Idaho Bills

Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to establish the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act.

This bill is the result of five years of intense study by legal experts, community groups, and others of the existing Idaho Conservatorship/Guardianship Probate Code. This bill adds more protections for those involved in the process on multiple levels. It provides clarity in areas where questions have arisen in the current Code. It provides multiple detailed alternatives to formal Conservatorship/Guardianship court proceedings, including Protective Arrangements and Supported Decision Making. It retains multiple Idaho procedures that are working well. It requires detailed information at the beginning of a process under the Code. It protects the constitutional rights of persons subject to the Code or those affected by proceedings under the Code, including through more stringent notice provisions, required written statements of rights both at service of the petition and before hearings. It sets higher standards of evidence (usually ‟clear and convincing”). It also moves the Conservatorship/Guardianship provisions for persons with a developmental disability into the Probate Code. This gives the additional protections in the Probate Code while retaining all the existing protections in the developmental disability code. The bill also organizes the Code into a more logical set of Chapters. It also contains model forms and model statements of rights.

Amends and adds to existing law to establish the Idaho Education Opportunity Program.

This legislation creates the Idaho Education Opportunity Program (IEOP) to provide families with school age students, Kindergarten to 12th Grade, a choice to utilize up to 80% of the average per student state funding. EligibleSpecialEducationStudentswouldqualifyfor100%. ThefundingforanIEOPaccountcouldbeusedfor eligible expenses, including Tuition at an accredited private school. or a Personalized Student Education Plan thatwouldincludeexpendituresforTextbooks,reasonabletransportation,educationequipmentandtechnology, educational therapies, fees for testing, admissions, fees to manage the IEOP account, tuition for individual classes, uniforms, tutoring, and technology devices. Eligible Students from families with less than $75,000 of Adjusted Gross Income, entering the program as a kindergarten student, or applying after having attended an Idaho Public School for 90 days in the prior school year, will have priority of appropriated funds. Students in families with an AGI’s greater than $75,000, can be eligible at reduced participation rates. The public school district or charter school of record shall receive the balance of the average distribution (20%) of the average distribution calculation. The Parents agree that IEOP funds shall only be used according to the approved uses andagreethatanyQualifiedSchoolshallprovidetheparentswiththeresultsofanationallynormedassessment. Use of funds for a Personalized Student Education Plan will include a nationally normed assessment. To renew theaccounttheparentshalldemonstratethattheirstudentisatgradelevelorhasshownonefullyearofacademic growth. The bill also establishes a deduction of paid tuition and fees from a families taxable income, excluding any tuition and fees paid with IEOP funds. The effective date of this bill is January 1, 2026, and the first applications will be received by June 15, 2026, for the 2027 school year. The IEOP would likely provide 3,100 students to have the funds to choose an alternative to the Public Scho

Amends existing law to revise a provision regarding the salaries of judges.

Judicial Salaries are established by the Legislature 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. JudicialsalariesinIdahohavesimplynotkeptpacewithmarketchanges. Insix(6)ofthelastsixteen(16)years no increase to judicial salaries has been provided via amendment to § 59-502. At the same time, salaries for experienced attorneys have increased. The resulting lag of judicial compensation behind the market salaries for other experienced attorney positions creates serious hurdles to recruiting and retaining experienced, qualified attorneys to serve as Idaho’s judges. Five (5) years ago District Judge openings resulted in an average of eleven (11) applicants per position. By this past fiscal year, that number had plummeted to 4.6 candidates per opening, and several recent District Judge openings only received applications from the bare minimum of three (3) candidates. Judges are also leaving the bench to return to other work. While no judges left the bench to returntootherworkinfiscalyear2023, three(3)judgesdidinfiscalyear2024, andfour(4)judgeshavedoneso thus far in fiscal year 2025. Adequate judicial compensation is routinely cited as a primary reason experienced Idaho attorneys do not pursue or continue a judicial career. This bill seeks to establish judicial salaries that are more competitive with the compensation for other public and private sector experienced attorney positions in Idaho and the judicial compensation rates paid by the states surrounding Idaho. Specifically, this bill will set the annual salary of a Magistrate Judge at $193,000, a District Judge at $201,000, a Court of Appeals Judge at $207,000, and a justice of the Supreme Court at $215,000.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding photographic identification on electronic benefit transfer cards.

This legislation would require the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare to add photographic identification to new electronic benefit transfer cards issued to recipients and to develop a strategy to replace current electronic benefit cards to include photo ID. The intent of this legislation is to add accountability and reduce fraud and misuse in SNAP.

Proposes a state constitutional amendment to require any referendum petition or initiative petition to be signed by at least 6% of legal voters at the last general election in each legislative district.

This Joint Resolution will ask the People to vote on more fairly distributing voter involvement in the initiative and referenda process. If passed by the People, the Joint Resolution will ensure that voters from all thirty-five legislative districts around the state are considered, versus only just over half of the legislative districts as is currently allowable. This Joint Resolution maintains the same total number of signatures that are currently required, but it will also require a minimum number of those signatures come from each of the thirty-five legislative districts around the state. The Joint Resolution addresses the current practice of "venue shopping" by well-funded activist organizations. If passed by the Legislature, the Joint Resolution will be placed on the November 2026 General Election ballot, and voters will ultimately decide whether or not to adopt the Resolution.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding the deprivation of religious liberty or freedom of speech by a governmental entity.

An articulated right is meaningless without a mechanism for enforcement. In line with the principle of Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium (Where there is a Right, There is a Remedy), this bill ensures citizens have recourse if a government entity violates their rights enumerated in Section 9, Article I (Freedom of Speech) or Section 4, Article I (Guaranty of Religious Liberty) of the Idaho Constitution. A lawsuit could be filed according to existing procedure found in the Idaho Tort Claims Act, chapter 9, Title 6, Idaho Code.

Amends existing law to increase the vote threshold for statewide initiative petitions and to remove obsolete language.

Amends and adds to existing law to establish a wildfire risk mitigation and stabilization pool, fund, and board.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding covering certain loads to prevent spillage and to provide a notification requirement.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding alternative animal protein labeling, oversight, and penalties.

This bill establishes labeling requirements for alternative animal protein products sold in Idaho, such as lab-grown meat and insect-based proteins. It mandates clear front-of-package disclosures, specifies ingredient listing standards, and outlines penalties for non-compliance, with enforcement managed by the Idaho Department of Agriculture.

Amends existing law to revise a definition.