Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the homestead exemption.

This legislation provides that a homeowner who is absent in the current year by reason of religious missionary service shall not be disqualified from receiving the homestead tax exemption. Under this legislation, homeowners who serve religious missions and intend to return to their homestead will be treated the same as homeowners actively serving in the military.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions prohibiting the unlawful employment of unauthorized aliens.

This bill creates a new chapter in Idaho law making it a misdemeanor for employers, labor representatives, or employment agents to knowingly hire, continue employing, recruit individuals who are not lawfully present in the U.S. or authorized to work under federal law. It defines when an individual is considered unauthorized and requires employers to stop employment if they know or should know that work authorization has expired or been revoked. Employers who verify work authorization through the federal E-Verify system before hiring, and receive confirmation, are shielded from criminal liability and may raise good-faith compliance as an affirmative defense. An emergency clause provides for an effective date of July 1, 2026.

Amends existing law to provide for registration fees.

The purpose of this legislation is to have new residents in Idaho register their vehicle in Idaho. Currently people wait as long as possible after moving to Idaho to register their vehicles in the state. By not registering in Idaho, the state loses money.

Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for fiscal year 2027.

RS33729 / S1401 This appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for the Division of Public Health Services provides enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that include appropriations for the Idaho Home Visiting Program; the restoration of the Immunization Assessment Fund; Fee for Service Laboratory Testing; ARPA Funded Multi-Year Grants; HIV Prevention and Surveillance; Hepatitis Prevention and Surveillance; restore funding to the Suicide Prevention and Awareness Program; and reduces the budget to move the Idaho Home Visiting Program to the Division of Early Learning and Development.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding single stairway building exceptions.

This legislation amends the Idaho Building Code Act to authorize local governments to allow certain apartment buildings to be served by a single interior exit stairway, notwithstanding adoption of the International Building Code, provided they meet certain life safety and design standards. Eligible buildings may be up to six stories, with limits on unit count per floor and total floor area, and must include enhanced fire protection measures such as full NFPA 13 sprinkler systems, two-hour fire rated stair and shaft enclosures, pressurized stairwells, fire rated corridors and openings, limited travel distances, emergency escape and rescue openings, and comprehensive smoke and fire detection systems.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the duties of political treasurers.

RS33756 / H0930 This Legislation amends Idaho Code Section 67-6604, relating to Campaign Finance. The bill does two things. It will: • Require all political candidates and Political committees to open a separate checking account for the purpose of collecting contributions and paying expenses of one’s campaign and said funds shall not be commingled with any other account; • Require a candidate who loans personal funds to his political campaign account, an amount exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000), to report said loan to the Idaho Secretary of State and shall deposit said loan amount into his candidate campaign checking account; and • Allow a candidate and a political committee to invest campaign funds, but only in certificates of deposit, money market accounts, or other cash-equivalent accounts. A candidate or political committee may not invest in stocks or other equity securities.

States findings of the Legislature and requests that Congress call a convention for proposing amendments under Article V of the Constitution of the United States.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the growing national debt as a legitimate threat to the United States of America and serves as an application by the State of Idaho to call a “Convention for proposing Amendments” under Article V of the United States Constitution, strictly limited to proposing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the States for Ratification. Idaho’s application for a “Convention for proposing Amendments” sunsets on December 31, 2033.

Amends existing law to provide for the Medical Education Fund and to provide for certain funding.

RS33762 / S1420 Clarifies the name of the Medical Education Fund and provide for funds to be added from the tax on health insurance premiums.

Adds to existing law to establish the Virtual Currency Kiosk Fraud Prevention Act.

The purpose of this legislation is to establish a clear regulatory framework for virtual currency kiosks operating within the State of Idaho to enhance consumer protection and prevent financial exploitation. The bill requires kiosk operators to register with the state, provide clear fee and exchange rate disclosures, post fraud warnings, maintain transaction records, and implement reasonable transaction limits and fraud-prevention safeguards. Virtual currency kiosks have increasingly been used in scams targeting Idaho consumers, particularly older adults, due to the rapid and irreversible nature of virtual currency transactions. By creating transparency and accountability requirements, this bill strengthens consumer protections while allowing legitimate virtual currency businesses to operate responsibly within the state. The measure promotes public safety, supports law enforcement investigations, and reduces financial exploitation without prohibiting lawful virtual currency kiosk activity.

Amends Senate Bill 1326a to revise a definition and revise provisions regarding federal government agents and local coordination.

RS33794 / H0936 This legislation is a trailer bill that makes changes to Senate Bill 1326, which relates to 4th amendment protections on privately-owned land. It removes employees of the federal government from the definition of “government agent” in the proposed Section 18-7102, Idaho Code. It also changes the “shall” to a “should” in the proposed Section 18-7104, Idaho Code, relating to federal government agents notifying the county sheriff prior to executing search warrants.

Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for fiscal year 2027.

RS33861 / H0978 This appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for the Division of Public Health Services provides enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that includes appropriations for the Idaho home Visiting Program, the restoration of the Immunization Assessment Fund; Fee for Service Laboratory Testing; ARPA Funded Multi-Year Grants; HIV Prevention and Surveillance; Hepatitis Prevention and Surveillance; restore funding to the Suicide Prevention and Awareness Program; reduces the budget to move the Idaho Home Visiting Program to the Division of Early Learning and Development; and reduces the Health Care Policy Initiatives budget.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding a certain property tax exemption for low-income housing.

This legislation amends and updates current statue, 63-602GG, Idaho code, which provides a property tax exemption for qualified workforce and affordable housing developments in Idaho. It allows non-profit organizations to partner with for profit entities on affordable housing developments and take advantage of other federal financial incentives. The proposed legislation also ensures the burden of new workforce housing construction will not negatively impact other local property taxpayers and provides counties with the discretion to "opt-out" of the exemption on a per-development basis.

Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Fish and Game for fiscal year 2027.

RS33612 / S1382 This appropriation to the Department of Fish and Game enhancements to the FY 2027 maintenance budget that includes funding for fisheries habitat projects; good neighbor authority projects; inflationary costs at fisheries; temporary employees; wolf depredation response and control; inflation at fisheries facilities; customer communications services; for licenses and support; replacement items; and IT hardware.

Adds to existing law to provide for regional service centers.

This legislation provides a framework that two or more school districts or charter schools can use to share services that are cost-prohibitive or impractical for a single district or charter to deliver independently. Regional Service Centers provide targeted support to school districts and charter schools, particularly small and rural ones, with a focus on hard-to-fill special education positions such as speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and school psychologists, and other non-instructional positions, such as business managers. Districts and charters often compete for a limited pool of qualified special education professionals at a high cost, and many do not require full-time staff to meet their students’ needs. The legislation creates a fund to account for various levels of shared service contract costs, paid by school districts and public charter schools that choose to participate, that would vary annually based on the participation of local schools and their specific needs. Many states use similar models to share specialized services.

Adds to existing law to require public schools to offer daily recess to students in kindergarten through grade 5 and to encourage public schools to offer unstructured activity breaks for students in grades 6 through 8.

This legislation adds a new section of code to require public schools to provide daily recess for students in kindergarten through grade five and encourage schools to provide unstructured activity breaks for students in grades six through eight. This aligns with extensive evidence that recess is not a luxury but a necessary component of healthy child development including boosting learning, behavior, health and happiness