Idaho Bills

This bill (H 627) amends Idaho's open meetings law to explicitly permit the public to record meetings using electronic devices like phones or cameras. It prohibits governing bodies from preventing or restricting recording and bars removing people for doing so. The change applies to all public meetings covered by the law, including city councils and school boards, except for specific exceptions like tax appeals deliberations. The law will take effect on July 1, 2026.

This Idaho bill (S 1224) amends traffic laws for slow-moving vehicles like farm tractors, construction equipment, and farm machinery. It requires these vehicles to have rear emblems, headlights during nighttime hours (30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise), and prohibits operation above 25 mph unless designed for higher speeds. The bill also adds an exception for emergency/snow removal vehicles during public safety operations and clarifies when drivers must pull over on two-lane highways when three or more vehicles follow a slow-moving vehicle. It takes effect July 1, 2026.

This Idaho bill (H 530) requires health insurance plans to cover anticancer medications with equal cost-sharing for oral and injected treatments. Specifically, it mandates that out-of-pocket costs for oral anticancer drugs cannot exceed $250 per 30-day supply, matching the cost limits for injected options. The law clarifies that plans aren’t required to classify anticancer medications as "medical benefits" but prohibits them from increasing costs or reclassifying coverage to avoid compliance. It takes effect July 1, 2026, directly affecting insurers and patients using oral anticancer medications under Idaho health plans.

This bill changes how Idaho pays counties for housing state prisoners in county jails. Counties will now receive $80 per day for the first seven days of each inmate's stay (up from $55), then $75 daily thereafter. The state must also cover all medical/dental costs for these inmates, and counties must bill the state every 60 days with payment due within 60 days. The changes take effect July 1, 2026, as an emergency measure.

This bill repeals multiple outdated Idaho Code sections related to water resources, including provisions about groundwater recharge, water conservation trust accounts, and specific water compacts (like the Salmon Falls Creek and Columbia Interstate Compacts). It directly affects the Department of Water Resources by removing obsolete legal requirements from its operational framework. The bill's purpose is to streamline Idaho's water law code, ensuring it remains current and essential for public administration. This is a procedural cleanup measure with no new policy changes or direct impact on water users or projects.

This bill amends House Rule 18 to require the doors to the east wing of the third floor of the Idaho State Capitol to be locked when a call of the House is ordered, preventing members from leaving the chamber during proceedings. The amendment also mandates that all members remain at their floor desks unless the presiding officer releases them, ensuring full attendance for voting and business. A majority vote of the entire membership is required to end the call or excuse absent members, and the bill includes a formal warrant template for the Sergeant at Arms to bring absent members to the bar of the House. This change directly affects Idaho House members and the Sergeant at Arms by establishing stricter attendance enforcement procedures during quorum calls.

This bill allows Idaho state funds and pension assets to be invested in physical gold and silver, expanding investment options beyond traditional financial instruments. It authorizes the state investment board and pension fund managers to allocate up to 7.5% of their invested money into physical precious metals, which must be stored in secure depositories meeting industry standards within Idaho, neighboring states, or Texas. The law requires that any gold and silver held be insured, independently audited, and physically separated from other assets, with storage permitted in qualified bank vaults or specialized precious metals depositories. These changes apply to both state permanent endowment funds and pension system assets, with provisions for annual audits and clear guidelines on investment policies.

This bill appropriates approximately $25.9 million to Idaho's Department of Fish and Game for fiscal year 2027, covering administration, enforcement, fisheries, wildlife, and communications programs. The funding comes from state, federal, and other dedicated funds, with specific amounts allocated to personnel costs, operating expenditures, and capital outlays. The legislation also allows the department to use any unspent money from fiscal year 2026 for nonrecurring expenses in the following year. An emergency provision sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.

This bill establishes the Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator within Idaho's Division of Financial Management Legislative Services Office, creating a new nonclassified position to oversee administrative rule formatting and review. The coordinator will have authority to make clerical corrections and typographical fixes to proposed and existing rules without changing their meaning, and will enforce a uniform style and numbering system for all agency rules. Additionally, the bill repeals the existing periodic review of administrative rules provision, removing the requirement for regular comprehensive reviews of agency regulations. The changes aim to streamline rule documentation and standardization processes for state agencies.

This bill expands worker's compensation protections for first responders by creating a specific exception for psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder, which are generally not covered unless accompanied by physical injury. It defines first responders to include peace officers, firefighters, emergency medical services providers, emergency communications officers, and coroners, allowing them to receive benefits for mental health conditions caused by workplace events. The law requires that psychological injuries be diagnosed by licensed mental health professionals and supported by clear and convincing evidence that the condition resulted from a sudden, extraordinary workplace event. The changes apply to injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2019, and the bill becomes effective on July 1, 2026.

This bill allocates $100.5 million to Idaho's Judicial Branch for fiscal year 2027, covering personnel costs, operating expenses, capital outlays, and benefit payments across various court divisions including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Courts. The legislation provides flexibility by exempting the Judicial Branch from certain expense transfer limits, allowing funds to move between categories as needed, and requires monthly transfers of uncommitted retirement contributions to the Judges' Retirement Fund. Additionally, the bill reappropriates up to $16.2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for nonrecurring expenditures and sets an effective date of July 1, 2026.

This bill allocates state funding for the fiscal year 2027 to various General Government departments and agencies, including the Department of Administration, Capitol Commission, and multiple commissions and offices. It establishes specific budget amounts for personnel, operating expenses, capital outlays, and benefit payments across these entities, while also setting limits on the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions. The legislation includes provisions to transfer money between specific state funds, such as moving funds from the Permanent Building Fund to the Administration and Accounting Services Fund, and grants reappropriation authority for several existing funds. Additionally, the bill provides continuous appropriation authority for certain expenditures by the Military Division and Public Employee Retirement System, and requires accountability reports for tax collections and distributions.