Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding costs associated with the annexation of certain property by cities.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 749 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO ANNEXATION BY CITIES; AMENDING SECTION 50-222, IDAHO CODE, TO2 REVISE PROVISIONS REGARDING ANNEXATION BY CITIES; AND DECLARING AN3 EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.4

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

SECTION 1. That Section 50-222, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby6 amended to read as follows:7 50-222. ANNEXATION BY CITIES. (1) Legislative intent. It is the in-8 tent of the legislature to honor the right of private landowners to have a9 voice in their own governance, to minimize conflict between citizens and mu-10 nicipalities, to provide a mechanism for the orderly development of Idaho11 cities, including the efficient and economically viable provision of tax-12 supported and fee-supported municipal services, to enable the orderly de-13 velopment of private lands that benefit from cost-effective availability of14 municipal services in urbanizing areas, and to equitably allocate the costs15 of public services in managing development on the urban fringe.16 (2) Definitions. For purposes of this section:17 (a) "Consent" means a written document executed by the landowner or18 the landowner's authorized agent explicitly agreeing to annexation.19 Written consent to annex lands must be recorded in the county recorder's20 office to be binding upon subsequent purchasers, heirs, or assigns of21 lands addressed in the consent.22 (b) "Contiguous" means sharing a common border. For the purpose of this23 section, land is not contiguous if the only common border is along a24 shoestring connection.25 (c) "Implied consent" means that valid consent to annex is implied for26 the area of all lands connected to a water or wastewater collection sys-27 tem owned and operated in its entirety by the city if the connection was28 requested in writing by the owner or the owner's authorized agent prior29 to July 1, 2024, or if the connection was completed before July 1, 2008.30 (d) "Landowner" means a person owning real property in the area pro-31 posed for annexation.32 (e) "Planning and zoning commission" means the entity performing plan-33 ning and zoning duties for the city, which may be the city council it-34 self, a planning commission, a zoning commission, or a planning and zon-35 ing commission.36 (f) "Subject land" means an area proposed for annexation by a city pur-37 suant to this section.38 (3) Requirements. Except as provided in subsection (5) (6) of this sec-39 tion, no city of this state shall annex land unless and until the following40 requirements are met:41

2 (a) The subject land is contiguous to or surrounded by the city, except1 as provided in subsections (7), (9), or (11) (8), (10), or (12) of this2 section;3 (b) The city notifies each landowner and the board of county commis-4 sioners of its intent to annex the subject land. Such notification5 shall:6 (i) Include a summary of the annexation plan;7 (ii) Advise landowners of their right to give or withhold consent;8 (iii) Include a description of how consent can be made, where it9 should be filed, and the deadline for such filing, which shall be10 no later than forty-five (45) days after the date of notification;11 (iv) Include information about where the entire record of the pro-12 posed annexation may be reviewed; and13 (v) Include a legal description of the subject land and a simple14 map depicting the location of the subject land;15 (c) The city publishes notice of its intent to annex the subject land.16 In providing notice, the city shall comply with the notice and hearing17 procedures governing a zoning district boundary change as set forth in18 chapter 65, title 67, Idaho Code, unless otherwise provided in this sec-19 tion, on the question of whether the subject land should be annexed and,20 if annexed, the zoning designation to be applied to the subject land.21 The initial notice of public hearing concerning the question of annexa-22 tion and zoning shall be published in the official newspaper of the city23 and mailed by first class mail to every landowner of property included24 in the annexation proposal at least twenty-eight (28) days prior to the25 initial public hearing. All public hearing notices shall establish a26 time and procedure by which comments concerning the proposed annexation27 may be received in writing and heard;28 (d) The city council adopts a written annexation plan;29 (e) Subsequent to publishing notice of intent and a written annexa-30 tion plan, the city council and the planning and zoning commission each31 holds a public hearing on the proposed annexation, pursuant to section32 67-6525, Idaho Code, at which landowners and city residents are af-33 forded an opportunity to testify for or against annexation. Provided,34 however, if a city performs its own planning and zoning functions with-35 out a commission, the two (2) public hearings required by this paragraph36 may be combined into one (1) public hearing, but in such case, the no-37 tice to landowners required by paragraph (c) of this subsection must be38 mailed at least forty-five (45) days prior to the public hearing; and39 (f) Landowners representing sixty percent (60%) of the parcels and at40 least fifty percent (50%) of the area proposed for annexation give vol-41 untary consent as defined in subsection (2) of this section and record42 such consent with the county recorder's office for the county in which43 the property is located.44 (4) Written annexation plan. The written annexation plan required by45 subsection (3) of this section shall describe:46 (a) The manner of providing tax-supported municipal services to the47 subject land;48 (b) The changes in taxation and other costs that would result if the49 subject land were to be annexed;50

3 (c) The means of providing fee-supported municipal services, if any, to1 the subject land;2 (d) An analysis of the potential effects of annexation on other units of3 local government that currently provide tax-supported or fee-supported4 services to the subject land;5 (e) The proposed future land use plan and zoning designation or desig-6 nations, subject to public hearing, for the subject land; and7 (f) A statement of the public purposes that would benefit from annexa-8 tion.9 (5) Landowners whose property is annexed by a city but who do not give10 voluntary consent for such annexation pursuant to the provisions of subsec-11 tion (3)(f) of this section shall not be required to use wastewater and water12 tax-supported or fee-supported municipal services and shall be allowed to13 maintain or replace existing wastewater and water systems that are compliant14 with applicable rules and regulations. Any costs incurred by such noncon-15 senting landowners solely as a result of city construction, installation,16 or modification of municipal infrastructure that causes the failure of the17 landowner's existing wastewater or water infrastructure shall be paid by the18 city.19 (5) (6) Exceptions.20 (a) Annexation with consent. In the case of a prospective annexation21 where all landowners of the subject property have requested annexation22 or where consent has been given by the landowner or landowners of a con-23 tiguous parcel or parcels or where implied consent has been given, the24 provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall not apply.25 In such a case, the subject land may extend beyond the city area of im-26 pact if the land is contiguous to the city and the comprehensive plan in-27 cludes the area of annexation. Lands need not be contiguous to the city28 limits at the time a landowner consents to annexation for the property29 to be subject to a valid consent to annex, but no annexation of lands may30 occur, regardless of consent, until such land becomes contiguous to the31 city. Upon determining that a proposed annexation meets the require-32 ments of this subsection, a city may initiate the planning and zoning33 procedures set forth in chapter 65, title 67, Idaho Code, to establish34 the comprehensive planning policies, where necessary, and zoning clas-35 sification of the lands to be annexed.36 (b) Enclaves. The provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section37 shall not apply to the annexation of any residential enclaved lands of38 thirty (30) or fewer privately owned parcels that are surrounded on all39 sides by lands within a city or lands that cannot legally or physically40 be annexed.41 (6) (7) Ordinance. If all requirements provided in subsection (3) or42 (5) (6) of this section are satisfied and the city agrees to the annexation,43 then the city council shall enact an annexation ordinance.44 (7) (8) Highways. In any annexation proceeding, all portions of high-45 ways lying wholly or partly in the subject area shall be included in the area46 annexed unless there is an express agreement otherwise between the city and47 the governing board of the highway agency providing road maintenance at the48 time of annexation. Provided, however, no city council may annex property49 if the property will be connected to the city only by a shoestring connection50

4 or strip of land comprising the highway's right-of-way in order to establish1 contiguity.2 (8) (9) Fairgrounds. Property that is used as a fairground pursuant to3 the provisions of chapter 8, title 31, Idaho Code, or chapter 2, title 22,4 Idaho Code, shall not be annexed unless the annexation is approved by a ma-5 jority of the board of county commissioners of the county in which the prop-6 erty lies.7 (9) (10) Airports. A city may annex land that is not contiguous to the8 city itself if such land is occupied by a municipally owned or operated air-9 port or landing field. A city may not annex any land contiguous to the air-10 port or landing field unless the land may otherwise be annexed pursuant to11 this section.12 (10) (11) Recreational areas. Property owned by a nongovernmental en-13 tity that is used to provide outdoor recreational activities to the public14 and that has been designated as a planned unit development of fifty (50)15 acres or more and does not require or utilize any city services must have the16 express written permission of the nongovernmental entity owner to be annexed17 by a city.18 (11) (12) Railroad rights-of-way. A railroad right-of-way property19 may be annexed pursuant to this section only when property within the city20 adjoins or will adjoin both sides of the right-of-way. Provided, however,21 no city council may annex property if the property will be connected to the22 city only by a shoestring connection or strip of land comprising the railroad23 right-of-way.24 (12) (13) Agricultural or forest lands. In addition to the requirements25 set forth in this section, the following lands may not be annexed without the26 express written permission of the landowner:27 (a) Land, if five (5) acres or greater, actively devoted to agriculture28 as defined in section 63-604(1), Idaho Code, regardless of whether such29 land is surrounded or bounded on all sides by lands within the city; and30 (b) Land, if five (5) acres or greater, actively devoted to forest land31 as defined in section 63-1701, Idaho Code, regardless of whether such32 land is surrounded or bounded on all sides by lands within the city.33 (13) (14) Judicial review. In the case of a city-initiated annexation,34 the decision of a city council to annex and zone land shall be subject to35 judicial review in accordance with the procedures provided in chapter 52,36 title 67, Idaho Code, and pursuant to the standards set forth in section37 67-5279, Idaho Code. An appeal shall be filed by an affected person in the38 appropriate district court no later than twenty-eight (28) days after the39 date of publication of the annexation ordinance and shall be heard by the40 district court at the earliest practicable time. All cases in which there41 may arise a question of the validity of any city-initiated annexation under42 this section shall be advanced as a matter of immediate public interest and43 concern and shall be heard by the district court at the earliest practicable44 time.45 (14) (15) This section applies to annexations occurring on and after46 July 1, 2024. It does not invalidate or affect consent, including implied47 consent, obtained or annexations undertaken lawfully according to the laws48 in effect at the time of such consent or annexations.49

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SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby1 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after2 July 1, 2026.3