BOISE - At the Idaho Statehouse, lawmakers are looking homeward and expecting to wrap up the 2018 session by the end of this week.
But before House and Senate leaders drop the gavel and call out the words "sine die," there's some unfinished business on the agenda.
But the most contentious items that were remaining in both the House and Senate, legislators took action on those this morning, including House Bill 464.
Supporters of the measure were escorted out of the House chambers for being disruptive.
The bill would have extended health insurance to about half of the 78,000 Idahoans living in the "coverage gap," which refers to those who make too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to be eligible for a tax credit through the state insurance exchange.
Lawmakers ultimately voted to send the measure back to committee, making it the sixth year in a row a bill addressing the health care gap has failed.
But supporters of Medicaid expansion are gathering signatures to put the issue up for a statewide vote.
"Since the Legislature has time and time again shirked its duties, our best bet is for a citizens initiative to pass, which then forces the Legislature's hand and says we want you to fund health care in Idaho," says Rep. Mat Erpelding, D-Boise.
"I don't think the people were let down, I think that the case was made that the bill needs more work. There was not a consensus yet and without a consensus they are not going to get the bill to go anywhere and they want to work on it," says House Majority Leader Mike Moyle.
The bill was sent back to committee by a vote of 42-to-27.
The House majority and minority leaders both say a bill concerning water for livestock in Idaho and how it relates to the federal government is the last big item that needs to be dealt with on the House side, but they don't expect it to be controversial.
In the Senate, a bill that would increase fines and penalties for trespassing passed Wednesday morning only after amendments were added to address concerns that it would interfere with a recently passed self-defense measure known as the "Stand Your Ground" bill.
"There were adjustments in this last bill regarding fencing, there were adjustments regarding people that come up to your home, for instance selling Girl Scout cookies or something like that, there were just those people who were afraid of some unintentional consequences," says Senate Pro-Tem Brent Hill.
Hill says the last remaining item in the Senate that's somewhat contentious is approving a new statewide reading test.
"There's some concern with the funds that are appropriated for that reading initiative that they are ongoing funds versus one time funds, in other words they are appropriated unless we take the appropriation away in the future as a opposed to a one-time funding that is just for this year and doesn't go forward and we have to address it next year," says Hill.