UNAUTHORIZED WORKERS – Adds to existing law to establish certain requirements for employers to verify the lawful status of workers.
Idaho's H 704 requires all employers in the state to verify the legal work status of new hires within three days of employment. It mandates enrollment in the federal E-Verify program by July 1, 2026, and prohibits knowingly employing unauthorized workers. Employers must check documents like Idaho driver's licenses, tribal IDs, or federal work permits to confirm lawful presence, with the state using existing agency data (e.g., DMV records) solely for verification. The law explicitly prohibits Idaho from making final immigration determinations, relying instead on federal programs and state-issued IDs as proof of legal status.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 16, 2026
Last action Mar 2, 2026
Floor votes · House Feb 27, 2026
How they voted
39–25
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 65
Feb 27, 2026
D
Democratic8
100% Nay
R
Republican57
68% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
8
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Mar 2, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time; referred to: State Affairs
upper
Feb 27, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read Third Time in Full – PASSED - 43-26-1AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cayler, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Hall(Stone), Harris, Hawkins, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Marmon, Mendive, Mitchell, Monks, Palmer, Pohanka, Price, Rasor, Redman, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Shirts, Skaug, Tanner(13), Tanner(14), Thompson, Veile, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Mr. SpeakerNAYS – Berch, Bingham, Cannon, Cheatum, Church, Egbert
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Reported Printed and Referred to Business
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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