Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to revise the salary of justices of the Supreme Court.

JFAC approved a Statewide Decision for CEC for FY 2021 of a 2% pay increase for permanent employees of the state. Judicial Salaries must be separately established by the Legislature and are set forth in section 59-502, Idaho Code, which also indexes such salaries to a Supreme Court Justice's salary to avoid salary compression between the four types of judgeships. To accomplish the intent of both the budget process as well as the salary statute, a 2% increase in the total judicial payroll is first calculated. This sum is divided so as to maintain the salary gaps existing under section 59-502, Idaho Code. The 2% increase is $551,600, but the proposal is to utilize less than 2%, specifically $536,900. When distributed to maintain the existing statutory gaps, this results in a $2,600 salary increase per judge. This bill sets the annual salary of a justice of the Supreme Court at $157,800, whichisa1.7%increaseoftheircurrentsalary. AssetforthinestablishedIdahoCode, thedifference between the salary of a Supreme Court Justice and a Court of Appeals Judge remains at $10,000 (resulting in a 1.8% salary increase for Court of Appeals Judges); the difference between the salary of a Court of Appeals Judge and a District Judge remains at $6,000 (resulting in a 1.9% salary increase for District Judges); and, the difference between the salary of a District Judge and a Magistrate Judge remains at $12,000 (resulting in a 2.0% salary increase for Magistrate Judges).

Amends existing law to provide for weighting in a public charter school's lottery for certain disadvantaged students.

Idaho public charter schools accept all students. Some public charter schools have programs designed to serve English language learners, students who are homeless or in foster care, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students or at-risk students. To help those students access these education programs, this legislation allows public charter schools to give additional weight in their student enrollment lottery to those groups of students, if they choose.

Amends existing law to clarify that it shall not be unlawful for certain persons to enter specified premises.

To correct the placement of the word plaza so that a plaza does not have to be presenting a live performance in order to serve alcoholic beverages (wine and beer) with persons under the age of 21 present while retaining that requirement for theater.

Repeals and adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding police officer member status.

To clearly define intent of the legislature on who is to receive "police officer member" status, or "rule of 80" for retirement purposes.

Relates to the appropriation to the Executive Office of the Governor for fiscal year 2020.

This is an FY 2020 supplemental appropriation bill for the Executive Office of the Governor. It transfers $2,000,000 from the General Fund to the Governor's Emergency Fund and provides an appropriation to spend those moneys in FY 2020. Pursuant to Section 57-1601, Idaho Code, moneys in the Governor's Emergency Fund may be expended by the Governor to address unforeseen emergencies and to protect the interests of the state.

Amends existing law to prohibit marriage between certain persons.

The purpose of this bill is to prevent forced or coerced marriages and the trafficking of children and to limit marriage to those with the ability to protect themselves from abuse. This bill restricts the age difference of individuals under age eighteen years of age and not less than sixteen years of age to three years. This bill also sets a minimum legal age for marriage at sixteen years of age. There is no impact to the general fund. There may be some minimal savings to some local courts because marriage under the age of sixteen is no longer allowed and thus court intervention for marriages under the age of sixteen will no longer be necessary.

Stating findings of the Legislature and establishing March 14 as Idaho Women's Day.

The purpose of this Concurrent Resolution is to a establish March 14 as a day of recognition, to be celebrated in perpetuity, for Idaho Women. This concurrent resolution seeks to recognize and celebrate all the contributions that Idaho women have made and will continue to make in Idaho and across the country. March 14th is a significant date for the history of women in Idaho. On this date in 1891, the Idaho Legislature and Governor Norman B. Willey approved, for official use, Ms. Emma Edwards Green's rendering of the Idaho State Seal, the only woman-designed state seal in the country. The symbolism of Ms. Emma Edwards Green's design placed women on equal footing with men and as an integral component to the successful development of the newly christened state. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This milestone is singular in comparison to the great strides that the women of Idaho have made and it is fitting to establish a day of recognition for Idaho women as part of this anniversary year of national suffrage. March 14th shall be designated as Idaho Women's Day. If March 14th falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday, March 13th, shall be Idaho Women's Day; and if March 14th falls on a Sunday, the following Monday, March 15th shall be Idaho Women's Day.

Amends and repeals existing law to increase the percentage of General Fund receipts that may be in the Budget Stabilization Fund and to remove the authorization of the Economic Recovery Reserve Fund; transfers the remaining balance from the Economic Recovery Reserve Fund to the Budget Stabilization Fund; and transfers $20,000,000 from the General Fund to the Budget Stabilization Fund.

This bill raises the cap for the Budget Stabilization Fund from 10% of previous year's General Fund Revenues to 15%, and provides for two transfers. Idaho Code currently provides a method to transfer money from the General Fund to the Budget Stabilization Fundinanorderlyfashiontoprotectstateprogramsduringsuddeneconomicdownturns. Thelawprovidesfora transferifrevenuesexceed4%growthoverthepreviousfiscalyear. Thetransfercanbeupto1%oftheGeneral Fund revenues of the fiscal year just ended and the Budget Stabilization Fund balance cannot exceed 10% of the General Fund revenues for the fiscal year just ended. In FY 2019, the balance in the Budget Stabilization Fund exceeded the cap and as a result, almost $40 million was transferred back to the General Fund. The current balance in the fund is just over $373 million, which is the 10% cap. For additional transfers to be made, the cap on the Budget Stabilization Fund needs to be raised or set aside the law annually. This bill transfers $20,000,000 from the General Fund to Budget Stabilization Fund. Additionally, it transfers the unencumbered balance currently in the Economic Recovery Reserve Fund, and closes that account by repealing the statute.

Amends existing law to prohibit the use of certain electronic devices while driving a motor vehicle, to establish penalties, and to provide that Idaho law preempts local ordinances.

The purpose of this legislation is to treat the use of certain electronic devices behind-the-wheel as an infraction. The bill addresses safety concerns associated with a significant portion of distracted driving crashes. The legislation defines enforcement and retains conditions under which electronic device communications would be allowed. This legislation also addresses the problem of having a growing patchwork of local ordinances.

Repeals existing law relating to equitable distribution of government overhead expense.

Section 67-3524, Idaho Code, established the equitable distribution of government overhead expenses for the State Controller's Office financial transactions and personnel/payroll processing. Section 67-3531, Idaho Code, also allows for this equitable distribution for government overhead expenses through the annual statewide indirectcostallocationplan, therefore67-3524isnolongerrequired. Thislegislationwouldremoveaduplicate code section that is no longer in use.

Adds to existing law to provide that the state shall not discriminate in public employment or public education and to prohibit discrimination in procurement.

The proposed legislation prohibits the state of Idaho from discriminating against or granting special treatment to any individual based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, education or contracting. All applicants should be treated equal unless there are qualifications based on sex that are reasonably necessary.

Amends existing law to remove a specific reference to the National Crime Information Center as a source of information in criminal history and background checks.

Idaho Code 56-1004A, Criminal History and Background Checks, charges the Department of Health & Welfare with conducting background checks on individuals who provide care or services to vulnerable adults or children. Section 4(c) of the statute refers to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as being a source of information for the completion of background checks. The FBI has asked that specific references to the NCIC be removed from this statute because, per federal law, the Department has never had access to the entire NCIC. The current language in this statute suggests that it does. The FBI has provided assurances that removing Section 4(c) will not degrade the relevance of the information the Department currently receives for its background checks and has conditioned continuous receipt of this information based on the removal of Section 4(c).

Adds to and amends existing law to provide a sales and use tax exemption for the purchase or use of eligible server equipment and new data center facilities by a qualifying business.

The purpose of this legislation is to encourage the construction and location of large-scale data centers in Idaho. The landscape for attracting data centers is extremely competitive across the United States. At least 30 states offer a sales tax exemption for server equipment. It is highly unlikely that a large-scale data center will locate in Idaho – or any state – without a sales tax exemption. This legislation would allow a sales and use tax exemption to data centers that commit to a capital expenditure of not less than two hundred and fifty million dollars($250,000,000)withinfive(5)yearsofcommencementofconstructionandwillcreatenolessthanthirty (30) jobs within two (2) years of commencing operations. If a data center fails to meet these two requirements, any sales and use tax exempted shall be repaid. This legislation also clarifies that data center server equipment is not included in the definition of "new construction" for property tax purposes. Data centers significantly add to the property tax base wherever they are built, and create jobs paying above the average local wage.

Relates to the appropriation to the Idaho State Lottery for fiscal year 2021.

This is the FY 2021 original appropriation bill for the Idaho State Lottery. It appropriates a total of $6,299,800 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 45.00. For benefit costs, the bill maintains the current appropriated amount for health insurance at $11,650 per eligible FTP and temporarily removes funding for the employer's sick leave contribution rate. Funding for replacement items includes $75,200 for computers and IT equipment. The bill also provides funding for the equivalent of a 2% change in employee compensation for permanent state employees, with an additional 2% increase for those in the 20 job classifications most in need of equity adjustments. The bill funds two line items, which provide $17,400 for two staff salary increases; and $75,700 for increased shipping and equipment costs. Also included are adjustments to pay the Office of Information Technology Services for security software and data center office space located at the Chinden Campus.