Idaho Bills

Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Finance for fiscal year 2026.

This appropriation to the Department of Finance provides enhancements to the FY 2026 maintenance budget that includes 4.00 FTP and additional personnel costs for a financial institutions IT examiner, a financial institutions examiner, a financial examiner investigator 3, and a financial examiner with a forensic accounting specialty; and IT replacement items. Forenhancement3, theagencyalsorequestedtwoadditionalfinancialinvestigator3positionsfortheconsumer financebureauforatotaloftwo(2.00)FTPand$246,000. Thesepositionswerenotfundedandarenotincluded in this enhancement bill.

Amends existing law to remove a provision regarding priority of hearings.

This bill removes an antiquated section of code that allows for some plaintiffs to demand a trial within thirty (30) days in a particular and limited circumstance. This option is not offered to plaintiffs in other cases. Such demands place an undue burden on the court system and all of the other parties to the case. All of the plaintiffs’ other protections and rights are maintained.

Amends existing law to provide for trapping education and licensing.

Thisbillbringsfromrulewhatmustbetaughtinahunterandtrappingeducationcoursewhilealsoconsolidating the requirements. It adds the requirement that students must receive instruction on trespassing and personal and real property tampering laws. The bill also allows individuals to trap under the supervision of a certified guide without the individual being certified themselves. This allows the individual to receive hands on instruction and take the animals trapped without having to wait months to take a trapping education course. If that individual ever wishes to trap independently, they will still have to take the trapper education course but will have the additional experience.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the number of judges in the Seventh Judicial District.

This bill would add a new district judge position in the Seventh Judicial District to be chambered in Bonneville County. The Seventh Judicial District, which is comprised of ten (10) counties covering more than 20,000 squaremiles, isthelargestjudicialdistrictinIdaho. Itisalsothethirdmostpopulousjudicialdistrictinthestate andhasseena22%populationincreaseoverten(10)years. Allofthedistrictjudgesinthedistricttraveltocover cases in counties other than the county in which they are chambered, and four (4) district judges chambered elsewhere in the district handle regular calendars in Bonneville County. Based upon regular calendars, and not including travel for trials, it is estimated the six (6) current district judges expend more than 51 days of drive time each year in order to cover cases throughout the district. In addition, all six (6) of the current district judges preside over a treatment court and four (4) of those district judges travel to other counties for those proceedings. Finally, Bonneville County is the medical hub of eastern Idaho, with two (2) major hospitals and multiple specialist doctors in Idaho Falls. As a result, the district judges in Bonneville County handle a significant number of highly complex and intensely litigated medical malpractice cases. The Seventh Judicial District’s significant population growth, along with the unique demands of this large district consisting of both small and large counties, necessitate that an additional district judge chambered in Bonneville County is needed to provide timely and fair access to the public and increase the efficient allocation of court resources.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the literacy intervention program.

This legislation builds upon the comprehensive literacy law which states that the Idaho Department of Education shall provide professional development for all Kindergarten through Grade 3 teachers and elementary administrators. This professional development shall include coaching and training for teachers based in the science of reading and evidence-based best practices. This will provide statewide professional development in the science of reading for all Kindergarten through Grade 3 teachers and elementary administrators, filling a critical gap in our statewide approach. It ensures existing literacy dollars are being expended in alignment with the science of reading and evidence-based best practices, maximizing student achievement in reading.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding solid waste collection systems.

This legislation clarifies current statute to ensure that persons may contract with non-franchised solid waste providers for temporary waste collection containers.

Repeals and adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding laying out of highways.

This legislation repeals and replaces Idaho Code § 40-605. The new section of code adds two new elements: 1) a requirement that pedestrian and bicycle facilities may only be improved as a secondary or collateral benefit for a highway project; and 2) a requirement that non-residential collector and arterial roadways may not be reduced in width.

Repeals existing law to remove provisions regarding weather modification.

This legislation is to repeal Chapter 43, Title 22 of Idaho code titled Weather Modification District. This taxing district has not been utilized since the 1970’s and was only used by one district in the state during the 1970’s. There are no such districts in operation today.

Relates to funding of the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources for fiscal year 2026.

This is the enhancement appropriation bill for the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources. As detailed in Table 1 of the

Relates to the appropriation to the State Board of Education for community colleges for fiscal year 2026.

This appropriation to Community Colleges provides enhancements to the FY 2026 maintenance budget. Thisappropriationprovidesanadditional$1,679,800tothemaintenanceappropriationprovidedtoCommunity Colleges found in House Bill 341 that includes additional funding for the enrollment workload adjustment and requires the Office of the State Board of Education to develop an outcomes based funding model for the Community Colleges. Table 1 shows incremental adjustments to the budget found in the bill, of which the ongoing increase is $1,679,800. Table 2 shows the adjustments leading to the FY 2026 Total. The total budget for the Community Colleges is $69,219,700 and provides support to the College of Eastern Idaho, College of Southern Idaho, College of Western Idaho, and North Idaho College.