Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the issuance of school bonds.

The cost of constructing a new high school has increased by 43.25% over the past six years. Unfortunately, the current bonding capacity of many rural school districts is insufficient to cover the costs of building or replacing their schools, specifically a high school, even when voters approve a bond. This legislation addresses this issue by increasing the bonding capacity from 5% to 8% of the market value for assessment purposes, as outlined in current code. Importantly, this legislation does not alter the process required to pass a bond. Instead, it empowers rural school districts to propose bonds that align with their actual construction needs, providing a realistic path to meet their educational infrastructure requirements.

Amends existing law to provide for a five-year moratorium on mule deer doe hunting in certain game management units.

ThedocumentisabilldraftrelatedtofishandgameinIdaho. Itestablishesafive-yearmoratoriumonmuledeer doe hunting in specific game management units with high migratory movement and due to reduced population, low survival rates, and decreased success rates of hunters. The moratorium will start on July 1, 2025, and exceptions may be made if chronic wasting disease is found in a unit. The provisions of the moratorium will be null and void after July 1, 2030.

Amends existing law to provide for the crime of domestic terrorism.

This legislation modifies the Idaho Terrorist Control Act to define domestic terrorism and redefine terrorism. This legislation would prevent an Idahoan from being labeled a domestic terrorist in Idaho without constitutionality protected due process.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the math and science requirement.

This legislation amends Idaho Code 33-1021 and provides additional funds to small schools. These funds provided to small schools supports them in hiring additional high school math and science teachers or cover related costs for supporting students in those subjects. It is updating the allocation for schools with a student enrollment between 100 and 319, as current law only provides a fraction of a classified position (1/9 or 2/7) and is insufficient for hiring additional teachers or covering course expenses.

Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding state board of education elections.

The State Board of Education is charged with the general supervision and governance of Idaho’s public educational institutions, agencies and school system, and sets policy for public schools throughout the state. The Board is comprised of eight members, seven of whom are appointed by the Governor, and the voter-elected Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Office of the State Board of Education implements Board policies, and oversees the public higher education institutions and the Board’s executive agencies. Currently, of the seven appointed members, three are from Boise, one from Eagle, and one from Fairfield. This legislation establishes that five of the seven members of the State Board of Education be elected by the region, establishing equal representation across the state. The Governor will appoint the remaining two members.

Adds to existing law to require public schools to develop sudden cardiac arrest prevention training and to require school districts to establish certain policies for the discipline of coaches.

This Legislation directs school districts to make use of existing resources to provide awareness & prevention training to parents and coaches regarding sudden cardiac arrest in student athletes. It provides guidelines for training and policy development.

Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to provide for campaign finance transparency.

Idaho’s campaign finance laws, also known as the sunshine laws, were originally enacted in 1974 by a citizen initiative to increase transparency regarding money spent on political campaigns and lobbying. This legislation updates and reorganizes the campaign finance laws to increase transparency, simplify reporting, and improve enforcement to better align with increased spending and modern practices in political campaigns. The legislation reorganizes the campaign finances laws by moving the provisions from Title 67, Chapter 66, State Government and State Affairs, to Title 74, Chapter 3, Transparent and Ethical Government. This new chapter separates the reporting requirements and responsibilities into five parts. It also separates the reporting requirements for campaign finance from the reporting requirements for lobbying. Additionally, the legislation makes several changes designed to increase the frequency of reporting, adjust the campaign finance limitations, and improve enforcement by creating an improved fine structure.

States findings of the Legislature and provides that all temporary and pending rules of the Idaho State Tax Commission have been reviewed and approved by the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

This Concurrent Resolution shows the House Revenue and Taxation Committee reviewed and approved pending rules adopted by the Idaho State Tax Commission.

States findings of the House of Representatives and provides that all temporary and pending rules of the Idaho Department of Labor, the Industrial Commission, and the Division of Veterans Services have been reviewed and approved by the Senate State Affairs Committee, with an exception.

This Resolution states all temporary and pending administrative rules for the Idaho Department of Labor, the IndustrialCommissionandtheDivisionofVeteranServiceswerepresentedtotheHouseCommerceandHuman Resources Committee for review, and they were approved with an exception .