I’m bringing you updates from the Idaho Legislature to help you stay informed. Follow along for bill coverage and statuses.
April 4 marked the end of the 2025 Legislative Session. This session featured funding cuts, changes to medical education, DEI bans and even challenges to gay marriage. In this issue, we’re covering education, free speech and media, housing and welfare, immigration, labor and employment, LGBTQ+ issues, medicine and concurrent resolutions.
Education
SB 1209, which enacts one-time penalties of $2 million each in funding from the University of Idaho and Boise State University, passed the House 64-2, 4 excused, on April 2 and was delivered to the governor April 4.
SB 1198 prohibits DEI offices and employees, diversity trainings, bias reporting systems and certain required courses at public colleges and universities. The bill will not affect centers and scholarships for Native American students.
The bill was signed by the governor on April 4. It will come into effect on July 1, 2025.
HB 397 was signed by the governor on April 3. The bill will increase civics education in K-12, emphasizing citizen involvement and the importance of voting. It was sponsored by Rep. Tony Wisniewski, R-Post Falls, and Sen. Cindy J. Carlson, R-Riggins.
HB 368 was signed into law by the governor on April 2. The bill reduces Idaho’s involvement in the WWAMI medical education program. You can find The Argonaut’s coverage of the bill here.
Free Speech and Media
HB 271 makes the act of willfully publishing any commercial advertisement in Idaho for illegal drugs a misdemeanor, with a fine of $500 per violation. The bill was signed into law on April 1.
HB 96 seeks to limit government entities to only display certain flags. Permitted flags primarily include those of government or public entities or other nations.
The bill would prohibit public entities from displaying unlisted flags such as Pride flags. The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho commented on the bill, saying, “By restricting which flags can be displayed, the bill raises serious free speech concerns and serves as a thinly veiled attempt to censor LGBTQ+ voices and erase affirming spaces, reinforcing a culture of exclusion rather than belonging.”
The bill was signed by the governor on April 3.
Housing and Welfare
HB 135 requires lawful presence to be confirmed before access to public assistance and benefits is granted. The bill would still allow access to emergency medical services.
According to the bill’s statement of purpose, “The purpose of this legislation is to cause Idaho to not be a magnet that draws illegal aliens to Idaho.”
The bill modifies multiple sections of the Idaho Code; notably, 67-7903, Verification of Lawful Presence — Exceptions is modified to remove items from the list of instances where “Verification of lawful presence … shall not be required.”
Instances removed include: “any purpose for which lawful presence … is not required by law, ordinance or rule;” public health immunizations; programs such as soup kitchens or crisis counseling and intervention, but not short-term shelters; prenatal and postnatal care; and food assistance for dependent minors. The bill also removes exemptions by federal law. For the removed cases, verification will not be exempted; in these cases, verification may become required.
Sen. Ron Taylor, D-Hailey, criticized the bill. “Have we as a society lost all respect for decency? I haven’t been able to answer that one yet. I think that question remains to be answered. The second question I asked myself was, ‘What would Jesus do?’” he said to the Senate. “I answered that question. I’ll be voting no.”
The governor signed the bill into law on April 3. It will come into effect on July 1, 2025.
HB 109 would exclude candy and soda from SNAP eligibility. The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Toews, Sen. Carlson, Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, Sen. Todd M. Lakey, R-Nampa, Sen. Brandon Shippy, R-New Plymouth, Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, and Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene. The bill passed the Senate 48-20, 2 absent, March 31 and was delivered to the governor April 1.
Immigration
HB 473, co-sponsored by Rep. Dale R. Hawkins, R-Fernwood, Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston, and Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, was introduced April 1. The bill requires all state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The bill would require agencies “to participate in a jail enforcement model, as a warrant service officer, or both,” as required by ICE.
HB 474, also co-sponsored by Rep. Hawkins and Sen. Lenney and introduced April 1, would require all law enforcement agencies to “verify and record the immigration status and nationality of all individuals they arrest,” according to the statement of purpose.
Labor and Employment
HB 485 and 486, sponsored by Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise, and introduced April 3, provide modifications to Idaho labor laws.
HB 485 would adjust the state minimum wage for regular and tipped employees. The bill outlines three increases over the next three years. Starting July 1, 2025, the minimum wage would increase from $7.25 to $12 an hour; July 1, 2026, it would reach $15 an hour; and July 1, 2027, the final increase would be to $17 an hour.
For tipped employees, increases would follow a similar schedule. In 2025, it would increase from $3.35 to $6 an hour; in 2026, to $7 an hour; and in 2027, to $8 an hour. As already exists with tipped wages, if the combined wages and tips of a tipped employee do not meet the minimum wage, the employer would be required to make up the difference.
In 2028 and after, the minimum wages would be adjusted based on cost of living in Idaho. Regarding its financial impact, Rep. Achilles wrote in the bill’s statement of purpose, “This change in the minimum wage will increase state tax revenues and decrease usage of social safety net programs, thereby generating a net General Fund increase. Minimum wage increases also support working families, reduce economic inequality, boost local economies and encourage small business growth.”
HB 486 would prohibit certain non-competes in Idaho. Non-competes, usually signed by an employee and created by an employer, prevent employees from working for competitors after leaving a job. Non-competes may be allowed when agreed upon during or before the sale or dissolution of a business, and for employees earning more than $250,000 per year.
LGBTQ+
HB 264, titled “Protecting the Privacy of Women,” requires certain public organizations to designate restrooms, changing rooms and sleeping quarters “for the exclusive use by either females or males.” Organizations include domestic violence shelters, correctional facilities and public schools, colleges and universities. The bill was signed by the governor on April 1.
Medical
SB 1171 allows various family members of an unborn fetus — not just the parents — to file lawsuits against medical professionals who have attempted or performed an abortion on the fetus in violation of Idaho law. As of April 4, the bill has been signed by the governor. It will come into effect on July 1, 2025
Resolutions and Memorials
The House or the Senate may publish concurrent resolutions, which typically express sentiments of the chambers and do not require the approval of the governor. Joint resolutions can also be used to express sentiments but are primarily used for small or temporary actions or to propose amendments to the Constitution. These must be passed in both chambers and signed by the governor, except when proposing constitutional amendments.
Memorials consist of a summary of information related to a specific case.
HCR 18, co-sponsored by Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, says that the Idaho legislature recognizes the period between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day as “Traditional Family Values Month.” According to the statement of purpose, this is “to raise awareness about the challenges facing traditional families and the alarming rate at which the traditional family is declining.”
Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said she would support a resolution celebrating Idaho families in the March 25 reading. However, she opposed the bill’s exclusionary language, according to the Idaho Press.
Rep. Rubel shared her background of being raised by a single mother. “She had endless anxiety that somehow I was going to be shortchanged and that I was going to have fewer opportunities, and I wasn’t going to be as successful because she was a struggling single mom,” Rubel said. “And this would have been a knife to her heart.”
The bill was passed by the House 60-8, 2 absent, on March 25. It passed the Senate by voice vote on April 1 and has been filed with the Secretary of State.
Dakota Steffen can be reached at [email protected].