Idaho Bills

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.

Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to provide for campaign finance transparency.

Idaho’s campaign finance laws, commonly referred to as the “Sunshine Laws,” were enacted in 1974 through a citizen initiative to increase transparency of money spent on political campaigns and lobbying activities. This legislation revises and reorganizes campaign finance statutes from their 1974 version by moving the provisions from Title 67, Chapter 66, State Government and State Affairs, to Title 74, Chapter 3, Transparent and Ethical Government. This drastically improves reporting clarity and strengthens enforcement in response to increased financial activity and evolving campaign practices. This legislation also expands transparency requirements related to the ballot initiative process, referendum campaigns, and independent expenditures. These provisions provide clearer disclosure of funding sources, reporting of activity, communications intended to influence voters outside of candidate campaigns, and prohibit foreign contributions for ballot measures. In addition, the legislation adds one additional pre-primary and one pre-general campaign finance report, updates contribution and expenditure limitations, and establishes a revised fine structure for reporting violations that balances appropriate penalties for small campaign violations as compared to larger campaign violations. Overall, the legislation modernizes and strengthens disclosure requirements and ensures campaign finance laws are transparent and enforceable.

Amends existing law to require all contributions and loans to a candidate or political committee to be deposited into a separate campaign account, to prohibit commingling of funds, and to require loans from a candidate to such candidate's campaign to be reported to the Secretary of State.

This Legislation amends Idaho Code Section 67-6604, relating to Campaign Finance. This bill does two things. It will: • Require all political candidates to open a separate bank account for the purpose of collecting contributions and paying expenses, of one’s campaign; and • Require a candidate who loans personal funds to his own campaign, to certify to the Idaho Secretary of State, within seven (7) days of making said loan to the candidate’s campaign, that the funds loaned were deposited into the campaign bank account.

Amends existing law to prohibit certain out-of-state persons from making campaign contributions or independent expenditures.

The growth of out of state contributions to Idaho election campaigns has been dramatic in recent years and should concern every Idahoan. During the 2024 election cycle, more money was spent from out of state on negative advertising than from within the state. In light of this, this legislation modifies Section 67-6610D of Idaho Code, which prohibits foreign contributions to elections, and adds out of state contributions and expenditures to the list of prohibited categories.