What happened to that Idaho bill? Stay updated on latest with this 2023 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 where they landed at the end of the 2023 legislative session.
Taxes
Property tax cuts and school bonds: House Bill 292 replaced several other bills on property tax relief. It dedicates nearly $200 million or more a year, for schools to reduce their debt on bond and levies and subsidizing property taxes for residents with homeowners’ exemptions. It would also eliminate March dates for school bond and levy elections.
Gov. Brad Little vetoed the bill. The Legislature overrode the veto and approved a trailer bill, House Bill 376, to address the governor’s concerns, though the bill still eliminates March school bond and levy elections.
House Bill 198, a compromise tax relief bill, would have set aside the same amount for property tax relief as House Bill 292, but it didn’t remove the March election date. It also eliminated language that raised concerns from Little about the state’s ability to obtain bonds for transportation projects. The Senate passed the bill, but the House rejected it.
Grocery exemption: House Bill 33 would have eliminated the sales tax on groceries. It died in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Hospital exemption: Two bills proposed to eliminate property tax exemptions for hospitals. House Bill 110 would have allowed county commissioners to compel hospitals to pay property taxes, while House Bill 109 would have removed the tax code that provides the property tax exemptions for hospitals’ satellite facilities. They never made it out of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.
LGBTQ+ rights
“Add the words”: Senate Bill 1011 would have protected Idahoans from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It would have added them as protected classes under the Idaho Human Rights Act. It was sent to the Senate State Affairs Committee but never received a hearing.
Gender-affirming care: House Bill 71 makes it a felony to provide trans children with gender-affirming medical care. Providers will be barred from giving minors hormones, puberty blockers or transition-related surgeries. The bill passed in the House and Senate. The governor signed the bill into law.
Gender-neutral bathrooms: Senate Bill 1016 bans public works contracts from requiring accommodations for transgender individuals to use bathrooms, showers or locker rooms that align with their gender identities. The governor signed the bill into law.
Marriage licenses: Senate Bill 1025 would have eliminated marriage licenses in favor of marriage certificates for qualified couples. It failed in the Senate.
Boise Pride: House Bill 170, which replaces House Bill 12, would have blocked state agencies from sponsoring or donating to nongovernmental organizations without the governor’s permission. The House passed the bill, and it was referred for amendments in the Senate, where it died.
Counseling services: House Bill 63 would have allowed a professional counselor or marriage and family therapist to refuse to serve clients whose behaviors conflict with the therapist’s “sincerely held beliefs.” The House passed the bill, but the Senate Health and Welfare Committee rejected it on a tie vote.
School bathrooms: Senate Bill 1100 creates a state policy that aims to ensure separate school bathrooms and locker rooms based on a student’s sex at birth. It allows students to sue schools and seek damages if they find a member of the opposite sex in a bathroom. It was signed into law.
Drag shows: House Bill 265 would prohibit drag show performances on public property, and allow parents to sue event organizers and promoters who allow children access to shows featuring “sexual conduct.” The House passed the bill, but it didn’t receive a hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Elections
Affidavits: House Bill 137 would have removed voters’ ability to sign an affidavit if they can’t show a valid ID. It failed in the House.
Student ID: House Bill 124 eliminates the ability to use a student ID card to vote. It’s been signed into law.
Ranked choice voting: House Bill 179 prohibits the use of ranked choice voting, which lets voters rank candidates in order of preference, in any elections held in Idaho. The governor signed the bill into law.
Absentee voting: House Bill 205 would have made it more difficult for voters to qualify for absentee voting. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must have either been in the military; had a disability; had an illness, job or class that prevented them from voting in person; been at a second residence; or been on a religious mission. It failed in the House.
Absentee ballot distribution: House Bill 259 would have prohibited anyone other than county clerks and election officials and employees from distributing absentee ballots or absentee ballot applications. The House passed the bill, but it died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Free voter ID: House Bill 340 would direct the Idaho Department of Transportation to issue no-cost ID cards for the purpose of voting. The governor signed the bill into law.
Education
School bond elections: House Bill 58 would have eliminated March and August as options for elections to put forward school bonds. It was passed by the House but never made it out of the Senate.
March school bond and levy elections were eliminated in a property tax relief bill, House Bill 292.
School vouchers: Senate Bill 1038 would have created “education savings accounts” to provide families with money that follows the student, and can be used for private school tuition. It failed to pass in the Senate.
Blaine Amendment: Senate Joint Resolution 102 would have removed the prohibition on directing state funds to religious institutions, known as the Blaine Amendment. It never made it out of the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Guns on campus: Senate Bill 1008 would have restricted public colleges and universities from regulating firearms on campus. It never received a hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
“Harmful” materials: House Bill 314, which replaces House Bill 139, would have allowed parents to sue schools or libraries if they disseminated “harmful” material to minors. Harmful material can include “nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sado-masochistic abuse.” Successful lawsuits can claim $2,500 in damages for each instance the material was obtained.
It passed in the Legislature but was vetoed by the governor. An attempt to override the veto failed in the House.
Restraint and seclusion: House Bill 281 bans restraint and seclusion as forms of discipline. It requires school districts to create their own policies for when they would use the aversive techniques and how they would document instances of their use.
House Bill 281, which replaced previous versions of the bill, has been signed into law by the governor.
Sex ed: Senate Bill 1071 would have prohibited schools from teaching children about human sexuality, sexual orientation or gender identity before the fifth grade. It was passed by the Senate but didn’t receive a hearing in the House Education Committee.
School facilities: Senate Bill 1103 would create a $61 million fund to help pay for facility upgrades in public and charter schools based on student-occupied square footage and average daily attendance. The bill never made it out of the Senate Education Committee.
Abstinence: House Bill 228 defines abstinence in Idaho law as “any sexual activity” before marriage. It was signed into law.
Public libraries: House Bill 227 would have directed library boards to create their own policies to make libraries clearly label shelves and material for certain age groups or grade level and create a process for parents to challenge materials. It died in the House Education Committee.
Advisory question: House Bill 339 would have placed an advisory question on the 2024 general election ballot, asking voters whether they support using public funds for private schools. It failed in the House.
Abortion
“Trafficking” minors: House Bill 242 criminalizes transporting a pregnant minor who’s seeking an abortion out of state or providing a pregnant minor with an abortion-inducing drug without parental knowledge. It includes a penalty of two to five years in prison. The governor signed the bill into law.
The bill replaced House Bill 98, which would have placed the prohibition under the state’s human trafficking chapter.
City enforcement: House Bill 2 would have withheld sales tax revenue from local governments that defy Idaho’s abortion ban and refuse to enforce the felony statutes. The bill was replaced by House Bill 22.
House Bill 22 withholds sales tax revenue from local governments that refuse to enforce felony crimes, including Idaho’s felony prohibition on abortion. The governor has signed the bill into law.
Exceptions for miscarriages: House Bill 374 clarifies that medical treatment for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are allowable under the state’s abortion ban. The governor has signed the bill into law.
Housing
Fees for renters: Senate Bill 1039 requires landlords’ fees for renters to be “reasonable” and disclosed in contracts. It has been signed into law.
Government
Greater Idaho: House Joint Memorial 1 would have authorized the Idaho Legislature to begin discussions with Oregon lawmakers about moving the Idaho border into eastern Oregon. It was adopted by the House but died in a Senate State Affairs Committee.
Initiatives: Senate Joint Resolution 101 would amend the Idaho Constitution to require 6% of voters in each of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts to sign a petition that puts a citizen initiative on the ballot. It would need two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate and approval from a majority of voters. It was adopted by the Senate but failed in the House.
Oversight office: House Bill 68 would have made the GOP-dominated Legislative Council oversee the Office of Performance Evaluations instead of a bipartisan committee. The House passed the bill, but the legislation died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
ESG: House Bill 190 allows Idaho’s treasurer to refuse to do business with banks that “boycott” the fossil fuel or firearms industries and would prohibit public contracts with companies that similarly shun those industries.
House Bill 191 prohibits the state from using ESG standards — an investment practice that incorporates environmental sustainability, social responsibility and corporate governance in assessing financial risk — when evaluating contract bids. Both bills were signed into law.
Terrorism: Senate Bill 1122 would have redefined terrorism to exclude mentions of “civil disorder,” which Idaho law currently defines as acts of violence that lead to imminent danger, property damage or injury. It passed in the Senate but never made it out of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.
Private militias: Senate Bill 1056 would have repealed state law that prohibits private militias and paramilitary organizations. The Senate passed the bill, but it didn’t receive a hearing in the House Transportation and Defense Committee.
City annexations: Senate Bill 1073 would have redefined cities’ areas of impact and restructured the way they establish those areas. The Senate passed the bill, which then got held up in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Gold: House Bill 180 would let idle state funds get invested in gold or silver. The bill passed in the House but never received a hearing in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Urban renewal district: House Bill 328, which replaces House Bill 45 and 159, bars urban renewal districts from collecting tax revenue that comes from a data center within the district, if the center uses an IT sales tax exemption from the state. The governor signed the bill into law.
Bear World: Senate Bill 1084 exempts Yellowstone Bear World and other Idaho wildlife exhibitors licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from state oversight of captive wildlife. The governor signed the bill into law.
Energy efficiency: House Bill 106 prohibits local governments from dictating or placing restrictions on the types of energy buildings can use. House Bill 287 bars local jurisdictions from creating stricter energy efficiency requirements than what the state mandates.
The governor has signed both bills into law.
Car projects: House Bill 237 restricts state funding for local highway districts and their property tax collections to projects that “benefit primarily motor vehicles,” BoiseDev reported. The governor signed the bill into law.
Budgets
Workforce grants: House Bill 24 creates workforce grants targeting in-demand careers. The grants would provide up to $8,500 for Idaho high school graduates enrolling in state and community colleges or vocational programs. The governor signed the bill into law.
Lieutenant governor’s budget: Senate Bill 1155 sets the budget for the lieutenant governor’s office at $296,000, which includes an additional $7,000 this year — $2,000 for a “budget gap” left by the previous lieutenant governor and $5,000 for travel expenses. Senate Bill 1155, to approve the office budget through the next fiscal year, has been signed into law.
University of Idaho security: House Bill 222 approves an additional $1 million this year for the University of Idaho’s security-related expenses after four students were stabbed to death in an off-campus house. The House and Senate approved the bill, and it has been signed into law.
Human resources: House Bill 251 directs an additional $13.5 million to the Division of Human Resources as part of a consolidation of human resource professionals currently working in other agencies. Agencies where human resource professionals currently work will see budget reductions to account for transfers. The governor signed the bill into law.
Attorney general: House Bill 303 would have appropriated $34.4 million to the attorney general’s office for the upcoming fiscal year, which included 11% raises for attorneys and staff. The bill was referred to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee and replaced by Senate Bill 1198.
Senate Bill 1198 appropriates $33.2 million to the attorney general’s office for the upcoming fiscal year. It includes 7.5% raises for attorneys and staff and moves two attorneys out of the office to the Legislature.
Senate Bill 1131 provides a supplemental appropriation for the current fiscal year that covers $25,000 to transition to a new attorney general and $35,000 for pay increases for employees working on tobacco settlements. The governor signed both Senate bills 1998 and 1131 into law.
Higher education: Senate Bill 1176 appropriates for the upcoming fiscal year $679 million for state colleges and universities, including $354 million from state general funds, a nearly 5% increase from the current fiscal year. The governor signed the bill.
Health care
COVID-19 vaccine mandates: Senate Bill 1130 bans businesses from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for their employees or customers. It prohibits the vaccines as a condition for entering a business or receiving services. It was signed into law.
MRNA vaccines: House Bill 307 would have made providing or administering an mRNA vaccine to humans a misdemeanor. It died in the House Health and Welfare Committee.
Faith healing: House Bill 145 would have removed an exemption that allows parents to refuse medical care for their children for religious reasons. It never made it out of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.
Kids’ vaccine status: Senate Bill 1029 prohibits a child protection investigation based on a child’s immunization status. It has been signed into law.
Medicaid eligibility: House Bill 123 would have ended certain groups’ eligibility for Medicaid. It never made it out of the House Health and Welfare Committee.
Postpartum coverage: House Bill 122 would have extended Medicaid benefits for pregnant women 12 months after giving birth. It never received a hearing in the House Health and Welfare Committee.
EMS funding: Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 asks the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to draft legislation recognizing emergency medical services as essential and establishing a statewide EMS coordination and funding system. Both the Senate and House approved the resolution.
Feminine hygiene products: House Bill 313 would have funded free menstrual products in public schools’ girls bathrooms. It failed in the House.
Criminal justice
Firing squad: House Bill 186 allows Idaho to use the firing squad as a form of execution. The governor signed the bill into 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 February 10, 2023 at 10:15 AM.
