Idaho Bills
635 bills · 2023 Regular Session
Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding benefit entitlement such that the duration of unemployment benefits will vary depending on the unemployment rate.
This legislation will index unemployment benefits to the state's unemployment rate. Under current law, Idaho gives 20 weeks of unemployment benefits - nearly 5 months - to workers regardless of the state's current unemployment rate. This bill sets a floor for unemployment benefits at 12 weeks, or 3 months when the state unemployment rate is 5%. For each subsequent 0.5% increase in the state's unemployment rate an additional week of benefits is added for a maximum total of 20 week of benefits at 8.5%. The U.S. Department of Labor considers a 5% unemployment rate to be "full employment."
Bruce Skaug · HD-010B
Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding underground facilities damage prevention.
Under current damage prevention statute there is not a definition for or direction about how to handle an emergency excavation. This legislation further defines “emergency” (relatively to this chapter of law), “emergency excavation” and “notice of emergency excavation” and establishes a process for underground facility owners to handle an emergency excavation. It also extends the length of time a maintained surface-marking for utility facilities is valid from 3 weeks to 4 weeks.
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Parks and Recreation for fiscal year 2023.
This is an fiscal year 2023 supplemental appropriation for the Department of Parks and Recreation which provides $900,000 to complete construction of a maintenance building and related improvements next to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. The appropriation includes moneys for the installation of utilities, access road, parking area, fenced storage yard, construction of a new maintenance building, and facilities for staff housing.
31 – 4
Amends and adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding disclosures by financial institutions to the Internal Revenue Service.
TheIRShassignificantlyexpandeditssizeandscopeinrecentyearsandhasproposedvariouswaysofrequiring financial institutions to disclose private account information. This legislation prohibits a bank, savings bank, savingsandloanassociation,orcreditunioncharteredunderthisstate'slaw(state-charteredfinancialinstitution) from disclosing to the federal Internal Revenue Service deposit and withdrawal transaction information for any account held at the state-chartered financial institution except when required by preexisting state or federal law.
Repeals existing law relating to unorganized associations and parades.
This legislation repeals Section 46-802, Idaho Code, that prohibits members of organizations other than the National Guard, unorganized militia, or select other groups from associating and parading in public with firearms. This legislation supports the Second Amendment Rights afforded to Idahoans under the U.S. Constitution.
Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding classroom behavior management.
This bill reviews the powers and duties section of Idaho Code 33-1224 and defines corporal punishment, physical escorts, restraints, seclusion and explicitly prohibits corporal punishment to be used as a classroom punishmentmethod. Itfurtherprohibitsrestraintandseclusionasaformofdisciplineorclassroomgovernance. it clarifies that restraint and seclusion may only be deployed if a student has placed themselves, an employee, or other students and employees in imminent danger. It requires each school district and charter school board to adopt a policy that conforms to the statute and ensures a clear and transparent reporting requirement to parents or legal guardians. Staff directly assigned to students exhibiting aggressive or dangerous behaviors must be trained on the correct use of restraint and seclusion and de-escalation techniques. Finally, it directs the State Department of Education to prepare resources, guidance, and training modules to support each local education agency to adhere to the provisions of the bill.
Amends and adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding a voluntary employees' beneficiary association plan for Idaho state employees.
This legislation will convert the PERSI Sick Leave account to a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) in order to expand the number and variety of tax-exempt expense items that members can purchase with their funds.
Amends HB292 to provide for the distribution of certain sales tax funds regarding transportation congestion, the Homeowner Property Tax Relief Account, and the School District Facilities Fund.
This bill clarifies the sales tax distributions found in House Bill 292, to further ensure that $80,000,000 is distributed to the transportation expansion and congestion mitigation fund, and any moneys over $80 million is distributed to local units of government for local highway projects. It also clarifies that these distributions take priority over certain other distributions.
35 – 0
Adds to existing law to provide for limited licenses for medical school graduates who are not accepted into a residency program.
This Legislation directs the Idaho Board of Medicine to create a limited license for medical school graduates who have not yet matched with a residency program and designate them as "bridge year physicians." These bridge year physicians can fill gaps in Idaho’s current healthcare provider workforce. This bill establishes license length, eligibility, qualifications, permitted duties and supervision requirements.
Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to establish the State Public Defender Act.
This bill is follow-up legislation to H 735aa (2022), and enacts a new model of public defense using the funding mechanism enacted in that bill. The Idaho Supreme Court recently held that the state remains liable for inadequate provision of public defense in this state even though the requirement to provide public defense has been delegated to counties since 1967. The bill eliminates one state agency, the Public Defense Commission, and in its place creates the Office of State Public Defender. The agency will be headed by the State Public Defender, who along with the District Public Defenders in each judicial district, will share the responsibilities of carrying out the state’s public defense system. The State Public Defender sets broad statewide policy, standards, and budget with input from the District Public Defenders. The District Public Defenders, one for each of the seven judicial districts, carry out the operational day-to-day functions of public defense in their corresponding judicial district consistent with state policy. The bill seeks to respect local input in who becomes the State Public Defender by having a panel consisting of one Magistrate Commissioner for each judicial district, nominate individuals from which the Governor appoints the State Public Defender. The Magistrates Commission will hire the District Public Defender in each judicial district. In counties without institutional offices, the Office of the State Public Defender will continue to contract with attorneys who practice in the county or judicial district. In counties that have an institutional office, public defense services will be provided by employes of the Office of the State Public Defender. The class action suit against the state’s public defense system is scheduled to go to trial early next year. This is the last legislative session before the trial to affect that suit.
29 – 6
Amends existing law to provide that idle moneys may be invested in physical gold and silver in certain instances.
In the last 18 years, the money supply has grown by 200 percent, in other words, it has tripled. A tripling of the money supply will eventually accelerate the rate of inflation. By adding physical gold and silver to Idaho Code 67-1210, the State Treasurer will be permitted to hold some portion of state funds in physical gold and silver to help secure state assets against the risks of inflation and financial turmoil and/or to achieve capital gains as measured in Federal Reserve Notes. The new authority will be confined to holding gold and silver directly and in a manner that does not assume the counter party risks involved with other current state holdings, such as corporate bonds, treasury bills, and other debt instruments. This measure does not empower the State Treasurer to invest in paper instruments, futures contracts, or other gold and silver derivatives. The authority is confined to physical gold and silver, directly owned by the state and stored in a secure depository.
Tammy Nichols · SD-010
40 – 29
States findings of the House of Representatives and amends House Rule 6 regarding the introduction of bills.
This Resolution amends House Rule #6, the result of which is to eliminate introduction of House Bills outside of a House Committee. This will eliminate the logjam for LSO at the beginning of each Session to help better facilitate and expedite the legislature’s work in timely and efficient manner.
Relates to the appropriation to the Legislative Branch for fiscal year 2024.
This is the FY 2024 original appropriation to the Legislative Branch in the amount of $11,501,300. Line items include funding for House and Senate Technology, funding for the audit staff retention plan, additional session staff compensation, two additional auditors, and software licenses.
27 – 8
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Environmental Quality for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
This is the fiscal year 2024 original appropriation bill for the Department of Environmental Quality. It appropriates a total of $165,914,000 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 379.00. The bill funds twelve line items, which provides: $191,900 for pay increases for engineers; $98,200 for a wastewater reuse analyst; $148,600 for a water quality program enhancement; $98,400 for an air quality compliance officer; $98,200 for a permit writer within the IPDES program; $98,200 for a data analyst within the IPDES program; $385,000 for additional operating costs within the IPDES program; $12,600,000 for federal funding for infrastructure grants; $400,000 for INL oversight; $1,500,000 for the superfund cleanup project and transfers said funds from the Water Pollution Control Fund to the Environmental Remediation (Basin) Fund as part of federal match requirements; $4,895,400 for federal project implementation; $555,000 for the central treatment plant in Kellogg. The budget also includes a reduction of 2.00 FTP and increase of $52,000 for the OITS consolidation. The bill also includes language requiring reporting, cash transfers, reappropriation, and directing the use of previously appropriated funds from the ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund. This bill also includes three fiscal year 2023 supplemental actions, including funding for the a new electronic data management system, maintenance costs at the central treatment plant in Kellogg, and to purchases air quality equipment with ARPA funds allocated to the department. These supplemental actions utilize onetime funding that is removed before calculating the fiscal year 2024 Base.
35 – 34
Amends Laws of 2022 to change the effective date for the new income tax rates to January 1, 2023.
This bill adjusts the effective date of certain income tax rate changes retroactively to January 1, 2023. This will ease the taxpayer burden of preparing taxes at one rate for a small portion of 2023 and then the new rate for the remainder of 2023. It will also slightly lower taxes by starting the lower tax rates earlier in 2023. This will also resolve confusion for taxpayers and tax preparers.
31 – 1
Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the public school health insurance participation fund.
This proposal amends the dedicated fund for the purpose of funding the one-time amount required for public schools to buy in to the state’s medical and dental group insurance plan to be what is required as insurance rates change. It extends the time limit allowed before sunset to be 2025.
24 – 11
States findings of the Legislature and rejects a certain rule of the State Board of Education relating to Registration of Postsecondary Educational Institutions and Proprietary Schools.
This resolution rejects a certain rule in IDAPA 08 relating to the Registration of Postsecondary Institutions and Proprietary Schools.
58 – 11
Relates to the appropriation to the State Appellate Public Defender for fiscal year 2023.
ThisisaFY2023supplementalappropriationbillfortheStateAppellatePublicDefender. Itprovidesadditional funding to pay for conflict capital attorneys, a mitigation expert, an investigator, and other related expenses. These costs are associated with the capital cases it received as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Shinn v. Ramirez, 142 S.Ct. 1718 (2022); anticipated costs associated with the capital murder trials of Lori Vallow-Daybell and Chad Daybell set for April 3, 2023; and an evidentiary hearing in Jonathan Renfro v. State of Idaho, CV17-9393 (Kootenai County).
70 – 0
Amends existing law to prohibit instruction on human sexuality, sexual orientation, or gender identity prior to fifth grade.
The purpose of this legislation is to prohibit sex education of all types prior to the 5th grade within the school system by amending section 33-1611. The goal is to protect the innocence of our children in the most formative years of their life.
Julianne Young · HD-030B
28 – 7
Amends and adds to existing law to modify eligibility requirements for CHIP Plan B and Medicaid and to provide for a state plan amendment extending Medicaid benefits for pregnant women for twelve months postpartum.
OverathirdofwomeninIdahodonothavehealthinsurancepriortopregnancyanddonothaveaccesstohealth coverage beyond 60 days postpartum. Infants and toddlers are behind in well child visits and developmental screenings. Idaho’s rate of uninsured children is also on the rise. This legislation will improve health access for pregnant/postpartum women and infants and ensure 12 months postpartum health coverage for women.
Amends and adds to existing law to provide for attorney licensure by the Idaho Supreme Court, to prohibit additional methods of demonstrating competency to qualify for universal licensure, to provide for conditional licensure under certain conditions, and to provide for universal work recognition.
Consistent with the Governors Occupational Licensing Reform Act, the legislation creates a universal work recognition licensure pathway for individuals with four years of work experience in the military, another state, district, or territory of the United States that does not require a license to regulate that person’s profession or occupation but for which Idaho uses a license to regulate a profession or occupation. The bill removes outdated methods of establishing competency for licensure and clarifies that a board or commission decision related to a criminal conviction must be relevant to the occupation and license requested.
67 – 1
Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding judges' retirements and to provide that certain judges shall not be eligible to serve as a senior judge and may not elect to receive retirement compensation.
This legislation encourages judges to complete their elected terms by removing the incentive to resign earlier in exchange for Plan B senior judge status. This legislation has no impact on retirement status for judges who are not requesting Plan B status. This legislation does not impact magistrate judges since they are not eligible for Plan B status.
Amends existing law to require that certain information be provided on all property valuation assessment notices.
This legislation requires the Idaho State Tax Commission to generate a universal form to provide residential property owners with a clear description of what their assessed values are, property taxes collected, budget growth, and services supported by the property tax collection.
29 – 5
Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Administration for fiscal year 2024.
This is the FY 2024 original appropriation bill for the Department of Administration. It appropriates a total of $29,111,400 and caps the number of full-time equivalent positions at 126.00. This bill includes four line items. Line item 1 provides pay increases to Document Services staff; line items 2 and 3 provide security and janitorial services for newly occupied areas of the Chinden campus; and line item 62 provides funds from the ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund to offset the state health plan's COVID-19 expenditures.
22 – 13
Amends existing law regarding the unlawfulness of an alien voting in Idaho.
This legislation amends Section 18-2307, Idaho Code, clarifying that foreign nationals may not vote in any election held for the purpose of electing or nominating any candidate to any elective office.
35 – 0