H 657 amends Idaho Code § 33-5206 to change how public charter schools admit students. It prohibits admissions based on a student’s or parent’s residence within a school district, ensuring enrollment decisions are not tied to location. The bill also establishes new certification requirements for charter school administrators (e.g., experience, education) and teachers (including charter-specific teaching certificates with alternative qualifications). These changes directly affect Idaho public charter schools, their administrators, teachers, and students seeking enrollment.
Idaho's H 646 establishes the "Litigation Financing Transparency, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act" to regulate how lawsuits are funded. It requires litigation financiers (entities providing lawsuit funding) to register with the state and disclose financing contracts to courts, ensuring plaintiffs and courts know who is funding legal claims. The bill specifically prohibits foreign adversaries (as defined by federal regulations) from funding lawsuits in Idaho and restricts foreign entities from influencing cases. These rules directly affect plaintiffs, law firms, and foreign entities seeking to fund litigation within Idaho, aiming to increase transparency and protect against national security risks.
This bill requires heat detection devices in attached garages for new single-family homes and small multiple-family dwellings (up to two units) built after July 1, 2026. It also exempts certain multiple-family dwellings with fire walls (extending to the roof without penetrations) from mandatory fire sprinkler systems. The heat detection devices must connect to the home's smoke alarm system. The bill makes technical corrections to Idaho's building code language but does not alter overall safety standards.
H 644 establishes the Idaho Travel Insurance Act, creating a new regulatory framework for travel insurance sold to Idaho residents or covering travel within the state. The bill defines key terms (like "eligible group" and "travel administrator"), sets rules for premium taxes, sales practices, and policy standards, and repeals outdated sections of existing law. It directly affects travel insurance providers, producers, and consumers by requiring compliance with these new rules for policies covering Idaho residents. The law supersedes previous travel insurance provisions and aims to create a clearer, more comprehensive system for the industry.
This bill amends Idaho's justifiable homicide law (Section 18-4009) to clarify when force is justified in defense of property or persons. It directly affects individuals claiming self-defense during unlawful entries into homes, businesses, or vehicles. The key change adds a presumption: if someone unlawfully enters a habitation, business, or vehicle by force or stealth, they are presumed to intend to commit a felony. This shifts the burden of proof in such cases, making it easier to establish self-defense under specific entry scenarios. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2026.
H 656 requires Idaho public schools and colleges to collect *aggregated* data on students' immigration status, nationality, and primary language, but not individual student information. This data will be submitted annually to the state board of education for budget analysis, specifically to estimate education costs and assess how federal immigration policies impact Idaho's education funding. The bill explicitly prohibits using the data for discrimination and mandates compliance with existing privacy laws (Idaho Code §33-133). It applies to all public institutions of higher education, charter schools, and school districts in Idaho. The data collection is scheduled to begin July 1, 2026.
This Idaho bill (H 655) exempts physicians in primary care, psychiatry, or OB/GYN from needing prior approval for Medicaid-covered services if they provide 360+ hours of unpaid mentoring (preceptorship) to graduate students annually, with at least 60% of those hours in rural shortage areas. Physicians must track and report hours to the state health department, which verifies eligibility and grants a 12-month exemption starting the next calendar year. The exemption is limited to 100 physicians per specialty yearly, and the state can revoke it if claims review shows insufficient adherence to the program. This directly affects Idaho physicians mentoring students in rural areas, aiming to reduce administrative barriers for rural healthcare training.
Idaho's H 647 prohibits restrictive covenants that ban or unreasonably limit manufactured homes in areas zoned for single-family homes, making such covenants void and unenforceable after July 1, 2026. The bill requires local governments to update zoning plans to allow manufactured homes in single-family residential areas and sets appearance standards (e.g., minimum square footage, siding/roofing matching neighborhood style, pitched roofs). It directly affects manufactured home owners, communities with exclusionary covenants, and local governments managing land use. The law does not apply to covenants entered before July 1, 2026, and mandates that manufactured homes meet specific aesthetic and structural standards similar to traditional homes.
This Idaho bill (H 651) revises rules for paying landowners who suffer damage to crops or property from big game animals like deer, elk, and pronghorn. It establishes a nonexpendable fund ($2.25 million) and an expendable fund that receives annual $200,000 transfers from the fish and game account. Key changes include requiring a $750 deductible per claim (waived for repeated crop damage in the same location), capping total annual payments at $125,000 per landowner, and adding rules for distributing funds when claims exceed available money. The bill directly affects ranchers and landowners seeking compensation for wildlife-related property damage.
This bill amends Idaho law to change how wildlife relocation projects, particularly for bighorn sheep, are handled. It requires the Director of Fish and Game to provide 30 days' notice to county commissions and landowners within 5 miles of proposed relocation sites, and to submit annual relocation plans to legislative leaders. County boards must hold public hearings within 30 days if landowners request one, and can approve or reject relocation plans. The changes aim to increase local input before moving wildlife, directly affecting the Department of Fish and Game, county officials, and landowners near proposed relocation areas.
Idaho's H 640 requires all state-managed funds - including public pensions, university endowments, and government investment accounts - to immediately sell investments in entities tied to designated "foreign adversaries." These include countries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, as defined by federal regulations (15 CFR 791.4). The law prohibits new investments in such entities and mandates divestment of existing holdings by July 1, 2026. It explicitly states this does not override fiduciary duties or federal law. The bill affects all Idaho governmental entities managing public funds, including universities and retirement systems.
This Idaho bill (H 525) changes execution procedures for the death penalty. It establishes firing squad as the default method (replacing lethal injection) unless the director certifies lethal injection is available, and explicitly states that execution procedures cannot be challenged through rulemaking, judicial review, or other legal processes. The bill also adds confidentiality protections for individuals involved in executions and exempts execution participants from medical licensing rules and liability claims. These changes apply to all future executions, regardless of when the death sentence was issued.
