Amends existing law to provide that idle moneys may be invested in physical gold and silver in certain instances, to provide for storage of physical gold and silver, and to provide for a maximum allowed investment.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1338 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO THE STATE TREASURER; AMENDING SECTION 67-1210, IDAHO CODE, TO2 PROVIDE THAT IDLE MONEYS MAY BE INVESTED IN PHYSICAL GOLD AND SILVER IN3 CERTAIN INSTANCES, TO PROVIDE FOR STORAGE OF PHYSICAL GOLD AND SILVER,4 AND TO PROVIDE FOR A MAXIMUM ALLOWED INVESTMENT; AND DECLARING AN EMER-5 GENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.6

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:7

SECTION 1. That Section 67-1210, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby8 amended to read as follows:9 67-1210. INVESTMENT OF IDLE MONEYS. (1) It shall be the duty of the10 state treasurer to invest idle moneys in the state treasury in any of the11 following:12 (a) Bonds, treasury bills, interest-bearing notes, or other obliga-13 tions of the United States, or those for which the faith and credit of14 the United States are pledged for the payment of principal and interest.15 (b) General obligation or revenue bonds of this state, or those for16 which the faith and credit of this state are pledged for the payment of17 principal and interest.18 (c) General obligation or revenue bonds of any county, city, metropoli-19 tan water district, municipal utility district, school district, or20 other taxing district of this state.21 (d) Notes, bonds, debentures, or other similar obligations issued by22 the farm credit system or institutions forming a part thereof under the23 farm credit act of 1971, 12 U.S.C. 2001-2259, and all acts of congress24 amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto; in bonds or debentures of25 the federal home loan bank board established under the federal home loan26 bank act, 12 U.S.C. 1421-1449; in bonds, debentures and other obliga-27 tions of the federal national mortgage association established under28 the national housing act, 12 U.S.C. 1701-1750g, as amended, and in the29 bonds of any federal home loan bank established under said act and in30 other obligations issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentali-31 ties of the government of the state of Idaho or of the United States,32 including the United States small business administration guaranteed33 portion of any loan approved by an Idaho banking corporation and by the34 state treasurer.35 (e) Bonds, notes or other similar obligations issued by public corpo-36 rations of the state of Idaho including, but not limited to, the Idaho37 state building authority, the Idaho housing and finance association and38 the Idaho water resource board.39 (f) Repurchase agreements covered by any legal investment for the state40 of Idaho.41

2 (g) Tax anticipation notes and registered warrants of the state of1 Idaho.2 (h) Tax anticipation bonds or notes and income and revenue anticipation3 bonds or notes of taxing districts of the state of Idaho.4 (i) Time deposit accounts and savings accounts in state depositories5 including, but not limited to, accounts on which interest or dividends6 are paid and upon which negotiable orders of withdrawal may be drawn,7 and similar transaction accounts.8 (j) Time deposit accounts and savings accounts of state or federal sav-9 ings and loan associations located within the geographical boundaries10 of the state in amounts not to exceed the insurance provided by the fed-11 eral deposit insurance corporation including, but not limited to, ac-12 counts on which interest or dividends are paid and upon which negotiable13 orders of withdrawal may be drawn, and similar transaction accounts.14 (k) Revenue bonds of institutions of higher education of the state of15 Idaho.16 (l) Share, savings and deposit accounts of state and federal credit17 unions located within the geographical boundaries of the state in18 amounts not to exceed the insurance provided by the national credit19 union share insurance fund and/or any other authorized deposit guaranty20 corporation, including, but not limited to, accounts on which interest21 or dividends are paid and upon which negotiable orders of withdrawal may22 be drawn, and similar transaction accounts.23 (m) Money market funds whose portfolios consist of any allowed invest-24 ment as specified in this section. The securities held in money market25 portfolios must be dollar-denominated, meaning that all principal and26 interest payments on such a security are payable to security holders in27 United States dollars.28 (n)(i) Physical gold and silver. Except as provided in subpara-29 graph (ii) of this paragraph, physical gold and silver, owned30 directly and held under this subsection, shall be maintained se-31 curely in a depository for precious metals constructed, at a min-32 imum, to currently accepted industry standards for secure storage33 and located within the geographical boundaries of this state, a34 state contiguous to this state, or the state of Texas. The state35 treasurer shall ensure that the gold and silver held in a quali-36 fying depository under this subsection is insured, independently37 audited, and physically segregated from other assets.38 (ii) Physical gold and silver, owned directly and held under this39 subsection, may be stored by a bank chartered under the Idaho bank40 act or a credit union organized under the Idaho credit union act41 when such facility is located within the geographical boundaries42 of this state and the gold and silver is stored in a class 1 vault.43 (iii) The maximum allowed investment in physical gold and silver44 shall not exceed seven and one-half percent (7.5%) of the idle mon-45 eys invested pursuant to this section.46 (2) The term "idle moneys" means the balance of cash and other evidences47 of indebtedness that are accepted by banks as cash in the ordinary course of48 business, in demand deposit accounts, after taking into consideration all49 deposits and withdrawals, on a daily basis.50

3 (3) The interest received on all such investments, unless other-1 wise specifically required by law, shall be paid into the general fund of2 the state of Idaho. Provided, unless otherwise specifically provided by3 statute, any interest earned on moneys received by the state pursuant to a4 federal law, regulation, or federal-state agreement that governs disposi-5 tion of interest earned upon such moneys shall be accounted for separately to6 give effect to the federal law, regulation, or federal-state agreement.7 (4) If the interest is to be credited to a separate fund, the state trea-8 surer shall charge the fund an investment administration fee. The amount of9 the fee shall be determined annually by the state treasurer and submitted to10 the board of examiners for approval. The fee shall be expressed as an an-11 nual percentage of the average daily balance of the fund, including separate12 investments, if any, of that fund. The fee shall be charged monthly in an13 amount approximately one twelfth (1/12) of the fee that would be payable on14 an annual basis. The amount of the investment administration fee shall con-15 stitute an appropriation from the fund for which the investment administra-16 tion services are rendered.17 (5) The state treasurer shall charge an investment administration fee18 to each such state fund, including the general fund, that is invested by the19 office of state treasurer. The investment administration fee shall be de-20 termined annually by the state treasurer and submitted to the board of exam-21 iners for approval. The fee shall be expressed as an annual percentage of the22 average daily balance of the fund, including separate investments, if any,23 of that fund. The fee shall be charged monthly in an amount approximately24 one twelfth (1/12) of the fee that would be payable on an annual basis. The25 amount of the investment administration fee shall constitute an appropria-26 tion from the fund for which the investment administration services are ren-27 dered.28 (6) The term "to invest" means to use the idle moneys in the state trea-29 sury to buy, sell, including selling before maturity at either a gain or a30 loss, retain, or exchange any of the investments described in this section,31 considering the probable safety of the capital, the probable income to be de-32 rived, and the liquidity of the assets.33

SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby34 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after35 July 1, 2026.36