Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter used his annual State of the State speech to pick on one of his favorite targets: the federal government.
In his nearly hour-long address, he complained about proposed health care insurance reform and highlighted his fight with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over Endangered Species Act protections for a rare desert plant, slickspot peppergrass.
Otter has threatened to sue over any health-insurance mandates from Congress.
He's already sued over slickspot peppergrass, in part on concern a federal listing will hurt the Idaho livestock industry.
The Republican rancher said, "The feds are casting aside the collective judgment of the people born to this land and who care most about it in favor of bureaucratic nonsense."
Otter also criticized a possible move by the U.S. Department of Energy to store 17,000 tons of mercury at the Idaho National Laboratory.
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