Gov. Otter Releases Draft of Child Support Bill

BOISE (KTVB) - Idaho Gov. Butch Otter Otter just released a draft of a bill he will be asking legislators to consider during a special session in two weeks.

The governor has made it clear: He wants a resolution to the child support legislation that effects one in four Idahoans.

He said he is hoping the special session on May 18 will last hours and not days.

That's why he posted the 37-page proposal on his website Monday for lawmakers and citizens to digest.

The state stands to lose nearly $50 million in federal support services and family aid.

Otter said his proposed legislation includes some of the language from the original bill that failed on the final day of the session. But he says his office worked with members who opposed it and made some subtle changes to the wording of the bill, which they have approved in recent days.

"I want every member of the Legislature to have a better understanding of what it does and does not do, and a fuller appreciation of what happens if we fail to act affirmatively," Otter said.