Idaho Bills

Adds to existing law to establish the Idaho Personnel Reduction Act and to provide for the reporting of state employee travel expenses.

This legislation deals with state budget issues. First, it makes state government more efficient by requiring state agencies to identify all employee positions that have been vacant for at least 180 days or more and reducing the agency budget request accordingly. For positions vacant for 180 to 364 days, agencies must either eliminate the position and reduce the agency budget request accordingly, or fund and fill the position using existing funds. This will reduce the size of government agencies to a level at which they have already demonstrated the ability to operate. Second, it requires state agencies to report on employee travel for the previous fiscal year when each state agency submits its annual budget request to the Governor and Legislature. Third, the legislation transfers to the legislative branch one third of the positions eliminated in the executive branch including associated fringe benefits.

Amends and adds to existing law to provide for a school of origin and school of origin hearing.

This legislation amends the Child Protective Act to prioritize educational stability for children removed from their homes. Recognizing that foster care placement is a time of significant upheaval, the bill establishes a legal presumption that remaining in the same school is in a child’s best interest, encouraging continuity of daily structure and trusted relationships. This legislation upholds parental rights by ensuring a fair hearing process is available in which the Department bears the burden of proof as to why a school change is necessary and reasonable accommodations for continuity cannot be made. This legislation does not inhibit the Department from removing the child from school immediately in emergency situations.

States findings of the Legislature and provides that all pending rules of the Idaho State Tax Commission have been reviewed and approved by the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee.

This resolution states that all pending administrative rules of the Idaho State Tax Commission have been reviewed and approved by the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee.

States findings of the House of Representatives and provides that all pending rules of the Idaho Department of Commerce and the Division of Veterans Services have been reviewed and approved by the House Commerce and Human Resources Committee.

This resolution states all pending administrative rules of the Idaho Department of Commerce and the Idaho Division of Veterans Services have been reviewed and adopted by the House Commerce and Human Resources committee.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding executive carry forwards.

This bill updates the timeline for liquidating encumbrances that cross fiscal years. Currently, Idaho law does not set a deadline for when these encumbrances must be liquidated, and some are carried forward for multiple years. With the addition of executive carry-forward authority in Idaho Code, the executive branch may approve appropriations from one fiscal year into the next. This bill establishes a clearer process: • If an encumbrance is not liquidated by the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, • The agency must request an additional appropriation from the Legislature. This change ensures earlier resolution of outstanding encumbrances and improves fiscal oversight.

Proposes an amendment to the state constitution to remove language allowing for the Legislature to require school attendance and to add language regarding the right of the people to educate their children without government regulation outside of public schools.

This constitutional amendment accomplishes two changes to Idaho’s constitution. First, it strikes the current language in section 9 of Article IX which concerns the legislature’s ability to compel Idaho’s children to physically attend the public schools of the state. The current language also grants the legislature to determine the means that are the exception to public school attendance. In 1925 (Pierce v. Society of Sisters) and 1972 (Wisconsin v. Yoder), the US Supreme Court issued opinions that states cannot compel public school attendance because of protections in the US constitution. This amendment also inserts language into section 9 of Article IX concerning the right to educate children outside of the public schools without burdensome regulation. This mirrors Idaho’s current statutes. The right recognized in this amendment concerns a right to educate – it is not a right to NOT educate. Neither California, Oregon, Washington nor Montana have compulsory school attendance in their constitutions, yet all of those states still possess the power to require children to be educated. Even with this amendment, Idaho may still require children to be educated.

Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding the Idaho Digital Learning Academy.

This legislation updates the governance, oversight, and funding structure of the Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA) to improve accountability, transparency, and fiscal sustainability. The bill revises the composition and duties of the IDLA board of directors, transitions the academy to a user-funded fee model, and establishes a targeted funding mechanism to support high school students in geographically isolated areas who have limited access to advanced coursework. These changes preserve IDLA as an educational option while better aligning state support with student access needs and responsible use of public funds.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding certain limitations of budget requests by taxing district and to provide certain exceptions to such limits.

RS33625 / H0842 This legislation addresses the limitations placed on the growth of property taxes by HB 389 (2021). These constraints have prevented cities, fire protection districts, and ambulance service districts in a small number of very fast-growing communities from being able to keep up with the public safety service demands of their growing populations. Specifically, this legislation: 1.) Increases the cap on overall property tax growth for cities under 30,000 people, as well as for fire protection districts and ambulance service districts that serve any of these smaller cities, from 8% to 15%, if enough new construction and annexed territory has been added to cover the cost of these extra property taxes. 2.) Increases the amount of foregone property tax revenue that can be added to the ongoing property tax budget above these caps, to 2%, replacing the current 1% limit. 3.) Provides that new construction and annexations are added to property tax budgets based on the prior year’s levy rate, rather than the estimated current year levy rate. 4.) Prohibits the accumulation of additional foregone property tax balances in the future. Foregone property tax balances from prior to 2026 may continue to be retained and used in the future, subject to statutory limitations. 5.) Provides that city and county voters may utilize the existing local initiative process to reduce city or county property tax budgets, using the same threshold for passage that the law currently provides for voters to increase property taxes beyond statutory limits (2/3rds vote for counties, and 3/5ths vote for cities).

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding hospital presumptive eligibility determinations.

RS33456 / H0845 Hospital presumptive eligibility is a Medicaid program that allows hospitals to provide services to uninsured patients by presuming that they are likely eligible for the program. Without proper guardrails, however, this program is vulnerable to abuse. Hospitals receive reimbursement for services provided to presumptively eligible patients regardless of whether those individuals are ultimately determined to qualify for Medicaid. Nationally, up to 70 percent of individuals deemed presumptively eligible were later found to be ineligible for Medicaid after services had already been rendered and billed to taxpayers. This legislation establishes a three-strikes quality assurance system for hospital presumptive eligibility, authorizing the Department of Health and Welfare to discipline hospitals that misuse the program. These reforms help ensure that presumptive eligibility is reserved for individuals who are truly eligible for Medicaid.