Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to revise a provision regarding a duty of the Attorney General.

The current provisions of Idaho Code provide that the Idaho Attorney General has common law powers as the attorney for the State. This legislation makes it clear statutorily that the Attorney General's office has the ability to pursue a declatory action or seek injunctive relief through the courts to civilly enforce the provisions of Idaho Code.

Relates to the appropriation to the Public Schools Educational Support Program for fiscal year 2027.

This is the FY 2027 maintenance appropriation for the Public School Support Program which includes the six divisions for Teachers, Student Support, the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, Facilities, Central Services, and the Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind. The bill includes standard adjustments for personnel benefit costs, contract inflation, and statewide cost allocation.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding miscellaneous insurer investments.

The purpose of this legislation is to update, clarify, and simplify one of the investment provisions in the insurance code. Idaho Code Section 41-735 allows insurance companies to invest funds in investments not otherwise specifically made eligible for investment in the insurance code and sets limits on the allowable percentage of those investments. This bill would maintain Idaho's miscellaneous investment allowance at 10 percent of an insurer’s assets and remove the “lesser of” alternative limit of 75% of surplus excluding surplus notes.

Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for the Behavioral Health Services Division for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

RS33787 / S1429 This appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for the Divisions of Mental Health Services, Psychiatric Hospitalization, and Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention provides enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that include a budget-neutral fund adjustment for Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention (enhancement #24), a budget reduction to move appropriation to the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections for clinical staff (enhancement #7), the partial restoration of ongoing program funding that was made onetime in FY 2026 as well as appropriations for Idaho Behavioral Health Plan grant increases (enhancement #9), a partial, onetime restoration of ongoing budget rescissions for Mental Health Services (enhancement #30), a benefit cost fund shift for State Hospital South (enhancement #8), a fund adjustment for State Hospital North and South to account for the way that revenue is received through the Idaho Behavioral Health Plan (enhancement #23), replacement items (enhancement #58), a fund adjustment to shift General Fund burden to the State Hospital endowment funds (enhancement #59), and a Governor initiative to shift General Fund burden to the State-Directed Opioid Settlement for the Allumbaugh House. The bill includes transfer limitation exemption language and reporting language.

Relates to the maintenance appropriation to Economic Development for fiscal year 2027.

This is the FY 2027 Maintenance Appropriation for Economic Development. This bill includes appropriations to the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, the Department of Finance, the Idaho Industrial Commission, the Department of Insurance, the Department of Labor, the Public Utilities Commission, the Self-Governing Agencies, and the Idaho Transportation Department. The appropriation includes standard adjustments for personnel benefit costs, contract inflation, statewide cost allocation, and a General Fund base reduction of up to 9%.

Relates to the appropriation to the Idaho State Police for fiscal year 2027.

RS33703 / S1409 This appropriation to the Idaho State Police provides enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that includes a Commercial Vehicle Safety Grant, Mobile Livescan Program, and replacement items, which include patrol vehicles and associated upfitting expenses, other law enforcement vehicles, ballistic vests, computer equipment, training building jail cell door replacement, desk chairs, and video cameras.

Amends existing law to provide for cancellation or discharge of an encumbrance by an Idaho vehicle dealer and to allow electronic motor vehicle records as evidence of ownership.

This legislation updates Idaho’s vehicle titling statutes to modernize title processing and improve efficiency in lien administration. The bill authorizes the Idaho Transportation Department to accept and treat electronically submitted documents as equivalent to original paper records. The bill also clarifies procedures for lien cancellation and discharge, including requirements for lienholders holding electronic titles to transmit electronic transactions directing issuance of a clear paper title. In addition, the bill establishes expedited timelines for Idaho-licensed vehicle dealers to receive lien releases upon payment with verified funds. These changes are intended to reduce paperwork, improve turnaround times for title issuance and lien releases, enhance customer service for vehicle owners and dealers, and support continued modernization of Idaho’s motor vehicle records system.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the allocation of certain tax revenue.

This legislation amends Idaho Code to revise provisions related to the distribution of wind and geothermal energy tax revenues in local taxing districts. Current law ties portions of the distribution formula to the existence of supplemental levies, which has created an incentive for school districts to consider passing supplemental levies on property tax payers in order to receive a share of these tax revenues. This bill updates the calculation method so that, if a school district does not impose a supplemental levy, the county levy rate will be used solely for purposes of distributing wind and geothermal energy tax revenue. This change removes the incentive to adopt supplemental levies for distribution purposes and ensures the distribution formula does not encourage additional property tax levies. This legislation does not affect solar energy tax provisions.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding controlled substances.

This legislation updates the Idaho Controlled Substances Act to align with recent federal scheduling actions taken by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and corrects spelling, numbering, and other drafting errors that have been perpetuated through prior versions of the Act. It updates Article II by adding illicit substances with no approved medical use to Schedule I, incorporating newly scheduled and other federally controlled substances into Schedules II, III, and IV, and removing outdated or duplicative entries, including unnecessary and cumbersome chemical formulas. In addition to updating the schedules, the bill amends Article III by revising requirements for controlled substance registrations and access to the prescription drug monitoring program. It also includes technical cleanup revisions to simplify statutory language, eliminate redundancy, and ensure the Act remains accurate, legally consistent, and responsive to evolving public health and law enforcement priorities. These updates provide greater clarity and utility for law enforcement, prosecutors, healthcare providers, and regulatory agencies responsible for the lawful handling, prescribing, and enforcement of controlled substances in the state.

Amends and repeals existing law to provide for the consolidation of the Idaho STEM Action Center into the Workforce Development Council.

This legislation consolidates the Idaho STEM Action Center into the Idaho Workforce Development Council, integrating its functions, programs and staff to enhance the Council’s existing purpose. This consolidation will streamline operations, reduce administrative overlap, and more closely align STEM education and outreach with Idaho’s workforce development strategies.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding certain out-of-pocket payments for health care services.

RS33754 / H0929 This bill amends Idaho Code to add section 41-1854, prohibiting health carriers from preventing providers from offering discounted cash prices to insured individuals for health care services. It allows covered people to pay out-of-pocket at negotiated rates lower than the plan's average allowed amount, with such payments counting toward deductibles and annual out-of-pocket maximums upon submission of required documentation. Providers must accept cash payments as full settlement. Exemptions apply to specified plans like dental-only, Medicaid, and short-term insurance. Effective July 1, 2026.

Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law regarding the procurement of property by the State of Idaho.

RS33650 / H0889 This legislation clarifies the state procurement processes for purchases made under the Idaho State Procurement Act and through the Division of Purchasing. Changes include: 1) Definitions for “best and final offer,” “frivolous protest,” “multiple award,” “request for information,” “request for proposal,” and “request for quote;” 2) Establishes that the administrator shall set a date and time for best and final offers, including a provision that treats the immediate offer as best and final; 3) Requires the administrator to work with subject matter experts in the requesting agency to ensure contractual terms meet functional and operational requirements; 4) Allows for a multiple-award contract; 5) Establishes that the bid analysis or scoring must be published with the notice of solicitation and only changed with a formal solicitation amendment or best and final offer process, so long as it doesn’t materially change the intent or purpose of the original solicitation; 6) Prior performance on state contracts may now be used to determine a bid’s qualification; 7) Any contracts requiring federal funding must be finalized between the state and the vendor prior to submission for approval to avoid unnecessary delays; 8) Technical information provided by vendors remains confidential unless the vendor participates in the relevant solicitation; 9) The addition of a vendor debarment process, which may prevent a vendor from bidding on state projects or services for up to three years; 10) Employment “cooling off” period for elected officials and individuals who worked for the state prior to working with vendors; 11) The addition of a protest bond for vendors who pursue a protest of a bid award; and 12) Vendors, employees of vendors, or any person working on their behalf must report financial expenditures over $50 related to procurement.

Amends existing law to authorize liquor licensure for a distillery in certain instances.

The purpose of this legislation is to authorize a distillery the ability to sell liquor by the drink explicitly from the brands that it owns.