Amends existing law to require all contributions and loans to a candidate or political committee to be deposited into a separate campaign account, to prohibit commingling of funds, and to require loans from a candidate to such candidate's campaign to be reported to the Secretary of State.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 598 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE; AMENDING SECTION 67-6604, IDAHO CODE, TO RE-2 VISE PROVISIONS REGARDING ACCOUNTS OF POLITICAL TREASURER; AND DECLAR-3 ING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.4

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5

SECTION 1. That Section 67-6604, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby6 amended to read as follows:7 67-6604. ACCOUNTS OF POLITICAL TREASURER. (1) All campaign contribu-8 tions, including any personal funds or loans from a candidate, shall be de-9 posited into a campaign account established exclusively for the candidate10 or political committee. No personal funds of a candidate or any other per-11 son shall be commingled with any contributions received by the candidate or12 political committee. The political treasurer for each candidate or polit-13 ical committee shall maintain such account separately from any personal or14 business accounts and shall report all contributions, deposits, and expen-15 ditures therefrom in accordance with this chapter. The political treasurer16 for each candidate or political committee shall keep detailed accounts, cur-17 rent within not more than seven (7) days after the date of receiving the con-18 tribution or making an expenditure, of all contributions received and all19 expenditures made by or on behalf of the candidate or political committee20 that are required to be set forth in a statement filed under this chapter.21 A candidate who makes a loan of personal funds to the candidate's own cam-22 paign shall deposit the full amount of the loan into the candidate's campaign23 account. The candidate shall, within seven (7) days of making the deposit,24 file with the secretary of state a written report certifying that the loan25 was deposited, stating the exact amount of the loan, and identifying the fi-26 nancial institution where the funds were deposited.27 (2) Accounts kept by the political treasurer for a candidate or politi-28 cal committee may be inspected before the election to which the accounts re-29 fer by the secretary of state, or county clerk for local government offices30 or measures, or his agent or employee, who is making an investigation pur-31 suant to section 67-6615, Idaho Code.32 (3) Accounts kept by a political treasurer shall be preserved by him for33 at least one (1) year after the date of the election to which the accounts re-34 fer or at least one (1) year after the date the last statement is filed under35 section 67-6607, Idaho Code, whichever is later.36

SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby37 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after38 July 1, 2026.39