What happened to that Idaho bill? Stay updated on latest with this tracker
The Idaho Statesman provides in-depth coverage of bills as they’re introduced and passed on the House or Senate floors.
But a bill goes through a lengthy process before it becomes law. The more measures introduced in one legislative session, the more difficult it is to keep them straight.
The legislative process starts in the chamber in which it was introduced, then moves to the other chamber. For example, a House bill must typically:
- get introduced;
- be referred to a House committee;
- have a public hearing;
- get sent to the House floor and pass;
- pass through a Senate committee;
- get sent to the Senate floor and pass;
- and get signed by the governor.
Here, we have a list of the most high-profile pieces of legislation and provide updates on where they landed at the end of this year’s legislative session.
Tax cuts
Income tax cuts: House Bill 436 cuts income tax rates and provides Idaho’s highest earners with the largest rebates. It has become law.
Homeowners exemption: Following a controversial property tax bill that passed last year, two competing pieces of legislation — House Bill 481 and Senate Bill 1241 — would have raised the assessed valuation threshold for residents who qualify for a property tax reduction program, known as the “circuit breaker.”
House Bill 481 made it through the Legislature and has become law.
Grocery exemption: Two versions of a sales tax exemption on groceries, House bills 448 and 470, died in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Meanwhile, House Bill 509 raises the grocery tax credit from $100 to $120, and from $120 to $140 for seniors. It has become law.
Medicaid income: Senate Bill 1259 excludes Medicaid payments from the income used to determine property tax reductions. It has become law.
Property tax rebates: House Bill 550 allows cities to provide rebates on property taxes. Currently, there is no legal mechanism for cities to give back property taxes. City councils now have the authority to set the conditions for rebates. It has become law.
Eliminating property tax: House Bill 741 would have removed most property taxes levied on homeowners, increased the statewide sales tax to 7.85% and raised the individual grocery tax credit by $75. After it passed the House, Senate Republicans killed the bill for this session and said they need more time to study the proposal’s impacts.
Self-storage taxes: Senate Bill 1301 would have amended the way property taxes for self-storage businesses are calculated. After the bill passed in the Legislature, Gov. Brad Little vetoed it over concerns that self-storage businesses would be treated under different taxing standards than other businesses.
LGBTQ rights
“Add the words”: House Bill 440 would have added “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the classes protected from discrimination in state law. It was introduced as a personal bill, and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Conversion therapy: House Bill 483 would have banned licensed mental health professionals from trying to change LGBTQ minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity. It didn’t get a hearing in the House Health and Welfare Committee.
Gender-affirming care: House Bill 675 would have made it a felony to provide trans children with gender-affirming medical care. Providers would have been barred from giving minors hormones, puberty blockers or gender-affirming surgeries. After it passed in the House, Senate Republicans killed the bill and said it had unintended consequences.
Election issues
Unaffiliated voters: House Bill 439 would have moved up the deadline for independent voters to register as Republican for the GOP primary. The bill passed in the House, but didn’t get a hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Absentee ballots for nursing care residents: House Bill 441 would allow only designated individuals to help a nursing care resident vote remotely — a county clerk, someone designated by the county clerk, or an immediate family member. It’s been referred to the House State Affairs Committee.
Citizenship on driver’s licenses: House Bill 527 gives U.S. citizens the option of adding a “USA” notation on their driver’s licenses as proof of citizenship. It has become law.
Audits: Senate Bill 1274 creates a system of post-election audits after a general or primary election to increase trust in results. It has become law.
Voter identification: House Bill 549 would have eliminated same-day voter registration on election day, required proof of U.S. citizenship to register, and nullified ballots when voters don’t provide acceptable ID to a county clerk within 10 days of the election. The bill was held in committee and replaced by House Bill 761.
House Bill 692 would have required both proof of U.S. citizenship and proof of residency to register to vote, removed the option to register to vote with a student ID, and placed electronic mail restrictions. The bill was held in committee and replaced by House Bill 761.
House Bill 761 would not have eliminated same-day voter registration, but it would have required proof of U.S. citizenship to register and removed the option to vote with a student ID. The bill also would have nixed affidavit ballots, which allow a registered voter to vote provisionally if they don’t have proper identification on election day. The bill passed in the House and died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Ballot collections: House Bill 547 would have made it a crime for third parties to collect ballots and deliver them to election offices. An individual authorized to collect ballots, such as a member of the same household, would have been prohibited from gathering more than six ballots at a time. Someone who was paid by someone other than the voter, or caught with more than 10 ballots, could have been charged with a felony. The bill passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Ballot drop boxes: House Bill 693 would have prohibited the use of ballot drop boxes statewide. It passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Education
Teachers’ health insurance: House Bill 443 creates a fund to allow school districts to join the state employees’ insurance plan. It has become law.
School board trustees: House Bill 438 would have required that if there’s a vacant trustee position from a recall or resignation, the position is filled with an election rather than appointment. It died in the House State Affairs Committee.
Education content standards: House Concurrent Resolution 27 would have Idaho reject current content standards for schools. It died in the House Education Committee.
Meanwhile, House Bill 716 directs the State Department of Education to adopt new content standards for English, arts, math and science. It has become law.
“Self-directed learners”: Senate Bill 1238 lets certain students qualify as “self-directed learners” and provides more lenient rules on attendance. It has become law.
Armed Forces scholarships: House Bill 461 lets children of service members who were killed or permanently disabled in inactive duty training qualify for the state’s Armed Forces scholarship, which provides a full tuition waiver. It has become law.
Learning loss grants: Senate Bill 1255 provides families with up to $3,000 in grants for additional resources to address students’ learning losses and educational needs. It has become law.
Dyslexia: House Bill 731 provides more support for students with dyslexia. It creates specific screening and mandates schools to offer interventions. The bill was introduced as a substitute for House Bill 655 and Senate Bill 1280, and it has become law.
1619 Project: Senate Concurrent Resolution 118 criticizes critical race theory and “The 1619 Project,” and urges teachers to teach history “clearly and wholly.” The resolution has been adopted by the Senate and the House.
Full-day kindergarten: House Bill 790 is the latest iteration that establishes funding and allows school districts to create an optional full-day kindergarten program. It has become law.
Drug testing: House Bill 651 would have required school districts to test substitute teachers for drugs. The bill failed in the House.
Rural educators: Senate Bill 1290 offers incentives for educators to work in high-need or rural schools by providing teachers with up to $12,000 over four years if they stayed. It has become law.
Private tuition funding: House Bill 669 would have set aside part of Idaho’s public school funding to provide families with scholarships that can be used for private school tuition, often referred to as school vouchers. It was held in the House Education Committee.
Private charter school teachers: Senate Bill 1291 creates a new teaching certificate and reduces the requirements needed to teach in public charter schools. It has become law.
“Harmful” materials to minors: House Bill 666 would have removed protections granted for schools, universities, museums and public libraries for “disseminating material harmful to minors” while working for educational purposes. The bill passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Working group on “harmful” materials: House Resolution 23 calls to create a working group to study children’s access to “harmful” materials in libraries. The group’s members include House representatives, a member of the Idaho Library Association and the state librarian of the Idaho Commission for Libraries. The resolution was adopted by the House.
School mask exemptions: House Bill 734 would have allowed any parent to exempt a child from a school mask mandate. The House passed the bill, but it died in the Senate Education Committee.
WWAMI: House Bill 718 mandates that students in Idaho who are accepted into the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho (WWAMI) regional medical education program or the University of Utah School of Medicine practice in Idaho for four years — or agree to repay the state for public funds used in their education. It has become law.
Coronavirus
Business liability: House Bill 444 extends immunity for businesses, schools and government agencies against lawsuits on COVID-19 exposures. It has become law.
Vaccine injuries: In the event an employer mandated a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment, House Bill 464 would have provided workers’ compensation for COVID-19 vaccine-related injuries or accidents. It died in the House Commerce and Human Resources Committee.
Immunization registry: House Bill 502 would have made parents opt into, instead of opt out of, the Department of Health and Welfare’s immunization registry — which tracks the immunization status of Idaho children against childhood diseases. It died in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Mask mandates: House Bill 631 would have prohibited government entities, including schools, from mandating masks to prevent or slow the spread of contagious diseases. The bill passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
COVID-19 vaccine mandates: House Bill 581 would have prohibited employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccines or other vaccines authorized for emergency use. The bill passed in the House but died in the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee.
Disaster declaration: House Concurrent Resolution 40 attempted to end the governor’s COVID-19 emergency declaration. It passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Shortly after the House passed the resolution, Little announced the declaration will end on April 15.
Coronavirus Pause Act: Senate Bill 1381 would prohibit businesses from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for employment, services, or entry into events unless it’s required by the federal government or needed to travel to foreign countries for the job. The Idaho Legislature passed the bill, but Little vetoed the bill on Monday.
Crisis standards: House Bill 756 requires the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to limit the scope of its crisis activations, develop long-term health care capacity strategies, define patients’ rights and put in place an ombudsman to oversee crisis-related patient complaints. It has become law.
Abortion
A “Day of Tears”: A pair of resolutions mourn abortions once a year and declare Jan. 22 — the day the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade decision — as the “Day of Tears” in Idaho. The resolutions encourage citizens to fly flags at half-staff that day. Both resolutions have passed, Senate Resolution 101 and House Resolution 5.
Medical providers: Senate Bill 1309 allows the family of a patient to sue medical professionals for providing abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The bill has become law, but it’s facing a legal challenge in the Idaho Supreme Court.
Housing
Caps on rental fees: House Bill 442 would have banned local jurisdictions from putting caps on rental fees, deposits or application costs. The bill passed in the House but died in the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee.
Restrictive covenants: Senate Bill 1240 lets property owners, without cost, change old racist covenants that restrict people of color from occupying or owning a home. It has become law.
Nonprofit building exemption: House Bill 503 would have allowed nonprofits to build single-family homes without subcontracting work out to licensed professionals. It died in the House Business Committee.
Rental application fees: House Bill 730 would have prohibited landlords from collecting fees from multiple applicants for a single unit, unless an applicant agreed to be placed on a waiting list. The bill substituted for House Bill 617 and added an enforcement mechanism, but it failed in the House.
Government
Ending legislative sessions: Senate Bill 1239 would have set an end date for regular legislative sessions. Under the proposed law, sessions must end on or before the last Friday of March. It provided some exceptions, including one during statewide emergency declarations. It was passed by the Senate but died in the House State Affairs Committee.
Historic monuments: House Bill 531 would have required cities or other local jurisdictions to get approval from the Idaho State Historical Society before removing a historic monument or memorial. The bill passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Private militias: House Bill 475 would have repealed a law that prohibits private militias or paramilitary organizations, bans groups from parading in public with firearms and bars cities from supporting private militias. The bill passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Powerball: House Bill 607 continues Idaho’s participation in the Powerball lottery after the game extends to the U.K. and Australia. It has become law.
Professional license investigations: Senate Bill 1297 exempts investigation records into professional or occupational licenses from public disclosure. It has become law.
Annexations: House Bill 635 would have let private landowners who are consenting to an annexation extend into any city areas of impact. It passed in the House but failed in the Senate.
Russia condemned: House Joint Memorial 6 condemns Russia for its aggression against Ukraine. It was adopted by both the House and Senate.
Divesting from Russia: House Bill 728 directs PERSI to sell, trade or dispose of assets from Russia. It has become law.
House Concurrent Resolution 41 directs the Endowment Fund Investment Board to divest from Russian assets. It was adopted by the both the House and the Senate.
Hair braiding: House Bill 762 allows natural hair braiding without a cosmetology license. It has become law.
Judicial Council: House Bill 782 would overhaul the Idaho Judicial Council, which handles complaints against judicial members, and give the governor and state senators more of a say over the appointed members. The bill was passed by the Idaho Legislature but vetoed by Little.
Refugees: House Bill 775 would have required non-governmental organizations to publicize resettlement data on Idaho refugees. Idaho’s four resettlement organizations, which already share with the federal government secure data on new arrivals, would have been required to share that information with the state and local governments. The bill passed in the House but failed to get a hearing in the Senate.
Budgets
Commission for Libraries: House Bill 827 provides $7.7 million to the Idaho Commission for Libraries for the next fiscal year but cuts $3.5 million in telehealth funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. It has become law.
Transportation: Senate Bill 1359, an appropriation bill for the Idaho Department of Transportation, included $200 million in one-time money for local bridge replacement and repair. The Senate unanimously approved the budget. It also passed the House with 25 members voting against it. The bill has become law.
Criminal justice
Grand theft: House Bill 543 would have raised the threshold of felony theft from $1,000 to $2,500 for those without a record of theft in the past seven years. It didn’t get a hearing in the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.
Death penalty: House Bill 658 helps shield lethal injection drug suppliers, pharmacists, doctors and other medical workers involved in executions from public disclosure. It has become law.
Health, marijuana
Contraception: Senate Bill 1260 would have required health benefit plans that cover prescription contraception to reimburse for a six months’ worth of supply at a time. The bill passed in the Senate but failed in the House.
Pain-relief spray: House Bill 446 lets Idaho residents with neurological disorders use an oral pain-relief spray derived from cannabis. It has become law.
Tobacco age: Senate Bill 1284 raises the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21, to match state law with federal law. It has become law.
State of emergency
Firearms: Senate Bill 1262 adds language that says businesses around firearms are considered essential during times of emergency. It has become law.
Environment
Emissions testing: Senate Bill 1254 eliminates Idaho’s vehicle emissions testing requirements. It has become law.
“Personhood status”: House Bill 720 would prevent animals, natural resources and artificial intelligence from being given “personhood status,” which would provide for more environmental protections. It has become law.
Think we’re missing something? Let us know — and email us at rsuppe@idahostatesman.com, hnorimine@idahostatesman.com or sgoodwin@idahostatesman.com.
This story was originally published January 28, 2022 at 4:20 PM.
