Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to provide an exception regarding final disposition of bodies in counties with a population of fewer than twenty thousand people.

This legislation adds an exemption to the final disposition of dead bodies in Idaho Code Section 31-2808 to include counties with a population of fewer than 20,000 residents based on the most recent federal census. It also has an emergency clause declaring the changes effective on and after its passage and approval.

Amends existing law to allow for certain off-highway vehicle travel on highways with speed limits of up to 65 miles per hour.

The purpose of this legislation is to make it legal for the operation of off road vehicles, on state highways with a posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour or less.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the district formation and membership of a community infrastructure district board.

The proposed legislation revises provisions regarding the membership of a Community Improvement District Board in the event of boundaries change from at-large council elections to city council districts. The legislation stipulates that no district can exclude land that is surrounded by property within the districts.

Amends existing law to revise a provision regarding delegation of authority by administrative judges.

This is one of a series of bills the Supreme Court has recommended in its annual report to the Governor concerning defects or omissions in the laws, as required by article V, section 25 of the Idaho Constitution. I.C. § 2-219 permits administrative district judges to delegate their Uniform Jury Selection and Service Act duties and responsibilities to other judges in their districts. Specifically, the statute authorizes the delegation of such duties to district judges and “duly appointed” magistrates. While magistrates are initially appointed per I.C. § 1-2203, they are subsequently retained in office via election pursuant to I.C. § 1-2220. In order to clarify that jury act duties may be delegated to magistrates so retained, the unnecessarily limiting term “duly appointed” should be stricken from I.C. § 2-219.

Adds to and amends existing law to allow the Secretary of State or a county clerk to petition for judicial review of an election when it appears that an error occurred in the administration of the election and the error might be sufficient to change the outcome of the election.

Due to the complex nature and many participants involved in the administration of elections, errors can occur. Currently, theonlyavailableremedytoaddressanerror, andtodetermineifanerrorwassufficienttochangethe result of an election, is for an elector of the district to contest the election in court pursuant to I.C. §34-2001 et seq. This places the cost and the burden of filing suit to address the error on a candidate or voter. If the secretary of state or a county clerk identifies an error, there is no legal means to seek an independent review of the impact of the error. This legislation grants the secretary of state or county clerks the authority to seek judicial review by the district court. It also grants the district court the authority to void and order a new election, if the error is found to be sufficient to likely change the results of the election.

Relates to the appropriation to the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired for fiscal year 2023.

This is the FY 2023 original appropriation bill for the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. It appropriates a total of $5,409,100 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 41.12. Forbenefitcosts, thebillincreasestheappropriatedamountforhealthinsuranceby$850to$12,500pereligible full time FTP, includes a one-year holiday of unemployment insurance, and adjusts workers' compensation amounts. The bill also provides funding for permanent employees for the equivalent of a 3% salary structure shift and provides $1.25 per hour per eligible employee to be distributed based on merit for change in employee compensation.

Relates to the appropriation to the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho for fiscal year 2023.

This is the FY 2023 original appropriation bill for the Public Employee Retirement System. It appropriates a total of $12,494,000 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 73.00. For benefit costs, the bill increases the appropriated amount for health insurance by $850 to $12,500 per eligible full time FTP,includesaone-yearholidayofunemploymentinsurance,andadjustsworkers'compensationamounts. The billalsoprovidesfundingforpermanentemployeesfortheequivalentofa3%salarystructureshiftandprovides $1.25 per hour per eligible employee to be distributed based on merit for change in employee compensation. The bill funds two line items. Line item 1 provides additional funds for pension software and line item 2 provides an increase in personnel costs for an actuary.

Amends and repeals existing law to revise provisions regarding certain fees and to remove provisions regarding certain inspection fees, tonnage fees and reports, and the artificial production of rainfall.

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) proposes a bill related to Red Tape Reduction within Title 22. The bill has three components: Simplifying the fee structure of the fertilizer program by repealing tonnage fees, simplifying the fee structure of soil and plant amendment program by repealing tonnage fees, and, repealing Title 22, Chapter 32 which governs the artificial production of rainfall. This law is outdated and was superseded by the passage of H 266 in 2021. This legislation would create a more streamlined framework for fertilizer, soil and plant amendment registration. Currently, customers pay a registration fee and then separate fees for tonnage. This process is cumbersome for customers and takes considerable time for ISDA staff to review. This legislation would eliminate the process of paying by tonnage. This type of structure was successfully implemented in the ISDA feed program several years ago.

Amends existing law to revise the lists of Schedule I, II, IV, and V controlled substances.

The Idaho Board of Pharmacy administers the regulatory provisions of the state's Uniform Controlled Substances Act. This bill mirrors the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) controlled substance scheduling decisions for 2021, including placing synthetic opioids in Schedule I, an opiate in schedule II, multiple substances in Schedule IV and an anticonvulsant substance in Schedule V.

Amends existing law to authorize the Military Division to charge and receive payment for expenses incurred in providing services to units of state government.

This proposed change to Idaho Code Section 67-827a clarifies provisions allowing the Military Division to charge state agencies for services provided to the agency.

Relates to the appropriation to the Office of the State Board of Education for fiscal year 2022.

This is an FY 2022 supplemental appropriation bill for the Office of the State Board of Education and provides for a total increase of $1,057,800. This supplemental includes three separate actions taken by the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee included in the table below. The supplemental for office space for new employees included $7,800 from the General Fund to occupy space in the Capitol Mall for employees of the Office of the State Board of Education. The supplemental for Arts in Public Schools includes $1,000,000 from the General Fund to provide onetime grant funding to public elementary, middle, and high schools. Grants will be provided to expand fine arts, performing arts, and design courses and will be administered in collaboration with the Idaho Commission for the Arts. Finally, the supplemental for Idaho Cattle Foundation Funds includes $50,000 from dedicated funds to make grants for agricultural research and education programs pursuant to Section 25-1174, Idaho Code.

Relates to the appropriation to the State Appellate Public Defender for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

This is the FY 2023 original appropriation bill for the State Appellate Public Defender. It appropriates a total of $3,547,400 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 25.00. For benefit costs, the bill increases the appropriated amount for health insurance by $850 to $12,500 per eligible full time FTP, includes a one-year holiday of unemployment insurance, and adjusts workers compensation amounts. The bill also provides funding for permanent employees for the equivalent of a 3% salary structure shift and provides $1.25 per hour per eligible employee to be distributed based on merit for change in employee compensation. The bill funds three line items, which provide additional funds for capital costs restoration, purchasing IT systems, and attorney salary increases. Also included in this bill is a onetime FY 2022 supplemental appropriation, which provides $98,000 for extraordinary representation costs.

Relates to the appropriation to the State Board of Education and the Board of Regents of the University of Idaho for Health Education Programs for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

This is the FY 2023 original appropriation bill for the Division of Health Education Programs. It appropriates a total of $25,200,800 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 42.65. This bill provides support for eight distinct medical education programs including the WIMU Veterinary Education Program based at the University of Idaho, the WWAMI Medical Education Program based at the University of Idaho, the Idaho Dental Education Program in collaboration with Creighton University, the UUSOM Medical Education Program in collaboration with the University of Utah, and four distinct residency programs (the Family Medical Residencies, Boise Internal Medical Residency Program, Psychiatry Education Residency Program, and Eastern Idaho Medical Residency Program based in Idaho Falls). Forbenefitcosts, thebillincreasestheappropriatedamountforhealthinsuranceby$850to$12,500pereligible full time FTP, includes a one-year holiday of unemployment insurance, and adjusts workers compensation amounts. The bill also provides funding for permanent employees for the equivalent of a 3% salary structure shift and provides $1.25 per hour per eligible employee to be distributed based on merit for change in employee compensation. The bill funds 12 line items, which provide additional funds for an additional family medical resident position in western Idaho; an addiction medical fellowship position in western Idaho; an additional family medical resident position in North Idaho; a behavioral health fellowship in North Idaho; three additional family medical resident positions based at Idaho State University; three additional psychiatry resident positions in eastern Idaho; six additional family medical resident positions in eastern Idaho; an additional rural health fellowship position in North Idaho; funding to offset a disparity of resident support for eastern Idaho residents throughFamilyMedicalResidencies;anadditionalpharmacistresidentpositioninwesternIdaho;twoaddict