Idaho Bills

in committee · Idaho · Senate Jan 20, 2025

S 1010: HEALTH – Adds to existing law to limit the jurisdiction of the World Health Organization in Idaho.

S 1010 declares that the World Health Organization (WHO) has no legal jurisdiction over Idaho's government, public health matters, or its citizens. The bill, codified as Idaho Code § 39-7301, prohibits the WHO from imposing rules, regulations, or programs on Idaho state agencies or residents, even if those originate from federal agreements with the WHO. This legislation directly affects Idaho's public health governance and citizens' legal relationship with the WHO. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2025, and is categorized as a jurisdictional limitation rather than a health policy change.

in committee · Idaho · House Jan 17, 2025

H 17: DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE – Amends and adds to existing law to establish a wildfire risk mitigation and stabilization pool, fund, and board.

H 17 establishes the Idaho Wildfire Risk Mitigation and Stabilization Pool to help homeowners and property owners in high-risk wildfire areas access affordable insurance. The bill creates a fund financed by participating insurers through "participation charges," which will provide grants, matching programs, and education to reduce wildfire risks in designated "target areas" where insurance is hard to obtain. A 12-member board - representing insurers, consumers, fire officials, and legislators - will manage the pool and fund distribution. This aims to stabilize the property insurance market by reducing concentrated risk and improving community wildfire mitigation.

in committee · Idaho · Senate Jan 17, 2025

S 1004: CIVIL RIGHTS – Amends existing law to provide that freedom from discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity is a civil right.

This Idaho bill (S 1004) amends the state’s civil rights law to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, public accommodations, housing, and education. It directly affects all Idaho residents and businesses operating within the state by expanding existing protections under Sections 67-5901 and 67-5909 of the Idaho Code. Key provisions include adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to protected categories in anti-discrimination language and defining "gender identity" in Section 67-5902(18). The bill is currently pending in the State Affairs committee after being introduced in January 2025.

Topics ✓ Housing ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Idaho · House Jan 17, 2025

H 18: BUILDING CODE – Adds to existing law to prohibit laws that require electric vehicle charging stations or parking spaces in any building plan and to provide for preemption of local laws and ordinances.

This bill prohibits Idaho state and local governments from requiring electric vehicle (EV) charging stations or designated EV parking spaces in building plans. It directly affects local municipalities, developers, and building code enforcement by blocking new local regulations that might mandate these features. The law preempts any existing or future local ordinances, rules, or regulations that impose such requirements on building plans. If enacted, it would prevent cities or counties from adding EV infrastructure mandates to their building codes, shifting authority to state-level policy.

Topics ✗ Energy ✗ Transportation

in committee · Idaho · House Jan 15, 2025

H 11: IMMIGRATION – Adds to existing law to provide for crimes regarding illegal entry into this state, to provide for an order to return to a foreign nation, and to provide for civil immunity for and indemnification of local government and state officials, employees, and contractors regarding immigration.

Idaho's H 11 bill creates new state criminal offenses for illegal entry into Idaho from a foreign nation without using a lawful port of entry (misdemeanor for first offense, felony for repeat offenses) and for illegal reentry after removal (felony under specific circumstances like prior drug or violent crimes). It establishes a court-issued "order to return" mechanism requiring undocumented individuals to leave the state, with specific conditions like fingerprinting and security database checks before issuance. The bill also prohibits courts from halting prosecutions based on pending federal immigration status determinations and provides civil immunity for state and local officials handling these cases. This law directly affects undocumented immigrants entering Idaho without legal status and state/local officials enforcing immigration-related criminal provisions.

Topics ✗ Criminal Justice ✗ Immigration

in committee · Idaho · House Jan 15, 2025

H 12: STATE ASSETS – Amends and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding who may own certain property, to provide for prohibition on lease or purchase of certain land or dwellings, and to provide for prohibition on access to state assets.

Idaho's H 12 restricts foreign entities from certain countries (including China, Russia, and Iran) from purchasing or owning farmland, forest land, water rights, mining claims, or mineral rights near military bases or sensitive state assets. It requires existing foreign-owned agricultural land to be divested within 180 days, mandates registration with the state agriculture department, and creates a whistleblower reward system (30% of sale proceeds) for reporting violations. The law directly affects foreign governments, state-controlled enterprises, and "foreign adversaries" defined in the bill, excluding pre-existing holdings and foreign pension funds. Key provisions include a 5% ownership exception for publicly traded companies and penalties including judicial foreclosure for non-compliance.

passed both · Idaho · House Jan 13, 2025

HCR 1: GOVERNOR’S ADDRESS – States findings of the Legislature and provides for a joint session of the House and Senate to hear a message from the Governor.

HCR 1 is a procedural resolution scheduling a joint session of Idaho's House and Senate for January 6, 2025, at 1 p.m. It directs legislators to convene together to hear the Governor's message, as requested by the Governor. This resolution does not change laws or policies; it solely sets a date and time for a ceremonial legislative session.

in committee · Idaho · House Jan 13, 2025

H 5: SCHOOL SAFETY – Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding immunity of behavioral threat assessment and management teams in Idaho public schools.

This Idaho bill (H 5) creates legal immunity for school-based behavioral threat assessment teams (BTAM teams) and their members who follow established protocols. It protects these teams from lawsuits if they act in good faith using Idaho’s BTAM guidelines to assess student risks of targeted violence (premeditated attacks on specific people/places), provided they don’t violate privacy, parental rights, or gun laws. The law requires the state school safety program to provide BTAM guidelines and training to all public schools and charter schools. It takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies directly to school districts, charter schools, and their BTAM team members.

Topics ✓ Education

in committee · Idaho · House Jan 10, 2025

H 4: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES – Amends and adds to existing law to require the implementation of cybersecurity best practices and the use of multifactor identification in Idaho state government.

This Idaho bill (H 4) requires all state agencies, the legislative branch, judicial branch, and elected constitutional officers to implement cybersecurity best practices and use two-step login verification (multifactor identification) for accessing government IT systems. It mandates that state employees must use at least two distinct verification methods - like a password plus a security token or biometric scan - to access email, cloud storage, databases, or networks. The law applies to all departments, institutions, and branches of state government, excluding the military division. It takes effect on July 1, 2025, and aims to strengthen data protection against cyber threats.

Topics ✓ Technology

introduced · Idaho · House Jan 9, 2025

H 1: TAXATION – Adds to existing law to establish the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit.

H 1 establishes a refundable Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit, allowing parents or legal guardians to claim up to $9,500 per qualifying child for education expenses at private schools, microschools, or learning pods. It directly affects Idaho families with children aged 5-19 who are not enrolled in public schools, covering tuition, materials, and transportation costs. The credit is refundable (meaning recipients get money back even if they owe no tax) and has an annual $250 million cap, with credits allocated on a first-come basis once the limit is reached. Expenses covered include curriculum, assessments, and transportation, but exclude public school costs or government grants.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education

in committee · Idaho · House Jan 9, 2025

H 2: ELECTIONS – Amends existing law to increase the vote threshold for statewide initiative petitions and to remove obsolete language.

Idaho bill H 2 changes the voting requirement for statewide ballot initiatives, raising the approval threshold from a simple majority to 60% of votes cast. This directly affects citizens and organizations collecting signatures for statewide initiative petitions, making it harder to qualify such measures for the ballot. The bill also removes outdated language from election code sections governing initiative voting procedures. It does not alter the 50%+1 threshold for referendums or local initiatives. The amendment takes effect immediately upon passage.

passed both · Idaho · House Apr 10, 2024

HCR 44: RULE APPROVAL – HOUSE ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, AND TECHNOLOGY AND SENATE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEES – States findings of the Legislature and approves pending rules of the Department of Environmental Quality reviewed by the House Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee and the Senate Resources and Environment Committee.

Delivered to Secretary of State at 2:41 p.m. on April 10, 2024

Bill results