Idaho Bills

Adds to existing law to provide for the protection of working animals.

The purpose of this legislation is to add a new section to Chapter 35, Title 25, Idaho code, to clarify and protect the lawful use of working animals in commerce and service. The bill affirms the right to utilize working animals for mutual benefit and welfare and prohibits state or local governments from enacting or enforcing ordinance, regulations, or rules that are more restrictive than state law or that effectively prohibit the lawful use of working animals or working animal enterprises. This legislation defines "working animal" for purposes of the new section and clarifies that the provisions do not apply to cockfighting or dogfighting, which remain governed by existing law. An emergency clause is included to ensure the provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.

Relates to the appropriation to the State Board of Education and the Board of Regents of the University of Idaho for College and Universities and the Office of the State Board of Education for fiscal year 2027.

RS33709 / H0922 This is the enhancements bill for the college and universities, including a reduction of $752,900 for the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS); an addition of 4.00 FTP and $510,500 for the transfer of risk managers from the Office of the State Board of Education; and a $1,909,700 endowment funds adjustment. .

Adds to and repeals existing law to establish provisions regarding place of trial for certain civil actions.

This legislation is a simplification of the outdated statute which identifies the county in which a plaintiff may bring a cause of action, clarifying the outdated language. The restatement is simple with the only addition allowing a plaintiff to file a civil action in the county in which the action occurred. This will alleviate some expense of litigation by reducing travel costs for the plaintiff and potential witnesses, and it will allow local residents to be more involved in cases in their jurisdictions.

Relates to the appropriation to the Judicial Branch for fiscal year 2027.

RS33758 / H0925 This appropriation to the Judicial Branch provides enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that includes an $800,700 onetime increase in the Senior Magistrate Judge Fund for anticipated costs associated with magistrate judge retirement benefits. The next three enhancements were considered as part of the Court's General Fund reduction plan for FY 2027, which included shifting costs from the General Fund to dedicated funds. Implementation of the proposed plan includes a onetime increase of $700,000 in the Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Family Court Services Fund, a onetime increase of $400,000 in the Substance Abuse Treatment Fund, and an ongoing $2,000,000 increase in the Court Technology Fund. The total dedicated fund enhancement for the Court Operations Division is $3,900,700. In addition, this appropriation provides an ongoing increase of $77,900 for the Second District Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program to hire a trainer/recruiter position, as well as provide funding for rent, liability insurance, and an annual financial audit. In the maintenance bill, the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Division base budget was reduced by $144,800. This action restores $87,400 to the GAL Division onetime for FY 2027.

Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Juvenile Corrections for fiscal year 2027.

RS33704 / S1402 This appropriation to the Department of Juvenile Corrections (IDJC) provides enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that includes General Fund Budget Restoration, which restored 6.00 FTP and $593,900 for direct care staff at IDJC facilities, emergency support funding for counties, and substance use disorder mentoring for juveniles; Clinician Service Transfer from the Department of Health and Welfare; replacement items, which included 10 vehicles, recreation area improvements at the Nampa facility, new desks and chairs at the Nampa and Lewiston facilities, headquarter lobby remodel for security purposes, and other facility maintenance at the Lewiston and St. Anthony facility; and OITS Hardware, which included laptops and desktops that have surpassed the 4-year replacement cycle, as well as switches, routers, and other network upgrades that the Office of Information Technology Services has identified as key infrastructural priorities.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the filing of declarations of candidacy.

RS33628 / S1376 This bill would change where local election candidates file, from the clerk of the political subdivision to the county clerk. This change will allow a more efficient process as all filings flow up to the county clerk for approval, as well as many political subdivisions in smaller Idaho counties do not have regular hours of operation during the tight filing window, creating problems for candidates in these districts.

Relates to the appropriation to the Office of Information Technology Services for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

RS33641 / H0870 This appropriation to the Office of Information Technology Services provides enhancements to the FY 2027 budget that includes appropriation and transfer of $458,700 from the General Fund to the Administration and Accounting Services Fund for increases in personnel costs, funding for enterprise security, E-CORE federal grant program, and the transfer of IT personnel from the Department of Health and Welfare as part of OITS Modernization. Additionally, this appropriation provides onetime supplemental funding for the FY 2026 budget that includes appropriation for building furnishings from the General Fund and the E-CORE federal grant program.

Amends existing law to provide that a certain person from the Idaho Association of Counties shall be a member of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.

This legislation amends section 19-5102 to add a member from the Juvenile Justice Administrators' or Adult Misdemeanor Probation Administrators’ association to the Peace Officer’s Standards and Training council.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding certain election procedures.

RS33633 / H0873 2025 legislation established uniform dates and deadlines for county clerks ahead of elections. This bill cleans up three additional sections that were inadvertently missed, including (1) soil and water conservation districts, (2) sparsely populated precincts, and (3) canvassing timelines.

Relates to the appropriation to the State Board of Education for community colleges for fiscal year 2027.

RS33706 / H0906 This is the enhancements bill for the community colleges, including a reduction of $245,500 for the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) and an addition of $1,123,200 to restore the 2% additional reduction.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the powers and duties of library boards of trustees to hire and terminate library directors.

Current Idaho law forces cities that run their own libraries to hire and fire the city's Library Director through a Library Commission. This legislation provides such cities with making this personnel decision directly, through the city council and library board of trustees. This adds the city council along with the library board of trustees to who can hire and fire a library director.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding certain sales tax exemptions for occasional sales and small sellers.

Current law allows an individual to only have 2 yard sales per year before they have to start collecting sales tax irrespective of the total dollars in sales. This legislation still allows the 2 yard sales but also allows an unlimited number of yard sales provided that the total sales per year is less than the $5000 limit established under the small sellers law. Additionally, this legislation clarifies how sales of more than $5000 are to be addressed.

Relates to the appropriation to the Office of the State Board of Education for fiscal year 2027.

RS33702 / H0905 This appropriation to the Office of the State Board of Education (OSBE) provides enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that include a funds transfer from the higher education institutions for a centralized learning management system (LMS) contract, a transfer of risk managers from OSBE to Boise State University, Idaho State University, and the University of Idaho, and appropriation of the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) federal grant.

Amends existing law to provide for certified interior designers to be able to sign and seal certain technical submissions and to make such submissions to state or local governmental entities.

This legislation exempts the practice of interior design from the Idaho Architecture Practice Act to allow certified interior designers to sign and seal technical submissions for a limited set of drawings that are nonstructural and non-seismic interior construction and alteration projects. Additionally, this legislation establishes a voluntary certification for interior designers to be administered by the Idaho Board of Architects and Landscape Architects in order for interior designers to obtain sign and seal privileges. The certification is voluntary and will not require certification for interior designers who choose not to obtain it. Interior designers are trained, tested through education, experience, and examination to create safe, functional, accessible, and code compliance spaces. This legislation establishes a pathway for interior designers to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training.

Relates to the appropriation to the Military Division for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

RS33710 / H0908 This appropriation to the Military Division provides enhancements to the maintenance budget that include funding for indirect cost recovery of administrative costs associated with federal grants and a restoration of the additional 2% rescission to the division's General Fund appropriation for the State Education Assistance Program, which provides tuition assistance to members of the Idaho National Guard. A cash transfer to reimburse deficiency warrants for cleanup of hazardous materials incidents is also included.

States findings of the Legislature and calls on the President of the United States and Congress to assist states in covering the costs of educating students residing in the United States regardless of immigration status.

RS33682 / HJM020 This monument memorializes that due to the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Plyler v. Doe (1982, 457 U.S. 202), Idaho is required to offer free public K-12 education to every student regardless of immigration status. However, it is not clear that the federal government fully reimburses Idaho to compensate for this requirement. Since immigration policy is set by the federal government, this monument calls on the U.S. Congress make Idaho whole for meeting this requirement.