States findings of the Legislature and supports the consolidation of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission into the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE SENATE SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 115 BY RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION1 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND SUPPORTING CONSOLIDATION OF THE SOIL2 AND WATER CONSERVATION COMMISSION INTO THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER3 RESOURCES.4 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5 WHEREAS, responsible government calls for the continual evaluation of6 current policies and practices to ensure effective and efficient depart-7 ments and agencies within any administration; and8 WHEREAS, the Honorable Governor Brad Little signed Executive Order9 2026-01, the Idaho Act, which directed executive departments, offices,10 and agencies to review all current operations in an effort to increase ef-11 fectiveness and efficiency within Idaho state government and recommended12 combining the Soil and Water Conservation Commission (SWCC) with the Idaho13 Department of Water Resources (IDWR); and14 WHEREAS, the Legislature has enacted the Idaho Code Cleanup Act, Chap-15 ter 37, Title 67, Idaho Code, calling for state code to be streamlined,16 up-to-date, and essential; and17 WHEREAS, the Idaho Legislature convened the Idaho DOGE task force on18 July 25, 2025, as a combined legislative body that was created, in part, to19 evaluate and implement strategies, merge redundant agencies, and optimize20 services; and21 WHEREAS, on November 19, 2025, the DOGE task force unanimously approved22 a motion to recommend the integration of SWCC with IDWR and published mate-23 rial supporting further evaluation and subsequent action; and24 WHEREAS, there is significant alignment of the missions of both SWCC and25 IDWR; and26 WHEREAS, the proposed statutory realignment of the administrative27 oversight of SWCC warrants careful evaluation to ensure it strengthens28 the voluntary, locally led, and non-regulatory foundation of conservation29 districts in Idaho, and any realignment must have administrative and orga-30 nizational structures that reinforce, rather than diminish, the unique role31 of conservation districts in leading locally led and non-regulatory conser-32 vation.33 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-34 sion of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of Rep-35 resentatives concurring therein, that the Legislature supports the consol-36 idation of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the Idaho Depart-37 ment of Water Resources.38 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the Governor of Idaho,39 the Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districts Board, and members of40 the Legislature to collaborate to ensure that any proposed consolidation of41 the two entities retains the voluntary, non-regulatory mission and partner-42

2 ship-centered focus of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission and its1 districts.2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the Governor of Idaho,3 the Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districts Board, the Soil and Wa-4 ter Conservation Commission and district members, the Director of the Idaho5 Department of Water Resources, members of the Legislature, and other stake-6 holders to ensure that any consolidation of the two entities is executed to7 ensure that there is no interference with the core mission of the Soil and Wa-8 ter Conservation Commission and districts in supporting locally led and vol-9 untary conservation in Idaho.10