HCR0382026 Regular Session

Proposes a new Joint Rule 24 to designate certain days as constituent days during regular legislative sessions.

JOINT RULES -- Proposes a new Joint Rule 24 to designate certain days as constituent days during regular legislative sessions.

JOINT RULES

IntroducedIn CommitteeFloor VoteEnacted

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

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RS33637 / HCR038 This rule will provide for a four-day work week every two weeks of a legislative session. The first week of a session would be designated as an odd week. Week two would be considered an even week. Every odd week would have a five-day work week for House and Senate committees and for work in the House and Senate Chambers. On Friday of even weeks, there would be no official House or Senate committee meetings and no work done in either the House or Senate Chambers. Fridays of even weeks would be designated a constituent day. Work would still take place in the Statehouse on even week Fridays, but not official meetings requiring committee minutes nor chamber journal entries. For those legislators who live outside of the Boise area, they would also be working in their districts on the even week Friday constituent days.

FISCAL NOTE

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As Legislative Sessions typically run for 12 weeks, this rule would allow for approximately six constituent days during a session. As much work would get done on the constituent days, it is likely this new rule would add two to four days to the length of a legislative session for an additional cost of $50,000 to $100,000 each session.

BILL TEXT

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LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 38 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION1 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND PROVIDING FOR THE ADDITION OF A NEW2 JOINT RULE 24 OF THE JOINT RULES OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESEN-3 TATIVES OF THE STATE OF IDAHO.4 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5 WHEREAS, members of the Idaho Legislature are responsible for translat-6 ing the public will into public policy for the state; and7 WHEREAS, the state is divided into 35 legislative districts, each rep-8 resented by one senator and two representatives; and9 WHEREAS, many legislative districts are distant from the state capitol10 in Boise, making it difficult for legislators from those districts to meet11 with their constituents during a regular legislative session; and12 WHEREAS, the House of Representatives and the Senate deem it necessary13 and desirable to add a new Joint Rule 24 of the Joint Rules of the Senate and14 the House of Representatives.15 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-16 sion of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and17 the Senate concurring therein, that the Joint Rules of the Senate and the18 House of Representatives shall be amended by the addition thereto of a new19 Joint Rule 24 to read as follows:20 JOINT RULE 2421 Constituent Days During Regular Sessions. -- Weeks of a regular leg-22 islative session shall be identified as odd and even, consecutively. Each23 Friday during an even-numbered week shall be a constituent day. Neither24 house of the Legislature shall transact business on a constituent day.25