State Rep. Jeff Thompson has run up more than $15,000 in taxpayer-funded travel over the past year, and House Speaker Scott Bedke wants Thompson to dial it back a bit.

“I sat down with Rep. Thompson, and I’ve asked him to prioritize his travel,” Bedke told the Post Register’s Christina Lords, in a story that published Thursday. “I am certainly supportive of him … representing Idaho in these national organizations, but I think that he and I agree that he should concentrate his travel with these organizations where he has a leadership role.”

Thompson, R-Idaho Falls, has been mulling a run for state schools superintendent. He tells the Post Register that the travel reflects his desire to give Eastern Idaho a state and national voice.

“I’ve made it clear to leadership that I want to be involved as much as they need me to be involved,” he said.

(The Post Register story is behind a paywall, so here’s an Associated Press version of the piece.)