What happened to that Idaho bill? Stay updated on latest at the Capitol 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:
- be 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 be signed by the governor.
Here, we have a list of the most high-profile pieces of legislation and where they stood by the end of the legislative session.
Health
Vaccine ban: With limited exceptions, Senate Bill 1036 would have placed a moratorium on all forms of “gene therapy.” It also would have banned mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for 10 years. It died in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
Mask mandate ban: House Bill 32 prohibits government agencies in Idaho from mandating masks or face shields to prevent the spread of disease. Gov. Brad Little signed it into law.
Medicaid expansion waivers: House Bill 345 curtails Medicaid spending with some adds, including requirements to report work hours and legislative approval on waivers that would expand coverage. Voters in 2018 supported a ballot initiative that expanded Medicaid coverage to some lower-income Idahoans. Little signed the bill into law.
Medicaid expansion repeal: House Bill 58 would have undone a 2018 ballot initiative that expanded Medicaid coverage to Idahoans who earn too much for standard Medicaid, but not enough for private insurance subsidies. It died in the House Health and Welfare Committee.
Conscience protections for doctors: House Bill 59 ensures health care professionals can refuse to provide procedures or treatment that don’t align with their personal beliefs. It’s been signed into law.
Breast cancer screening: House Bill 134 requires many health insurance plans to treat supplemental breast cancer screenings as preventative — not only diagnostic — measures if a doctor recommends them for a high-risk patient. It’s been signed into law.
Anthony Fauci crimes: House Concurrent Resolution 5 says that Idaho doesn’t recognize former President Joe Biden’s pardon of Fauci and that the pardon doesn’t stop a prosecution for state-level crimes. It’s been adopted.
World Health Organization: Senate Bill 1010 would have amended Idaho law to say that the WHO, the United Nations public health agency, has no jurisdiction in Idaho. It died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
World Health Organization mandates: Senate Bill 1038 says that the state of Idaho doesn’t have to enforce requirements or mandates from the WHO. Little signed it into law.
Medical mandates: Senate Bill 1023 would have expanded on the state’s ban on COVID-19 vaccines to prohibit businesses and schools from requiring any medical interventions, including vaccines, and any action taken to prevent the spread of disease. Little vetoed the bill.
Senate Bill 1210, a replacement version, still broadly bans medical interventions but allows some exceptions for schools. Little signed the bill into law.
Abortion bans: House Bill 360 would have repealed Idaho’s near-total abortion ban and provided exceptions for abortions in the third trimester for when they’re necessary to preserve the pregnant patient’s life or terminate a nonviable pregnancy. It wasn’t assigned to a committee.
Ivermectin: Senate Bill 1211 allows ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that became popular during the coronavirus, to be sold over the counter in the state without a prescription or consultation with a health care professional. It was signed into law.
Fetal personhood: House Bill 367 would have recognized fetuses as people and that life begins with conception. The bill was never assigned to a committee.
Education
School vouchers: House Bill 93 provides $5,000 grants to children in private or home schools, or $7,500 for students with disabilities. The state awards up to $50 million each year. Little signed it into law.
Bullying: House Bill 44 would have ensured that the families of both the victim and the perpetrator of bullying are notified of certain incidents, including harassment and intimidation. It failed in the Senate.
Facilities funding: House Bill 75 would have established the Public Education Facilities Fund to support construction, remodels and maintenance of school facilities. It died in the House Education Committee.
Teachers Union: House Bill 98 would have banned the use of school district funds, personnel or other state resources to support teachers unions. The House passed the bill, but it died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Medical school: House Bill 368 decreases the number of spots in the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) medical education program and increases spots for other medical education programs in Idaho over the years. Little signed it into law.
Student immigration status: House Bill 382 aimed to collect the immigration status and nationality of Idaho students. Federal law already restricts the ability to ask about students’ immigration status, according to Idaho Department of Education spokesperson Scott Graf. It failed in the House Education Committee.
Campus concealed weapons: Senate Bill 1008 would have prevented public colleges and universities from limiting or banning concealed weapons on campus. It died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Empowering Parents: Senate Bill 1025 would have increased Idaho’s Empowering Parents grant program funding from $30 million to $50 million, raised the grant amounts given to students and allowed parents to use the grant money on non-public school tuition. It failed in the Senate.
Cursive proficiency: Senate Bill 1044 requires that Idaho students achieve proficiency in cursive by the end of fifth grade. Little signed it into law.
PragerU: Senate Concurrent Resolution 108 supports the Department of Education’s decision to give PragerU Kids’ supplemental materials to school districts for optional inclusion in school curricula. It died in the Senate Education Committee.
Boise State volleyball: House Concurrent Resolution 2 commends Boise State University’s volleyball team for refusing to play matches against a California team with a transgender player. The Legislature adopted it.
Idaho Education Opportunity Program: House Bill 164 would have created a program to allow eligible families to use up to 80% of the average per-student state funding on non-public education expenses, including private school tuition. Special education students would have received up to 100% of per student funding. It died in the House Education Committee.
Parent-Supported Instruction Model Act: Senate Bill 1068 would have allowed parents in certain school districts or charter schools to receive funds through an education savings account for homeschooling their children through a curriculum of the parents’ choice. It died in the Senate Education Committee.
Bible reading: House Bill 162 would have required public school teachers to read Bible passages to their classrooms every day. It died in the House Education Committee.
DEI: Senate Bill 1198 prohibits DEI-related programs or centers, officers, diversity training, bias reporting systems in higher education institutions. It’s been signed into law.
School facilities: House Bill 338 doubles the money in an existing school facilities fund to help school districts repair or replace their buildings to $50.5 million, and removes certain requirements for school districts to secure amounts under $5,000 from the fund. Little signed it into law.
Funding for students with disabilities: House Bill 291 would have created a $3 million fund that school districts could have used to help educate students with disabilities who require additional support. It died in the Senate.
More funding for student characteristics: Senate Bill 1096 would have changed the way discretionary money was allocated to school districts by adding weights for student characteristics, such as students with disabilities and English language learners. It died in the House.
Elections
Ballot initiatives, signatures: Senate Joint Resolution 101 proposed a state constitutional amendment to voters to raise the signature-gathering requirement from 6% of voters in 18 legislative districts to 6% of voters in all 35 districts. It died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Ballot initiatives, voting: House Bill 2 would raise the threshold of voter approval required for state initiatives from 50% of the vote to 60%. It died in the House State Affairs Committee.
Governor veto: House Bill 85 would have allowed the governor to veto voter-passed ballot initiatives. The bill would also have let voters override the veto. It was held in the House State Affairs Committee.
Noncitizen voting: House Bill 94 says that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections. It died in the House State Affairs Committee.
Absentee voting: House Bill 139 would have required voters to provide a justification if they wanted to cast an absentee ballot. It died in the House State Affairs Committee.
City council district elections: Senate Bill 1075 would have required all Idaho cities with populations of more than 25,000 residents to elect council members by district. It was held in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Highway districts: House Bill 471 would have made highway district commissioner positions partisan races and changed them to countywide rather than geographic district seats. The bill passed in the House but failed in the Senate.
Taxes
Income tax cut: House Bill 40 reduces Idaho’s income tax rate from 5.695% to 5.3%, expands the income tax exemption for military pensions and exempt certain precious metals from capital gains tax. Little signed it into law.
Property tax cut: House Bill 304 provides an extra $50 million in one-time money to the Homeowner Property Tax Relief Account and $50 million in annual funds to the School District Facilities Fund. Little signed the bill into law.
Grocery tax credit: House Bill 231 raises the annual grocery tax credit from $120 to $155 per person, and allows a resident to increase their tax credit up to $250 if they submit itemized receipts. Little signed it into law.
Government
City official investigations: House Bill 6 would allow the Idaho Attorney General’s Office to investigate and prosecute elected city officials. It became law.
No foreign-owned assets: House Bill 12 would have prohibited foreign governments from purchasing Idaho forest land and force countries designated as “foreign adversaries” to sell any current stakes in Idaho forest or agricultural land, water rights, mining claims or mineral rights. It died in the House State Affairs Committee.
Electronic drivers licenses: House Bill 78 would have allowed the state to develop electronic driver’s licenses that Idahoans could option to access through their cellphones. It died in the Senate Transportation Committee.
Legislative compensation, donation: House Concurrent Resolution 4 would have allowed lawmakers to donate their legislative pay to the Tax Relief Fund, money that can be used for future tax cuts. It died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Legislative compensation, rejected: Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 would have rejected a pay increase for Idaho lawmakers from $19,913 to $25,000 a year. It passed in the Senate but died in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Anti-SLAAP protections: Senate Bill 1001 counteracts retaliatory lawsuits by allowing judges to dismiss cases deemed frivolous. Little signed it into law.
Add judges: Senate bills 1028 and 1029 add district judges to Idaho’s first and seventh judicial districts in Kootenai and Bonneville counties. Little signed them into law.
Daylight Saving Time: House Bill 140 would have taken Idaho off of Daylight Saving Time, keeping the state on permanent Standard Time. It died in the House State Affairs Committee.
DOGE: House Bill 364 would have created a Department of Government Efficiency task force with nine members of the Legislature identifying potential cuts to make from the state budget. The House passed the bill, which then died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Criminalizing narrow streets: Senate bills 1144 and 1140 requires highway districts to prioritize vehicles in infrastructure projects, prohibits them from narrowing streets to under 50 feet, such as for sidewalks or bike paths, and makes violating the laws a misdemeanor. Little signed them into law.
Crime
Marijuana fine: House Bill 7 creates a mandatory minimum punishment of $300 for marijuana possession. Little signed it into law.
Drug legalization: House Joint Resolution 4 asks voters to approve limiting their own ability to bring forward drug-related ballot initiatives, such as efforts to legalize weed. It’s been adopted.
Firing squad: House Bill 37 makes a firing squad the first method of execution for the death penalty. It passed in the Legislature and Little signed it into law. It will take effect in July 2026.
Soliciting sex: House Bill 88 would have made soliciting commercial sexual activity a felony. Currently, the first offense is a misdemeanor. It passed in the House but was held in the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee.
Sex crime death penalty: House bill 380 expands the convictions eligible for a death sentence to include aggravated lewd conduct with a minor under 12 years old. Little signed it into law.
Militia prohibition repeal: Senate Bill 1009 would have repealed a 1927 law banning armed private militias and groups from parading in public with firearms. It died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Anti-swatting: Senate Bill 1019 criminalizes making intentionally false reports of violence or an emergency, as well as behavior that causes someone else to make a false report about an explosive device. Little signed it into law.
Ads for pot: House Bill 271 creates a $500 fine for advertising marijuana or other drugs in Idaho. Little signed it into law.
Breast exposure: House BIll 270 expands the state’s indecent exposure law and makes it a felony to expose female breasts, artificial breasts intended to look like female breasts, and products that are intended to look like genitals. It exempts breastfeeding. It’s been signed into law.
Media shield law: House Bill 158 protects journalists from being subpoenaed to divulge confidential sources in criminal or civil cases. Little signed it into law.
Immigration
Illegal entry: House Bill 83 allows prosecutors to charge Idaho residents who entered the country without proper authorization with “illegal entry” if they are detained in the state for a separate crime. It directs local police to inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Little signed it into law.
Guest workers: House Bill 297 would have created an Idaho year-round agricultural guest worker program. It died in the House Agricultural Affairs Committee.
Sexuality
Add the words: Senate Bill 1004 would have protected LGBTQ+ people from discrimination by adding the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act. It died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Same-sex marriage: House Joint Memorial 1 asks the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its landmark court decision in 2015 that legalized gay marriage. It passed in the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Pride flags: House Bill 96 prohibit government entities from flying any flag that is not a state, military, Native American, POW/MIA or U.S. flag, and would block LGBTQ+ pride flags from being flown at Boise City Hall or the North End’s Harrison Boulevard. It’s been signed into law.
Flags in schools: House Bill 41 forbids public schools from displaying certain flags and banners in class that express “political, religious or ideological views.” Little signed it into law.
Bathroom designations: House Bill 264 would require universities, prisons, and state-run domestic violence shelters to designate multi-person bathrooms, changing rooms and sleeping quarters for the “exclusive” use of a particular sex. It allows people who “encounter a person of the opposite sex” to sue the institution. Little signed the bill into law.
Housing
Rental fee limits: Senate Bill 1042 would have placed limits on how landlords charge fees for rental applications. It died in the House Business Committee.
Public camping: Senate Bill 1141 outlaws camping in public, including sleeping in vehicles, in cities with populations of over 100,000. Little signed the bill into law.
Energy and environment
Electric vehicle preemption: House Bill 86 stops local governments from imposing electric vehicle charging or parking requirements. Little signed it into law.
Camas ownership: Senate Joint Memorial 104 asks the federal government to expedite the permitting process to clean Camas Creek and states that the Legislature supports transferring ownership of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge to Idaho. It’s been adopted.
Business
Debanking: Senate Bill 1027 prohibits large banks from refusing service to customers based on their political viewpoints or any scores that go beyond financial criteria. Little signed it into law.
Power costs: House Bill 395 would require businesses using significant power, such as Meta or Micron, to cover the full cost of that electricity as a way to prevent the large corporations from shifting costs onto Idaho residents. The House passed the bill, but it died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
Wildfire liability: Senate Bill 1183 would protect utility companies from liability from wildfires. Little signed the bill into law.
Think we’re missing something? Let us know by emailing us at hnorimine@idahostatesman.com, scutler@idahostatesman.com or ckomatsoulis@idahostatesman.com.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM.
