland , New Jersey , North Dakota , South Dakota , and Washington . Based on 2010 census data, each legislative district in
297-524: The Idaho Legislature are elected from 35 districts throughout the state. Some districts include several counties, while others are located entirely within a single county. Ada County , the state's largest by population, currently has nine legislative districts within its boundaries (as of the 2010 redistricting, Ada County has Legislative Districts 14, 15, 16 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22.) All 105 members are elected simultaneously every two years on
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#1732787945163324-407: The Idaho Legislature met in converted courtrooms in the old Ada County Courthouse. The capitol building was official re-opened and re-dedicated on January 9, 2010. Idaho State Capitol The Idaho State Capitol in Boise is the home of the government of the U.S. state of Idaho . Although Lewiston briefly served as Idaho's capital from the formation of Idaho Territory in 1863,
351-403: The Legislature's website, the Idaho Legislature is responsible for translating the public will into policy for the state, levying taxes, appropriating public funds, and overseeing the administration of state agencies. These responsibilities are carried out through the legislative process - laws passed by elected representatives of the people, legislators. The Idaho Legislature normally convenes at
378-913: The building was just over $ 2 million; it was completed in 1920. The architects used varied materials to construct the building and their design was inspired by Classical examples. Its sandstone exterior is from the state-owned quarry at nearby Table Rock . The building was included in the Boise Capitol Area District listing on the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1976. Tourtellotte and Hummel used four types of marble: red marble from Georgia, gray marble from Alaska, green marble from Vermont, and black marble from Italy. Architectural inspirations included St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, St Paul's Cathedral in London and
405-600: The district representing the Democratic stronghold Blaine County . In 2014, two Republican incumbents representing swing districts in North Central Idaho lost re-election, but picked up one seat previously held by a Democrat in the same region for net loss for Republicans of one seat. 43°37′04″N 116°11′59″W / 43.61778°N 116.19972°W / 43.61778; -116.19972 Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature consists of
432-471: The east, south, and west. The lieutenant governor’s office is located in the west wing, just opposite the governor’s office. On the north side of the second floor rotunda is a sculpture of George Washington astride a horse; to its rear is the attorney general’s suite of offices, which formerly housed the Idaho Supreme Court , until its current building opened in 1970. The east wing houses
459-545: The east. Used daily by government employees, these tunnels are not accessible to the public, and could serve as bomb shelters to protect the governor and other public officials. A full-scale replica of the Liberty Bell (uncracked) occupies a site at the base of the stairs outside the Jefferson Street entrance. The bell is one of 53 commissioned in 1950 by the U.S. Treasury Department and presented to each of
486-526: The end of World War II . After it arrived in February 1949, state officials placed the gift in the Boise capitol. The sculpture Statue head of Louise Shadduck honors the dedication of Idaho author, historian, civil servant, and political activist Louise Shadduck who died in 2008, at age 92. In 1958, Shadduck was elected secretary of Commerce and Development – the first woman to hold that office. The statue
513-899: The fourth floor of the senate and house galleries, which enable the public to observe the legislature in session. The northeast, northwest, and southwest corners of this floor contain many historic paintings, as well as three murals by Dana Boussard . In 1998, Idaho officials drafted a master plan to restore the Capitol. Though it has many impressive features, the "Statehouse" had begun to fade with age. The interior restoration work would include restoration and refinishing of windows, repairs to marble flooring and decorative plaster, restoration of wood floors, refinishing wood doors and restoring hardware, upgrading electrical, smoke and fire-detection systems, improving exterior lighting, adding an emergency power generator, and installation of an elevator accessible to disabled persons. The legislature initially provided
540-728: The office of the secretary of state offices, in whose reception area is the official copy of the Great Seal of the State of Idaho. The third floor contains the Senate in the west wing and the House of Representatives in the east wing. The two chambers were remodeled in 1968. Also on this floor is the old Supreme Court room, now used for hearings and committee meetings of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee. Balcony entrances on
567-489: The original building – Doric, Corinthian, or Ionic – and each pillar is made up of marble dust, plaster and scagliola . Scagliola is a mixture of granite, marble dust, gypsum and glue dyed to look like marble. This artificial marble was created by a family of artisans in Italy. On the first floor of the capitol building, when looking upward to the dome, 13 large stars and 43 smaller stars can be seen. The 13 large stars represent
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#1732787945163594-610: The property; Harrison planted a Water Oak , Roosevelt planted a Sugar Maple in 1903, and Taft planted the Ohio Buckeye in 1911.) The Golden Statue was carved by Charles Osner in 1869 from white pine , the state tree of Idaho. Osner worked by candlelight and took four years to finish the work. Tunnels connect the Capitol Building to the Supreme Court building and other government buildings on Capitol Mall to
621-491: The rotunda. The Winged Victory statue is a plaster replica of the original marble statue of Nike of Samothrace . The original statue was found on the island of Samothrace , Greece , in 1863 by a French explorer. The statue has characteristic features of Hellenistic art. The people of France gave the replica to the United States as part of a gift after U.S. forces helped liberate France from Nazi occupation at
648-604: The same day as the federal election day in early November. Each district is represented by one senator and two representatives. Idaho has fourteen committees in the House of Representatives and ten committees in the Senate. Currently, there are thirty-five members in the Senate with twenty-six men and nine women. The House of Representatives also currently holds seventy members with forty-six men and twenty-four women. Districts are reapportioned every 10 years. The next reapportionment
675-539: The state cigarette tax helped pay for interior restoration expenses totaling $ 20 million. In 2006, the legislature voted to finance two two-story underground legislative office wings at a cost about $ 130 million. However, in view of the U.S. economic downturn in 2008, Governor Butch Otter proposed single-story underground wings. After legislators agreed to this modification, construction began and continued until 2010, when both interior and exterior renovations were finished. Plasterers were tasked with restoring scagliola ,
702-461: The state of Idaho had approximately 44,788 residents. Based on 2020 census data, each legislative district had an ideal population of approximately 52,546 people. The first Idaho legislature convened in December 1890. Members of the Idaho Legislature were originally elected by county, but in recent times districts apportioned by population have replaced representation by county. Today members of
729-540: The territorial legislature moved it to Boise on December 24, 1864. Construction of the first portion of the capitol building began in the summer of 1905, fifteen years after statehood, and the architects were John E. Tourtellotte and Charles Hummel. Tourtellotte was a Connecticut native whose career began in Massachusetts and continued when he moved to Boise. Hummel was a German immigrant who partnered with Tourtellotte in 1901. The final cost of
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