Ridenbaugh Press/Northwest

We’ve heard a lot these last number of days about who’s gotten crosswise with the Idaho House. It cuts both ways, of course, and you can see some reasons in this in an incident that turned up in Betsy Russell’s/Spokesman-Review’s blog this morning.

The chair of the House Education Committee, Representative Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, had proposed House Bill 373, changing several provisions in the law concerning teacher and school official pay (to generalize, reductions). The measure passed the House, 49-17, and went to the Senate. There, it died.

One reason is that when it came up for considering today at the Senate Education Committee hearing on his bill, Nonini wasn’t there to discuss it. From Russell’s blog:

“The chairman knew last Wednesday night I wasn’t coming,” Nonini told Eye on Boise. “The issues have all been discussed. … There was no reason for me to be there.” When told that committee members had questions for him, Nonini said, “Just to be critical and be smart-alecks – I’m not going to go over there and put up with that. I’m not going to put up with that crap.”

So much for collegiality.