Idaho Bills

Appropriates an additional $10,000 to the Public Defense Commission for fiscal year 2019.

This is an FY 2019 trailer appropriation bill for the Public Defense Commission. It addresses the fiscal impact of S1257, which adds two additional commission members to the seven-member commission, one additional representative from the Idaho Association of Counties and one additional defending attorney. Assuming the new members will be non-local members, the commission estimates that the associated travel costs will amount to approximately $415 per meeting per member for 12 meetings per year.

Appropriates $21,410,900 to the State Liquor Division for fiscal year 2019; and limits the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions to 229.00.

Appropriates $18,811,500 to the State Controller for fiscal year 2019; limits the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions to 95.00; provides for the recovery of State Controller service costs to the Indirect Cost Recovery Fund; and provides certain dedicated fund reappropriation authority.

Appropriates an additional $3,800,000 to the Department of Health and Welfare for the Basic Medicaid Plan Program for fiscal year 2019.

Appropriates $44,815,300 to the Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2019; limits the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions to 217.00; and provides legislative intent regarding the Watercraft Inspection Program.

This is the FY 2019 original appropriation bill for the Department of Agriculture. It appropriates $44,815,300 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 217.00. For benefit costs, the bill removes $1,450 per eligible FTP to bring the annual employer contribution for health insurance down to $11,650 by including a two-month employee and employer premium holiday, adds a 6.8% increase for life insurance, and adjusts funding for workers' compensation in amounts that vary by agency. Funding for replacement items includes $1,022,900 for 19 vehicles, lab equipment and computer equipment. For statewide cost allocation, $44,000 is provided, as Attorney General fees will increaseby$51,900,feesforLegislativeAuditswillincreaseby$4,800,riskmanagementcostswilldecrease by $17,300, State Controller fees will increase by $4,900, and State Treasurer fees will decrease by $300. The bill also provides funding for a 3% ongoing merit-based salary increase for permanent employees, to be distributed at the discretion of the agency director. The bill funds five line items, which provide 1.00 FTP and $94,800 to hire a lab quality assurance manager; 2.00 FTP and $260,600 to hire two dairy inspectors; $26,000 in the Marketing Program to hire temporary staff to promote local food; 3.00 federally funded FTP to hire two inspectors and an administrative assistant as a result of the Food Safety Modernization Act; and $500,000 to build additional office space at the Idaho Food Quality Assurance Laboratory. Overall, this is a 0.3% decrease over the FY 2018 appropriation.

Amends existing law to provide that certain permits may be in hard copy or digital format.

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is responding to industry needs as well as the necessity to transition vehicle credentialing to a digital format. Currently, §49-1004, Idaho Code, requires overlegal permits to be in hard copy, carried in the vehicle and delivered for inspection, upon demand, to any peace officer or authorized agent charged with the care and protection of highways. Hard copies are easily lost or become illegible; which results in customers having to obtain duplicate copies of permits in order to be compliant. Currently, ITD can issue overlegal permits in hard copy and digital format, but Idaho Code requiresthecustomerstoprovideahardcopyonlyforinspectionpurposes. ModifyingIdahoCodewillallow for overlegal permits to be displayed in either a hard copy or digital format which would create efficiencies for both customers and ITD. Rules and business processes can then be updated and streamlined to allow digital permits and attachments to be delivered via email. Customers have requested the ability to display digital permits on their electronic devices/equipment such as a smart phone, tablet or laptop. Modification to 49-1004, Idaho Code, would create a digital option for the customer when applying for an overlegal permit.

Appropriates $6,057,700 to the Idaho State Lottery for fiscal year 2019; limits the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions to 45.00; and provides continuous appropriation authority.

This is the FY 2019 original appropriation bill for the Idaho State Lottery. It appropriates $6,057,700 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 45.00. For benefit costs, the bill removes $1,450 per eligible FTP to bring the annual employer contribution for health insurance down to $11,650 by including a two-month employee and employer premium holiday, adds a 6.8% increase for life insurance, and adjusts funding for workers' compensation in amounts that vary by agency. Funding for replacement items includes $40,600 for computer workstations and network hardware. For statewide cost allocation, $6,300 is removed, as Attorney General fees will decrease by $4,900, risk management costs will decrease by $1,100, State Controller fees will increase by $500, and State Treasurer fees will decrease by $800. The bill also provides funding for a 3% ongoing merit-based salary increase for permanent employees, to be distributed at the discretion of the agency head, and a 3% increase in the compensation schedule.

Appropriates $268,617,800 to the Department of Correction for fiscal year 2019; limits the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions to 2,002.85; and provides legislative intent regarding the offender management system replacement plan.

This is the FY 2019 original appropriation bill for the Department of Correction. It appropriates $268,617,800 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 2,002.85. For benefit costs, the bill removes $1,450 per eligible FTP to bring the annual employer contribution for health insurance down to $11,650 by including a two-month employee and employer premium holiday, adds a 6.8% increase for life insurance, and adjusts funding for workers' compensation in amounts that vary by agency. Inflationary adjustments include $261,300 for the department's online education system, food and dietary costs, utility charges, and office lease costs. Funding for replacement items includes $3,090,300 for various items, with discretion to the director as to which items to replace. For statewide cost allocation, $108,700 is removed. An annualization in the amount of $84,100 is provided for facility expansions. The bill also provides funding for a 3% ongoing merit-based salary increase for permanent employees, to be distributed at the discretion of the agency head, and a 3% increase in the compensation schedule. The bill funds 15 line items, which provide $7,016,000 for the first of three onetime appropriations for replacement of the department's offender management system; $230,000 for data storage; 7.00 FTP and $888,400 for facility expansions; $688,100 for the common fare no-touch menu; 2.00 FTP and a net-zero Federal Grant Fund object transfer of $84,700 from operating expenditures to personnel costs for instructional assistants; $91,500 for a recreation area slab and cover; $381,000 for catering units; $37,000 for a recreation area at the South Boise Women's Correctional Center; $8,690,800 for population-driven costs related to County and Out-of-State Placement; $192,000 for population-driven costs related to Correctional Alternative Placement; 6.00 FTP and $561,700 for the Maximizing State Reforms Federal Grant; $1,859,200 from the Idaho Millennium Income Fun

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding how sales are conducted.

The purpose of this bill is to update a law passed in 1919. Read literally, it prevents sheriffs from holding auctions on-line. This bill will rectify that.

Appropriates an additional $209,900 to the Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2018 for organic inspections; and authorizes 2.00 additional full-time equivalent positions for FY 2018.

This is an FY 2018 supplemental appropriation bill for the Department of Agriculture. It includes the addition of 2.00 FTP and $209,900 from the Agricultural Fees - Organic Food Products Fund to hire two additional organic inspectors.

Appropriates $93,724,700 to the Public Schools Educational Support Program/Division of Administrators for fiscal year 2019; and amends existing law to increase the salary-based apportionment for administrators.

This is the FY 2019 original appropriation bill for the Division of Administrators for the Public Schools Educational Support Program. It appropriates $93,724,700 ongoing from the General Fund. This division provides funding for superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, supervisors, and coordinators. This budget includes $2,704,200 for a 3% base salary increase. It also includes $404,100 for nondiscretionary adjustments that include estimated enrollment growth of 165 mid-term support units and an increase for the statewide education and experience index for salary-based apportionment. All funds are ongoing from the General Fund and this appropriation results in a 3.4% increase over the previous year.

Appropriates $66,620,100 to the Department of Environmental Quality for fiscal year 2019; limits the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions to 386.00; transfers $1.5 million from the Water Pollution Control Fund to the Environmental Remediation Basin Fund; provides legislative intent regarding the Environmental Remediation Basin Fund and requires an annual report; provides legislative intent regarding uses of the Water Pollution Control Fund; provides legislative intent regarding certain moneys appropriated for agricultural best management practices; and provides reappropriation authority for moneys associated with agricultural best management practices.

This is the FY 2019 original appropriation bill for the Department of Environmental Quality. It appropriates $66,620,100 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 386.00. For benefit costs, the bill removes $1,450 per eligible FTP to bring the annual employer contribution for health insurance down to $11,650 by including a two-month employee and employer premium holiday, adds a 6.8% increase for life insurance, and adjusts funding for workers' compensation in amounts that vary by agency. Funding for replacement items includes $620,600 for monitoring equipment, three vehicles, and computer equipment. For statewide cost allocation, $89,500 is provided, as Attorney General fees will increase by $99,000, risk management costs will decrease by $9,100, and State Controller fees will increase by $8,600. The bill also provides funding for a 3% ongoing merit-based salary increase for permanent employees, to be distributed at the discretion of the agency director, and a 3% increase in the compensation schedule. The bill includes funding for five line items, which provide 4.00 FTP and $546,000 for the fifth year of funding for the Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; $5,500,000 as the first portion of the settlement with the Volkswagen Auto Group over cheating on diesel emissions to fund nitrogen oxide mitigation projects; a transfer of appropriation from operating expenditures to personnel costs to increase state support to meet the obligations for cleanup of the Coeur d'Alene basin; a transfer of $1,500,000 from the Water Pollution Control Fund to the Environmental Remediation Fund as the state's Superfund match for cleanup projects in the Coeur d'Alene Basin; and $200,000 from the Water Pollution Control Fund to provide additional statewide water quality monitoring. Section 3 transfers $1,500,000 from the Water Pollution Control Fund to the Environmental Remediation Basin Fund. Section 4 of the bill requires an annual report regarding reme

Amends existing law to provide a correct code reference regarding charitable contribution deduction calculations for part-year residents or nonresidents.

Section 63-3022U, passed in 2015, allowed a subtraction if a taxpayer was exceeding the five-year limit on charitable contribution carryovers. An unintended consequence of that statute was in the treatment of nonresidents. The current version of 63-3022U points to 63-3026A(4) for a nonresident to calculate a subtraction for any amount of charitable contribution carryover that is lost by exceeding five years. Paragraph (4) creates a circular reference, the correct paragraph should be 63-3026A(6). This bill corrects that problem by replacing the reference to paragraph (4) with a reference to paragraph (6).

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the Idaho Immunization Assessment Board and to extend a sunset date.

This bill addresses three basic changes to statute related to the Idaho Immunization Assessment Board: (1) adds one additional member from the business community who represents a self-funded insurance plan to the existing Idaho Immunization Assessment Board; (2) resets the sunset date for the Board from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2024; and, (3) removes the imposition of interest requirement for late or nonpayment of assessments.

Amends existing law to revise the penalties for driving without privileges.

This legislation would reclassify driving without a license (49-301, Idaho Code) from a misdemeanor to a first and second offense infraction with third and subsequent violations remaining a misdemeanor. For certain driver's license suspensions, driving on a suspended license would be reduced to an infraction (18-8001(b), Idaho Code). For remaining misdemeanor violations for driving on a suspended license (18-8001(a), Idaho Code), the legislation would eliminate statutory mandatory minimum jail sentences. The legislation also would reinstate driving privileges for certain citizens previously suspended for no other reason than non-payment. This would reduce the caseload in the courts and the demand for public defense services. It would also have a potential reduction in demand on county jails as well as alleviating a cycle of indigent citizens being unable to pay fines in one case, resulting in further charges being filed against them, resulting in a greater inability to pay. Under current law, fines levied as part of misdemeanor violations are sent to dedicated funds while infraction fines are distributed differently. The proposed legislation includes provisions that keep moneys from infraction fines paid under this revision going to the same places to which the misdemeanor fines are currently routed.

Appropriates an additional $150,000 to the Legislative Branch for fiscal year 2019; and provides reappropriation from fiscal year 2018 into fiscal year 2019.

This is an FY 2019 trailer appropriation bill for the Legislative Branch. It addresses the fiscal impact of H612 and provides the Legislative Services Office with an additional $150,000 onetime from the TechnologyInfrastructureStabilizationFundtoacquireinformationtechnologysupporttobetterunderstand annual funding requests for technology infrastructure. This bill also addresses the fiscal impact of Senate Concurrent Resolution 134, House Concurrent Resolution 41, and House Concurrent Resolution 49 by providing reappropriation authority of approximately $535,000 to the Legislature (Senate and House) for unspent and unencumbered moneys from the General Fund in FY 2018 for the period July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019. Funding will be used to retain the services of consultants or analysts to assist with these interim committees.

Amends existing law to revise eligibility and reimbursement requirements for courses and credits that qualify for the Advanced Opportunities Scholarship.

The proposed new sections clarify changes to the eligibility criteria for overload courses and streamlines existing criteria for dual credit coursework and eligible examinations. Additionally, the changes clarify which CTE assessments qualify under the statute. In an effort to emphasize the importance of advising, new language compels advisors to counsel students who have earned 15 dual credits to 1.) identify his postsecondary goals, and 2.) ascertain whether the postsecondary institution the student is interested in will accept the transfer of dual credits as intended. Other changes include clarifying the time frame within which a student may apply for an early graduation scholarship, grammatical improvements and removing language referencing out of district tuition payments to community colleges that would otherwise be made by a county. The removal of out of district tuition payments that would otherwise be made by a county will reduce the administrative burden and barriers to students associated with certificates of residency.

Amends, adds to and repeals existing law to revise the definition of “public agency” and to provide a sunset clause.

The Idaho Open Meetings Law applies to all public agencies of state and local government that are created by statute. However, the Law does not apply to the 28 public agencies established by Executive Order of the Governor. This legislation applies the Law to all Public agencies established by Executive Order.

Adds to existing law to authorize the State Controller's business information infrastructure project to create a leadership council and to provide funding.

This bill provides the funding source and governance model for the State Controller's statewide initiative to modernizethestate'sbusinessinformationinfrastructureincludingtheaccounting,payroll,humanresources, budget, and procurement systems. The current system is 30 years old and quickly approaching its end of supportablelife, andtheestimatedreplacementcostisapproximately$102millionoveraprojectedfive-year project timeline. A consistent and secure funding source is created by redirecting the indirect cost recovery fundingcollectedbytheDivisionofFinancialManagementpursuanttosection67-3531IdahoCodefromthe General Fund into a newly created Business Information Infrastructure Fund. Redirecting these funds will not affect the rates paid by state agencies for centralized services. The Business Information Infrastructure Fund is continuously appropriated to the State Controller to procure and implement a modern statewide system under its authority pursuant to section 67-1021, Idaho Code. Any funds remaining after June 30, 2023 will be reverted to the General Fund, and indirect cost recovery funding will resume flowing into the General Fund at that time. To ensure the modernization of the state's business information infrastructure is successful, this bill provides a statewide governance structure led by a council comprised of the Governor, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore, and State Controller. This will create statewide sponsorship andsupportfortheinitiativeandactastheauthoritytoresolveanyissuesbroughttoitbytheStateController.

Amends existing law to revise the membership of the Public Defense Commission.

The purpose of this amendment is to add two (2) additional members to the State Public Defense Commission: a second representative chosen by the Idaho Association of Counties and a second defending attorney. The greatest impact of the work of the State Public Defense Commission is on the counties and defending attorneys of Idaho. Administration of indigent defense varies greatly in counties depending on the concentration of population in urban areas compared to counties where smaller populations are spread over larger geographic areas. Stakeholders throughout Idaho would be better represented on the Commission with two (2) additional members who have distinctive knowledge specific to the delivery of indigent defense in the state's diverse demographic and geographic regions. The counties can now be represented by a member from a rural area and another from an urban area. More defending attorneys would have representation on the Commission with membership of one defending attorney who is contracted by a county and a defending attorney from an institutional office, since the challenges each type of indigent defense delivery system faces are different.

Amends existing law to provide that the director shall have exclusive control over certain multi-agency facilities, to revise terminology, to remove reference to the State Building Authority and to provide that certain funds deposited to the Permanent Building Account shall be accounted for separately.

This bill clarifies the authority of the Department of Administration to promulgate rules for multi-agency facilities and the ability of the Department to use the proceeds from rents received for the operation and management of those locations. The need for these changes is a result of the purchase of the office complex located on Chinden Road.

Amends and adds to existing law to provide for distribution of payments in criminal cases.

Upon conviction, criminal defendants are normally assessed several different fees, fines, and sometimes restitution (hereinafter collectively referred to as "fees"). Defendants are rarely able to initially pay the total amount due, and thus, they submit partial payments to the clerk pursuant to an agreement with the court. These partial payments must be distributed per the various statutes governing each fee. However, many of the fee statutes set competing priorities for the order of disbursement because those statutes have been adoptedatvarioustimesbydifferentlegislatures. Asaresult,theSupremeCourthasbeenrequiredtoengage in statutory construction and enter an order establishing a priority. This bill seeks important policy decisions from the Legislature in order to establish a disbursement schedule in a single statute. This enactment is necessary to allow re-programming of the Court's Odyssey case management system to accomplish the Legislature's policy directives. In addition, organizing all twenty four (24) possible fees in a single statute will allow for better understanding of the effects of the distribution order. Many of these fees enure to the counties and are vital to support the important programs funded by the fees. Specifically, monthlysupervisionfeesformisdemeanorprobationandproblem-solvingcourtprogramssupportimportant countypublicsafetyefforts. Asaresult,thisbillsuggestplacingthosefeesthirdandfourthinthedistribution schedule in order to support those county efforts and sustain the current systems. This legislation also seeks to maintain the long-standing legislative policy of requiring defendants to submit fee payments to the clerk of the court in order to continue consistent and accountable tracking of all payments and ensure legislative policy is followed in distribution. Finally, wile this bill represents a suggested prioritization, it is offered with the understanding and intention that the important policy decisions by the Legislature may require r

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding when an answer must be filed for certain claims.

I.C. § 1-2303 currently requires defendants in small claims cases to file an answer within twenty (20) days of beingservedwithaclaim. Inaddition, theinstructionsserveduponsmallclaimdefendantsmustnotifythem that judgment may be entered against them if they fail to file an answer within the twenty (20) days. In order tocreateconsistencywiththecourt'seffortstosetfilingandservicerequirementsthatarecomputedonseven (7) day increments, this amendment will change the twenty (20) day answer and notification references to twenty-one (21) days.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding suicide prevention in schools.

To provide a minimum level of suicide awareness and prevention training to all public school personnel. Thislegislationwillallowschooldistrictstoadoptasuicidepreventionpolicyandchooseanevidence-based gatekeeper program to implement in their district.

Amends existing law to change the names of specialty contractors, specialty journeymen and specialty trainees to limited electrical contractors, limited electrical installers and limited electrical installer trainees.

Thisstatutoryamendmentproposalchangesthenameof"specialtycontractors,""specialtyjourneyman,"and "specialty trainees" to "limited electrical contractors," "limited electrical installers," and "limited electrical trainees." It also allows Limited Energy contractors to make connections to their equipment. This clarifies that the work being performed by the holders of these licenses are limited and restricted in nature. The DivisionofBuildingSafety(DBS)hasrealizedthatmanypeoplegenerallybelievethataholderofa"special" license is allowed to perform work beyond the scope of the traditional journeyman electrician and master electrician. In reality, a "special" license holder is actually limited in the scope of electrical work they may perform to only those specific types of installations for which they hold the specialty license. This makes it clear to persons hiring these license holders that the installations they are able to perform are limited in nature. It would also allow Limited Energy license holders to make connections to their equipment.