This bill reaffirms Idaho's water rights under the Bear River Compact and directs state agencies to actively develop and protect Idaho's allocated water supply. It requires the Idaho Water Resource Board to prepare reports on water development opportunities and prioritize feasibility studies for new storage projects, while directing funds from a 2027 transfer to support these efforts. The resolution also instructs state officials to strictly enforce irrigation reserve rules for Bear Lake and to consult with legislative leaders before negotiating agreements with other states or utilities regarding Bear River water management.
This bill approves most temporary and pending administrative rules submitted by Idaho state agencies for review during the 2026 legislative session, while rejecting specific rules from agencies including agriculture, environmental quality, health and welfare, and occupational licensing. The resolution allows agencies to continue their proposed regulations unless the Legislature explicitly disapproves them, with rejected rules becoming void at the end of the session. It lists 17 specific rule dockets that are not approved, covering areas such as seed production, fishing licenses, daycare licensing, water quality, and occupational therapy standards. State agencies and the public are directly affected as this determines which proposed regulations will remain in effect or expire.
This bill allocates $390,000 from the General Fund to Idaho's Department of Water Resources for fiscal year 2027 to support personnel, planning, and two specific stream adjudication projects in Northern Idaho and the Bear River Basin. It also transfers $716,000 from the Revolving Development Fund to the Aquifer Planning and Management Fund to finance aquifer monitoring, measurement, and modeling activities. The legislation reappropriates unspent American Rescue Plan funds for nonrecurring water infrastructure projects and allows general stream adjudication funding to count toward filing fees for certain water right claims. Finally, the bill declares an emergency and sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.
This Idaho bill restricts how data centers can use water for cooling purposes, specifically targeting facilities that begin construction on or after July 1, 2026. Under the new rules, data centers may only use water for cooling if it comes from a municipal water system, water district, or water and sewer district. The legislation aims to protect local water supplies and watersheds by preventing data centers from using water that would otherwise be available for other community needs. The law requires the state Department of Water Resources to consider these water conservation goals when reviewing water rights applications for data centers.
This bill allocates funding to the Idaho Department of Lands for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, directing specific amounts to support personnel costs, capital projects, and trustee benefit payments across various programs including business services, forest resources, trust land management, fire protection, and minerals. The legislation provides $2.7 million for fiscal year 2027 and $285,000 for fiscal year 2026, while simultaneously reducing certain appropriations from previous budgets to balance the overall funding. It designates $145,000 specifically for the Idaho Geological Survey and allows the Forest and Range Fire Protection Program to receive unlimited transfers from other departmental funds for both fiscal years. Additionally, the bill limits General Fund bonuses to firefighters with incident qualification cards and requires a report on 2026 fire season bonus awards to be submitted by January 5, 2027.
This bill provides funding for Idaho's Soil and Water Conservation Commission for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, directing money through both the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Water Resources. It reduces the Department of Agriculture's allocation for 2027 while increasing the Department of Water Resources' funding for the same period, with specific amounts designated for personnel, operations, capital outlays, and trustee and benefit payments. The legislation also sets aside $300,000 to distribute equally among the state's 50 soil and water conservation districts and provides an additional $12,900 for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Once signed into law, the bill takes effect on July 1, 2026, with one section becoming effective immediately upon signing.
This bill updates Idaho's hazardous waste management laws by replacing the previous facility siting process with a new system. It creates requirements for siting licenses, establishes site review panels, and sets minimum criteria for hazardous waste facility locations. The bill prohibits local governments from restricting such facilities and mandates new reporting rules for waste management. These changes directly affect hazardous waste treatment/storage/disposal facilities, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and local governments.
This bill allocates state funding to Idaho's Natural Resources agencies for fiscal year 2027, covering operations, personnel, and capital projects across departments like Environmental Quality, Fish and Game, and Parks and Recreation. It establishes specific spending limits on certain positions, requires agencies to report on remediation projects, and directs money from the Water Pollution Control Fund to environmental remediation and agricultural best management practice funds. The legislation also provides flexibility to reappropriate certain recovery funds, exempts some appropriations from transfer restrictions, and sets up new funds for aquifer planning and flood management while requiring accountability reports on fund usage.
This bill is a joint memorial from the Idaho Legislature requesting that the U.S. Congress pass laws to regulate solar geoengineering activities. It specifically asks for federal legislation to prohibit the intentional release of substances into the atmosphere for solar geoengineering without explicit approval from the State of Idaho. The memorial urges banning unmarked aircraft and drones used for such activities over Idaho airspace and recommends making unauthorized actions a felony offense with criminal penalties. The document also calls for cooperation between federal law enforcement and Idaho state agencies to enforce these regulations and demands full disclosure and public consent for any solar geoengineering programs conducted over Idaho.
H 555 updates Idaho's Solid Waste Facilities Act by revising regulations for solid waste facilities, primarily affecting the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), counties, health districts, and waste facility operators. It repeals outdated site certification rules (sections 39-7408A-D) and replaces them with new processes for application reviews, public input, and administrative approvals. The bill adds new sections to establish a Solid Waste Regulatory Fund, set application fees, and create standards for co-located facilities and site operations. These changes streamline permitting, clarify agency responsibilities, and modernize compliance requirements without altering the act's core environmental protection goals.
