Idaho Bills

Adds to existing law to provide for the crime of critical infrastructure trespass, to provide penalties, to provide exceptions, and to authorize the attorney general to prosecute certain persons.

This legislation creates a penalty for critical infrastructure trespass. The bill mirrors large sections of existing trespasslaw, includingprovidingformisdemeanorandfelonychargesbasedonthecircumstancesoftheaction. For individuals who plead or are found guilty of a misdemeanor, sentencing may include up to six months in jail and a fine up to $1,000. For individuals who plead or are found guilty of a felony, sentencing includes up to 10 years in a state penitentiary and a fine up to $10,000. A separate fine up to $100,000 exists for an individual or organization that solicits critical infrastructure trespass.

Amends existing law to revise a provision regarding intervention by the Legislature in an action regarding an Idaho statute.

The purpose of this bill is to clarify that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives (as the elected officers of the Idaho State Senate and House of Representatives) have the authority to intervene in such cases before the courts.

Adds to existing law to establish the Unfair Service Agreements Act.

The goal of this legislation is to protect homeowners and to provide a remedy for existing Unfair Service Agreements, while discouraging future unfair and deceptive trade practices in real estate transactions.

Amends existing law to provide certain limitations on coverage.

Thisproposedlegislationwouldeliminatetheproblemofphantominsuranceandreducedpaymentsforbenefits paid by others. The proposed legislation provides that when a citizen purchases motor vehicle under-insurance coverage, the purchaser receives the stated benefit provided on the declaration page. This prevents an insurance company who receives a premium for underinsured coverage from taking credit for the benefits paid by other's insurance companies. It further limits the benefits recoverable to the purchaser's actual losses or the amount of coverage purchased, whichever is less.

Amends existing law to provide for open-source software, to provide a requirement for a vote tally system, to provide that the county clerk post a sample ballot and the open-source software used, and to provide legislative intent regarding certain duties of the Secretary of State.

This legislation would require any software used with ballot counting machines that count paper ballots to be open source software. The term "open source software" is defined in the legislation. The bill also includes a requirement that paper ballots that are counted by the ballot counting machine be time stamped as to when the ballot is counted and that there be a machine identifying number stamped on the ballot at the time it is counted. This legislation would become effective January 1, 2027. Prior to the effective date, the Secretary of State would report to the Legislature, once a year, as to the progress in implementing these requirements.

Adds to existing law to exempt certain broadband equipment from property taxes.

The state has identified broadband as a critical need for the rural parts of our state. The Idaho Broadband Strategic Plan set a goal to connect 100% of Idaho’s businesses and homes to high-speed broadband by 2027. Meeting that goal will require a massive investment of federal and state dollars to deploy broadband, and that deployment needs to be as efficient as possible. This bill amends chapter 6, Title 63, Idaho Code by exempting from property tax equipment and infrastructure used in deployment of high-speed broadband.