Idaho Bills
26 bills · 2021 Regular Session
Amends existing law to provide for certain fee increases to provide additional funding to counties.
34 – 33
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for fiscal year 2021.
29 – 5
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for fiscal year 2022.
36 – 34
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Parks and Recreation for fiscal year 2021.
31 – 4
Amends and adds to existing law to provide for the electronic publication of public notices by a governmental entity on the entity's website.
32 – 38
Adds to existing law to establish the Insurance Data Security Act.
31 – 37
Amends existing law to provide that a lien for child support delinquency attaches to certain property and to provide for calculation of a self-employed parent's financial resources for purposes of determining child support.
36 – 33
Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the exclusion of certain Medicaid income to a certified family home provider.
32 – 34
Relates to the appropriation to the Commission on Hispanic Affairs for fiscal year 2022.
30 – 4
Relates to the appropriation to the Commission on the Arts for fiscal year 2022.
28 – 7
Amends existing law to establish the Strong Students Grant Program and the Strong Students Scholarship Program, which provide funds to eligible students for certain education expenses.
Strong Students Grant program and Strong Students Scholarship program. Part One is the Strong Students Grant Program which formalizes the Strong Families, Strong Students grant program to help parents meet their child’s unique educational needs. Under Part One, students at public schools, charter schools, private schools, or are home schooled will receive $500 grants per student per year to pay for allowable education expenses. Grants are available first to families whose Adjusted Gross Income is below $50,000 per year, then to families earning up to $75,000 and then to everyone else for as long as the funding lasts for that year. Part Two of this bill creates a program to provide scholarships for a limited number of students who have previously attended public schools but who subsequently need different options. Qualification standards are the same as for the grant program described above. Scholarships would be equal to 90 percent of the average amount of state funds appropriated per student during the prior fiscal year. Parents will be able to access and spend the grant and scholarship funds on behalf of their child for approved educational expenses through a digital platform. The purpose of the emergency clause is to allow the State Board of Education time to have the applications available by July 1, 2021. I.C. 32-1012 explicitly recognizes the constitutional right of parents to direct and supervise their children’s education. I.C. 33-107 and Article IX, Section 2 of the Idaho Constitution give the State Board supervision over public schools only. I.C. 33-202, which provides that nonpublic students need to be instructed “in subjects commonly and usually taught in the public schools of the state.” This bill is consistent with that existing code. Section 1 of this bill reads: Nothing in sections 33-1030 through 33-1034, Idaho Code, shall be construed to give the state authority to regulate the education of nonpublic students.
16 – 18
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Environmental Quality for fiscal year 2021.
This is an FY 2021 supplemental appropriation bill for the Department of Environmental Quality. It provides $311,300 to offset a portion of the 5% General Fund Holdback issued by the Governor.
36 – 34
Adds to existing law to provide requirements for health benefit plans and student health benefit plans that cover prescription contraception.
16 – 18
Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding a taxing district's budget limitations.
17 – 18
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for fiscal year 2022.
35 – 34
States findings of the Legislature and directs the Committee on Federalism to study the fair taxable value of certain federal lands.
This concurrent resolution calls on the Federalism Committee to study the impact of the United States Government Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program in Idaho. The Committee shall pilot technologies providing an objective standard to evaluate and appraise federal lands in real time to determine the fair taxable reimbursement value of federal lands.
19 – 16
Adds to existing law to establish the Idaho Promise Mentor Program.
ThislegislationauthorizesandcreatestheIdahoPromisementorprogramtobeadministeredbytheStateBoard of Education. Under the program, volunteer mentors will build relationships with Idaho high school students and their families, veterans, and other adults (“mentees”) to help them overcome financial and other barriers to earning postsecondary apprenticeships, job training certificates and associate and associate of applied science degrees. These career-ready credentials will qualify mentees for vacant, good paying Idaho jobs. The mentors will build relationships with mentees and their families and help mentees during the critical summer months following high school graduation when they no longer have access to high school counselors and have not yet connected with postsecondary program advisers. Current data show that about 4,000 graduating high school seniors who plan to enroll in postsecondary programs the following fall do not do so. The mentors will also help mentees and their families apply for Pell grants and other sources of funding, from which many will learn that programs they believed were beyond their financial ability are, in fact, within reach.
17 – 17
Relates to the appropriation to the Catastrophic Health Care Program for fiscal year 2021.
This is an FY 2021 supplemental appropriation bill for the Catastrophic Health Care Program, also known as the CAT Fund. It provides $6 million to cover the estimated claims costs that remain in FY 2021. For the first six months of the fiscal year, the CAT Board has approved and expended just over $7 million in claims. The CAT Board estimates spending about the same amount in the second half of the fiscal year. Any amount appropriated in the bill that is unexpended at the end of the fiscal year will remain in CAT Fund and will be available for claims in FY 2022.
33 – 35
Relates to the appropriation to the Office of the State Board of Education for fiscal year 2021.
This is an FY 2021 supplemental appropriation bill for the Office of the State Board of Education. It provides $5,980,500 for an early childhood education development grant. In January of 2021, the Office of the State Board of Education was notified that it was the recipient of a federal grant (for birth through five) to support the development of Idaho's early childhood care and education system. To administer this grant, the Office of the State Board will partner with the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (IDAEYC), a registered 501(c)(3) operating in Idaho. The Idaho State Board of Education will be the designated state agency to receive the federal grant and work closely with IDAEYC to ensure the grant is administered to meet the objectives identified in the needs assessment (conducted in 2020). The goal is to provide education resources for children ages birth through five - in multiple formats - and support locally-controlled, high-quality, and family-focused programs and educators that support the optimal growth and development of young children.
34 – 36
Relates to the appropriation to the Office of the State Board of Education for fiscal year 2021.
This is an FY 2021 supplemental appropriation bill for the Office of the State Board of Education. It provides $5,980,600 for an early childhood education grant. In January of 2021, the Office of the State Board of Education was notified that it was the recipient of a federal grant (for birth through five) to support the development of Idaho's early childhood care and education system. To administer this grant, the Office of the State Board will partner with the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (IDAEYC), a registered 501(c)(3) operating in Idaho. The State Board of Education will be the designated state agency to receive the federal grant and work closely with IDAEYC to ensure the grant is administered to meet the objectives identified in the needs assessment (conducted in 2020). The goal is to provide education resources for children ages birth through five - in multiple formats - and support locally controlled, high-quality, and family-focused programs and educators that support the optimal growth and development of young children. This bill also directs the use and oversight of the grant.
18 – 17
Repeals, adds to, and amends existing law to enact the Annuity Consumer Protections Act.
This purpose of this legislation is to adopt a recent NAIC model regulation in statute rather than rule which clarifies the obligations for insurance producers and insurers to act in the best interest of the consumer when making a recommendation of an annuity, to establish producer training expectations, and to require insurers to establish and maintain a system to supervise recommendations so that the insurance needs and financial objectives of consumers at the time of the transaction are effectively addressed. It also clarifies and simplifies the applicability of the annuity statutes in Chapter 19, Title 41, Idaho Code. Several of the provisions of the act besides the best interest standard are currently in IDAPA; this act moves those provisions to statute.
29 – 6
Relates to the appropriation to Idaho Public Television for fiscal year 2022.
This is the FY 2022 original appropriation bill for Idaho Public Television. It appropriates a total of $9,552,700 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 70.48. For benefit costs, the bill maintains the current appropriated amount for health insurance at $11,650 per eligible FTP, extends the holiday for the employer's sick leave contribution rate for another year, and restores funding for the employer's unemployment insurance contribution rate. Funding for replacement items includes $110,000 for laptop computers, file server, and production switch. The bill also provides funding for the equivalent of a 2% change in employee compensation for permanent state employees and a 2% upward shift in the compensation schedule. The bill funds two line items, which provide $50,000 for year five of a federal video production grant; and $100,000 onetime for federal spending authority related to COVID-19 relief.
28 – 6
Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding the homeowner exemption, the circuitbreaker tax reduction, the disabled veterans tax reduction, the property tax deferral program, and the taxation of personal property.
This bill makes several changes to Idaho Code, providing property tax relief and limiting the ability of local taxing districts to increase their budgets. For property tax, it provides property tax relief in 2021 to homeowners by increasing the homeowner's exemption to $125,000. It reduces property taxes for homeowners who qualify for the circuit breaker program by increasing the benefit up to $1,500, depending on need. It reduces property taxes for veterans qualifying for the special disabled veteran's property tax reduction program by increasing the benefit to $1,500. In 2022, it adds an additional qualification for the circuit breaker program to ensure the general fund no longer subsidizes income-poor but asset-rich applicants. Also, in 2022, it increases the exemption for personal property taxpayers to $250,000 and exempts transient personal property from taxation. For local taxing districts, it reduces the amount of valuation available to tax new construction and annexation, creating a total cap of 8% in any budget year. It also reduces the amount of forgone revenue a taxing district may take for ongoing budget growth but provides a mechanism for expenditures that are considered one-time capital projects. Finally, it delays the entry of an improved property's market value on the new construction roll until after the improvements are completed. Overall, this bill provides direct residential and commercial property tax relief and also provides for indirect property tax relief by curbing growth in local budgets, the combination of which results in significant tax relief for all property owners.
19 – 16
Adds to existing law to establish an Idaho Air Travel Enhancement Program.
AirTransportationplaysanimportantroleintheworld, thenation, andIdaho. Likethehighwaysystem, Idaho's systemof126publicuseairportsisacriticalcomponentofthestate'stransportationsystem. Themostimportant single segment of air transportation, as far as effect on economic health of an area is concerned, is scheduled airline service. The Idaho Legislature created the Intrastate Commercial Air Service Committee through Senate Concurrent Resolution 125 in 2020. A study conducted by the Committee consisted of intrastate commercial air service options and how to develop a long-term, viable strategy for sustainable intrastate commercial air service in the state of Idaho. The study focused on the state of passenger air service throughout Idaho, assessed intrastate air service passenger demand, potential routes/airlines for intrastate commercial air service, and best practices to recruit new air service. WhilesignificantdemandhasbeenidentifiedfortravelbetweenBoiseandtheeightstudyairports, manyfactors affect the potential for scheduled commercial passenger air service, including the time for a market to mature, which varies greatly from market-to-market. The start up phase will need help offsetting the risk for an airline to start service using incentives. The Idaho Air Travel Enhancement Program Fund will provide incentives to develop and expand intrastate commercial air travel between communities located in Idaho.
18 – 16
Amends existing law to provide that a tenant's security deposit shall be held in a separate account.
Requires security deposits for rentals managed by a third party manager be held in a separate account at a federally insured financial institute.
20 – 15