Idaho Bills

This bill revises election rules for highway district commissioners in Idaho counties with over 200,000 residents. It requires dividing such counties into five equal population subdistricts (with no precincts split), mandating commissioners be residents of their assigned subdistrict. The bill changes ballot rules to require plurality voting (not majority) for commissioner elections and adds primary elections starting in 2028. These changes apply to commissioners in single countywide highway districts, affecting voters and candidates in those specific districts.

This Idaho bill (H 693) creates new criminal penalties for organizations that knowingly help undocumented immigrants avoid detection or provide them shelter, financial support, or transportation. It prohibits businesses, nonprofits, or their leaders from concealing, harboring, or facilitating the illegal presence of undocumented immigrants they know are in the U.S. unlawfully. Violations could result in misdemeanor or felony charges (with felony status for aiding five or more immigrants), plus business license revocation for repeat offenses, while exempting law enforcement and emergency responders acting in their official capacity.

Idaho's S 1310 requires explicit labeling on products (including vaccines and medical products) developed using human fetal tissue in their testing or production. Manufacturers must label such products, while retailers are only liable if they knew about the labeling requirement and failed to display it. Violations could trigger civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation or 5% of the product's sales revenue in Idaho. The law applies to any product where fetal tissue was used in development, testing, or production, and takes effect July 1, 2026.

S 1312 revises Idaho's Medicaid payment rules for healthcare providers, directly affecting hospitals, mental health facilities, and home care services. It sets payment rates at 100% of Medicare for primary care and 90% for other services where Medicare equivalents exist, while requiring annual cost surveys (with 15% audits) for services without Medicare rates. The bill mandates providers to allocate funds to staff wages and employee costs, reduces general fund needs by $3.1 million in FY2020 and $8.72 million in FY2021, and transitions most hospitals to value-based payment systems by July 2021. It also nullifies specific administrative rules (IDAPA 16.03.26) after July 2026.

Idaho's S 1315 requires hospitals licensed to provide labor and delivery services to display comprehensive, transparent pricing for maternity care. Specifically, these hospitals must create single-click access on their public price estimator portals for both vaginal and cesarean birth episodes, showing all-inclusive costs for standard care (including antepartum, delivery, and postpartum services) plus common add-on fees like epidurals or circumcision. The bill also prohibits hospitals from including contract clauses that block discounted cash prices for labor and delivery services below insurance rates. This law applies to all Idaho hospitals offering maternity care and takes effect July 1, 2026.

Idaho bill H 691 amends the legal definition of "neglected" in child protection law to clarify that "chronic neglect" involves abuse or neglect that is "extreme or repetitious" enough to indicate returning a child to the home would pose "unacceptable risk" to their health or welfare. This change directly affects child protective services cases in Idaho courts, providing a clearer standard for determining when neglect is severe enough to justify court intervention or removal of a child from their home. The bill revises Section 16-1602 of the Idaho Code to explicitly define "chronic neglect" within the "aggravated circumstances" section, which impacts how neglect cases are evaluated during legal proceedings. It does not create new programs or funding but refines the legal criteria used by courts and child welfare agencies.

This bill requires health insurers in Idaho to count all copays, deductibles, and coinsurance paid by or on behalf of plan members when calculating their total out-of-pocket costs for covered health services. It applies to all health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, directly affecting insurers and enrollees. Key provisions include excluding prescription drugs from the rule if a medically appropriate generic is available and prescribed, and giving Idaho's Department of Insurance authority to create implementing rules. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, with full application starting in 2027.

HCR 26 is a concurrent resolution expressing the Idaho Legislature's support for wildlife crossings. It states that wildlife-vehicle collisions endanger public safety and cause significant property damage, while noting that infrastructure like overpasses and underpasses can reduce collisions by over 80% and protect migration corridors for species like mule deer and elk. The resolution encourages state and local governments to collaborate on identifying priority sites for such crossings and to adopt policies preserving migration corridors. It does not create new laws or funding but formally supports existing efforts to enhance public safety and wildlife conservation.

S 1287 revises Idaho's laws governing public highway rights-of-way, primarily affecting county and highway district officials who manage road systems. It requires commissioners to confirm no prior legal abandonment occurred before adding new rights-of-way to official maps, mandates public hearings for changes, and clarifies that creating a right-of-way doesn't automatically require highway construction or maintenance. The bill also specifies that public use alone doesn't open a right-of-way for travel, and landowners must receive advance notice before new rights-of-way are mapped. These changes aim to standardize procedures for designating, abandoning, and validating public highway corridors.

This Idaho bill (S 1289) sets limits on scholarships for non-U.S. citizen student athletes at public colleges. It requires public institutions to prioritize Idaho residents for scholarships and restricts non-citizen athletes to: no more than 10% of scholarships (excluding football), 5% for football, and no team exceeding 50% non-citizen scholarship recipients. Existing non-citizen athletes enrolled before the law's effective date (July 1, 2026) are exempt from these caps for up to four years. The law directly affects student athletes and public universities' financial aid policies, with implementation overseen by the Idaho State Board of Education.

This bill establishes a "social access pass" program for homeschool students in grades 8-12 in Idaho, allowing them to attend public school social events like dances, cultural activities, and career fairs at one local public school within their attendance area. Homeschool students must apply voluntarily, provide proof of residency, and pay a $25 fee (to cover program costs), but they won’t be charged extra for individual events beyond what enrolled students pay. The pass does not create enrollment in the public school system, so it won’t affect school funding, attendance records, or parental educational choices. The program begins in the 2026-2027 school year.

Idaho's S 1284 would allow the state to join the Dietitian Licensure Compact, enabling dietitians licensed in Idaho to practice in other participating states without obtaining separate licenses in each. The compact establishes a "compact privilege" that is equivalent to a license in other member states, requiring dietitians to meet uniform standards for practice. It includes provisions for sharing disciplinary information among states to protect public health and specifically supports military members and their spouses who relocate across state lines. This bill would update Idaho's licensing law to implement the compact's framework for interstate practice.