States findings of the Senate, recognizes the importance of Italy as a trade partner with Idaho, and supports the strengthening of ties between Idaho and Italy.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026
IN THE SENATE
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 117
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
A SENATE RESOLUTION	1
STATING FINDINGS OF THE SENATE, RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF ITALY AS A	2
TRADE PARTNER WITH IDAHO, AND SUPPORTING THE STRENGTHENING OF TIES BE-	3
TWEEN IDAHO AND ITALY.	4
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Idaho:	5
WHEREAS, the United States established diplomatic relations with Italy	6
in 1861 following the unification of most of the peninsula into what became	7
the Republic of Italy; and	8
WHEREAS, Italy is an important trade partner with the United States. In	9
2024, goods exported from the United States to Italy were worth $32.4 billion	10
and goods imported to the United States from Italy were worth $76.3 billion;	11
and	12
WHEREAS, Italians have had a presence in Idaho even before Idaho became	13
a state. Italian immigrants arrived in Idaho beginning in about 1880, re-	14
sponding to the need for workers to build railroad lines across Idaho. Ital-	15
ians also became loggers, miners, and farmers in Idaho and were mentioned	16
in passing in the debates recorded in the proceedings of the Constitutional	17
Convention of Idaho in 1889-1890; and	18
WHEREAS, according to Leonard Arrington's "History of Idaho," there	19
were about 2,627 Italians living and working in Idaho by 1910, including	20
about 400 families in Pocatello tied to the railroad industry, and also	21
loggers, farmers, miners, and shopkeepers in the areas of Kellogg, Wallace,	22
Bonners Ferry, Naples, Lava Hot Springs, Roston, Mullan, and Priest River,	23
with Priest River even being called "Little Italy" for a time; and	24
WHEREAS, Italy has long been a partner in trade with the State of Idaho;	25
and	26
WHEREAS, Micron Technology, Inc., which was founded in Boise in 1978 as	27
a four-person semiconductor design company and is now a Fortune 500 company,	28
now has three sites in Italy, employing over 400 team members in Vimercate,	29
Arzano, and Avezzano; and	30
WHEREAS, in 2025, the Honorary Consulate of Italy in Idaho was estab-	31
lished in Boise by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International	32
Cooperation to provide Italian consulate services in the states of Idaho and	33
Montana; and	34
WHEREAS, the establishment of the Honorary Consulate in Idaho is ex-	35
pected to facilitate an increase in tourism and trade between people and	36
businesses in Idaho and Italy; to host official visit delegations from	37
Italy; to promote local cultural events; to facilitate the ability of	38
students to study abroad; and to help create partnerships with Idaho univer-	39
sities to facilitate research ventures.	40
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Senate, assembled	41
in the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, that	42

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2
the Senate recognizes the importance of Italy as a trade partner with Idaho	1
and supports the strengthening of ties between Idaho and Italy.	2

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