Idaho Bills

States findings of the Legislature and supports re-opening American Tungsten's IMA mining project.

RS33714 / HJM021 This Memorial states that the Legislature supports the development of American Tungsten’s IMA Mine Project located near Patterson in Lemhi County. It further states for the expedited issuance of state of Idaho permits and other authorizations necessary for bringing the Mine back into operation after many years of disuse. It also urges the United State Department of War to award a grant to the company to complete the development of the Mine. The Mine will produce tungsten, a critical mineral for many applications, including in a variety of applications for use in national defense. The United States currently relies on China and Russia for most of the tungsten needed in national defense. When completed, projected to be by the end of this calendar year, the Mine will be the only producer of tungsten in the United States.

Adds to existing law to provide for the Idaho Student Safety and Educator Disclosure Act.

RS33743 / S1412 This legislation creates the Idaho Student Safety and Educator Disclosure Act to strengthen transparency and reporting requirements related to misconduct involving students. While Idaho Code §33-1210 governs the transfer of personnel files between school districts, this legislation clarifies reporting obligations and requires disclosure of pending investigations, resignations during investigations, and disciplinary actions involving misconduct when hiring individuals who will work with students. The bill also clarifies that educational entities may not conduct internal investigations in lieu of reporting suspected child abuse as required by Idaho law and requires that resignations, terminations, or administrative leave occurring during investigations of misconduct involving students be referred to the Idaho Professional Standards Commission for review.

Adds to existing law to prohibit a person from entering a restroom or changing room of the opposite sex, to provide a penalty, and to provide exceptions.

This bill adds Section 18-4117 to Title 18, Idaho Code, making it a misdemeanor for any person to knowingly and willfully enters a rest room, changing room, locker room, or shower room in a government-owned building or place of public accommodation designated for the oppose biological sex. A second or subsequent conviction within five years is a felony punishable by up to five years in state prison. Defined as a facility where undress occurs in the presence of others, the prohibition includes exceptions for custodial/maintenance, medical/law enforcement assistance, emergencies, single-user facilities (when no same-sex option exists), temporary re-designations, athletic coaching, and accompaniment of family, guardians, or designees in need (provided the designee is not of the designated sex.

Amends and repeals existing law to remove obsolete provisions.

To ensure that state laws are streamlined, up-to-date, and essential for the citizens of Idaho, while best serving the public health, safety, and welfare, the Legislature approved the Idaho Code Cleanup Act, H14 in the 2025 legislative session. Submitted sections of Idaho Code were reviewed for repeal consideration by the DOGE Task Force on the criteria of obsolete, outdated, and unnecessary. This bill repeals or updates 14 sections of Idaho Code in Title 33 relating to education. Impacted sections include reporting requirements, contracts, profits of mines, asbestos removal of the Albion State Normal School, and county level provisions. Many of these sections were never implemented or funded by the state.

Relates to the maintenance appropriation to the Constitutional Officers for fiscal year 2027.

RS33503C1 / H0866 This is the FY 2027 Maintenance Appropriation Bill for the Constitutional Officers. This bill includes appropriations to the Executive Office of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the State Controller, the Secretary of State, and the State Treasurer. The appropriation includes standard adjustments for personnel benefit costs, contract inflation, statewide cost allocation, and a base reduction of up to 5%. For the Secretary of State, in lieu of an ongoing base reduction, the office reverted $850,000 in onetime cash in FY 2026.

Relates to the appropriation to the Public Utilities Commission for fiscal year 2027.

RS33639 / S1384 This appropriation to the Public Utilities Commission provides an enhancement to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that includes OITS Hardware, which includes 19 laptops.

Adds to existing law to provide for safety checks for children under one year of age.

Newborns and infants are completely dependent on their caretakers. It is the intent of the legislature to protect them against abuse and neglect. The purpose of this bill is to direct the Department of Health and Welfare to investigate and verify any report regarding a caretaker of a newborn who has one of the listed risk factors in this bill within 12 hours. If the report can be verified, this bill directs the Department to set the case to Priority 1 and complete a safety assessment regarding the child's living conditions as well as an assessment of the caretaker's stability.

Amending existing law to remove obsolete language relating to since passed dates and transfer of benefits to the new public defender system.

To ensure that state laws are streamline, up-to-date, and essential for the citizens of Idaho, while best serving the public health, safety, and welfare, the Legislature approved the Idaho Code Cleanup Act, H 14 in the 2025 legislative session. Submitted sections of Idaho Code were reviewed for repeal consideration by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Task Force on the criteria of obscure, outdated, and unnecessary. This bill updates four sections of Idaho Code pertaining to Human Resources. These sections include: 1) § 59-1606, Idaho Code - A reference to vacation time for individuals hired by the State Public Defender prior to January 1, 2025; 2) § 59-1607, Idaho Code - A reference to the first pay period in 2008; 3) § 67-5315, Idaho Code - A reference to procedures established on or before July 1, 1999; and 4) § 67-5328, Idaho Code - A reference to the first pay period in 2008.

Amends existing law to provide that certain decedent photos shall be exempt from disclosure and to provide an exception.

The purpose of this legislation is to exempt photographs or images of decedent individuals from public disclosure.

Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding the licensure of certified public accountants.

This legislation modifies Idaho’s accounting licensure laws to adapt to today’s professional environment. It reduces the educational requirements to become licensed as a certified public accountant in order to address a workforce shortage caused by increased education requirements enacted in 1993. It also aligns Idaho law with the laws of other states to facilitate the interstate practice of accounting by removing barriers that have not proved to be in the public interest.

States findings of the Legislature and supports various water projects within Water District 2.

The Purpose of this Concurrent Resolution is to formally recognize the critical importance of water management in Idaho Water Resource Board District 2 and to declare legislative support for specific infrastructure projects essential to the region's future. By endorsing these projects, the Legislature affirms that proactive funding for water storage, aquifer stabilization, and infrastructure modernisation is fiscally responsible and vital for sustaining the region's agricultural heritage, supporting rapid population growth, and ensuring national security.

Amends and adds to existing law to prohibit bulk lottery ticket purchases.

The Idaho Lottery requests implementation of Idaho Code modifications designed to detect and prevent bulk Lottery ticket purchases conducted by organized groups, to preserve the integrity, fairness, and lawful operation of the Idaho Lottery. These controls are intended to ensure that all lottery participants have equal and lawful access to ticket purchases, to deter exploitative or coordinated purchasing practices, and to maintain the public trust in the fairness and legality of the lottery system.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding camping and to revise a provision regarding disposition of property.

The Department of Administration and the Idaho State Police jointly provide security for the Capitol Mall. This bill enhances this security by: (a) imposing time limits on how long "symbolic tents" and other structures may remain erected in the Capitol Mall; and formally defining "camping," while still permitting side-free canopies for shelter. Additionally, it broadens the scope of property that may be held for at least 90-days.

Amends existing law to update references to the current Internal Revenue Code and to revise certain tax credits and adjustments.

This proposed legislation is the annual tax conformity bill to update references to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The bill conforms the Idaho income tax code to changes made to the IRC that affect the 2025 tax year. It fully conforms Idaho to the tax changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill with two exceptions: 1. Bonus depreciation which Idaho has historically not conformed to. 2. R&E expenditures incurred from 2022-2024 already being amortized will continue to the end of their 5-year amortization schedule. Any R&E expenditures from 2025 and forward will conform to OBBB. This proposed legislation also ensures that businesses cannot use the same R&E expenses for both a deduction and an Idaho tax credit.

Adds to existing law to provide requirements for the Department of Health and Welfare to apply and reserve federal benefits for children in the department's legal custody.

The Trump Administration has encouraged States to preserve Social Security survivor benefits for foster youth rather than divert them to offset state government costs. Survivor benefits are an earned benefit through work and represent perhaps the last financial support a deceased parent can provide their child. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare ended this diversion through administrative action in 2025, and this bill codifies this practice to ensure foster youth will continue to have access to their deceased parents' survivor benefits over time.

Amends existing law to revise a provision regarding per diem costs of state prisoners housed in county jails.

Idaho law mandates the State Board of Corrections to reimburse counties for housing state-committed inmates and parole violators in county jails prior to their transfer to a state correctional facility. The current daily reimbursement rate ($55 for the first seven days, $75 thereafter) falls significantly short of the average daily cost incurred by counties, which is $106.37 (excluding state-paid medical expenses). It costs counties over $49.5 million a year to house 1,275 state inmates a day. By contrast, the state reimburses counties only $34.1 million a year to house those inmates. This disparity forces county property taxpayers to subsidize the state by over $15.4 million annually based on the 1,275 state inmates housed in county jails as of December 2025. Furthermore, the Idaho Legislature is required to review these housing costs every three years, but the last review was conducted four years ago. This legislation proposes increasing the daily reimbursement rate paid to counties to $80 to help offset the current financial burden on counties.