The Idaho Legislature is responsible for translating the public will into public policy for the state, levying taxes, appropriating public funds, and overseeing the administration of state agencies. These responsibilities are carried out through the legislative process — laws passed by elected representatives of the people.
Since statehood in 1890, Idaho’s legislators have enjoyed a rich and successful history of guiding the state’s growth. Much of that success can be attributed to the fact that Idaho’s legislators are citizen legislators, not career politicians. They are farmers and ranchers, business owners, attorneys, teachers, doctors, loggers, and community leaders. Elected for two-year terms and in session at the Capitol for about three months each year, Idaho’s citizen legislators maintain close ties to their communities and a strong awareness of the concerns of the electorate.
The Idaho Legislature is committed to carrying out its mission in a manner that inspires public trust and confidence in elected government and the rule of law. The mission of the Legislature is to:
Preserve the checks and balances of state government through the independent exercise of legislative powers;
Adopt laws that promote the health, education, and well-being of Idaho’s citizens;
Preserve the state’s environment and ensure wise, productive use of its natural resources;
Carry out oversight responsibilities to enhance government accountability; and
Raise revenues and appropriate monies that support necessary government services.
The Idaho State Capitol, built in the classical style of architecture similar to the U.S. Capitol, was started in 1905. The central portion was completed in 1911, and the east and west wings occupied by the Legislature were finished in 1921. Idaho sandstone was used for the exterior, while Alaskan and Vermont marble decorate the interior walls, floors, staircases, and trim. The Capitol has undergone several renovations over its 100-year history. Interior changes were made during the 1950s and 1970s to accommodate a growing Legislature.
By the 1990s, crowding and aging mechanical systems and decades of use left their mark on the aging building. Recognizing the need to save the historic Statehouse the Legislature authorized the creation of the Idaho Capitol Commission in 1998, to oversee a full restoration and expansion of the building and grounds. The restoration of the Idaho State Capitol building was completed in December 2009.
The Idaho Legislature consists of 35 Senators and 70 Representatives, each elected for two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 legislative districts, each represented by one Senator and two Representatives.
Reapportionment, based on U.S. Census data, realigns districts every ten years. Since 2001, redistricting has been handled by an independent commission established by a 1994 constitutional amendment.
Elections are held in November of even-numbered years, and legislators take office on December 1 following the election. Members must be U.S. citizens, electors of the state, and residents of their legislative district for at least one year prior to election.
Legislative compensation is established by a citizen committee and may be rejected by the full Legislature. Legislators receive $25,000 per year, plus housing and travel expenses during the session and a $2,500 constituent service allowance. The President Pro Tempore and Speaker of the House each receive an additional $5,500 per year, while the Majority and Minority Leaders in both chambers receive $2,500 per year.
Until 1969, sessions of the Idaho Legislature were held every two years. In November 1968, the citizens of Idaho approved a constitutional amendment authorizing annual sessions. The Idaho Legislature now convenes each year on the Monday on or closest to January 9.
Extraordinary / Special sessions may be called only by the Governor, by proclamation, or by 60% of the members of each house. In such sessions, legislators may act only on those subjects specified in the proclamation/petition.
The Lieutenant Governor, who is an elected executive official presides over the Senate and is referred to as the President of the Senate. Every two years during the organizational session the Senate elects a President Pro Tempore to preside in the Lieutenant Governor’s absence.
The Speaker of the House, who is elected by the majority party every two years during the organizational session, presides over the House. The majority and minority parties in both chambers also elect floor leaders and assistant floor leaders.
The Speaker of the House, in cooperation with the members of the majority party, assigns the chairmanships of all committees and the memberships of the committees in the House. [In the Senate, the President Pro Tempore, with the approval of the Senate, assigns members to committees.]
The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House assign all bills to committees as they are processed “across the desk” during the sessions.
Each daily session of each chamber opens with a roll call of the members, a prayer by the Chaplain, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Sessions generally begin mid-morning and continue until all immediate business to be considered concludes. Committees typically meet in the early morning and afternoon to prevent any conflict with the daily session. Late in the legislative session, afternoon floor sessions become common. The daily sessions held at the beginning of the year are of a shorter duration as committees are meeting much of the time to consider legislation referred to their committees.
Some of the activity on the floor is necessary daily routine. For this reason, at times, members will be away from their desks. Some may be in caucuses, which are informal meetings of the members of one political party, or perhaps testifying for their own bills before Senate or House committees. Others may be involved in hurried conferences with other members, or be seeing constituents or groups from their home districts who are visiting the Capitol.
Press and broadcast media correspondents assigned to the Legislature have designated spaces along the sides of the podium of the chamber floors so they can follow the session business. Media offices are located on the Garden Level of the Capitol building.
The House of Representatives has 14 standing committees, and the Senate has 10. Committee membership is determined by the interest of the individual members. Although no one member can be expected to be expert in all fields, the vast majority of the members, through training or inclination, are highly conversant in certain areas. Effort is made to see that each member is assigned the committee of their choice. When appointments of committee chairmanships are made, it is customary to appoint a member of the majority party as chairman. [Per Senate Rule it is the majority party.]
Once the legislative session gets underway, the committees concern themselves with all bills assigned to them. Those interested in a particular bill are encouraged to testify before the committee to which the bill is assigned.
Committee study guarantees a fair and impartial hearing upon each bill before committee members vote upon its merits and then determine whether or not it should be sent out to the Senate or House for consideration by the entire body. Much of the decision-making and evaluation of bills, or proposed laws, is done by committees. Usually the respective houses will follow the recommendations of its committees. However, the members who support or oppose bills will often speak on controversial measures in an attempt to influence the final vote by the entire House or Senate.
The members are seated at desks facing the Speaker of the House or President of the Senate. Their desks have microphones to be used when addressing the session. When members wish to address the House, they request recognition from the presiding officer.
Members of the House of Representatives vote electronically through a voting program accessible on their chamber desk phones. Votes are automatically tallied and displayed on monitors in the chamber. The Speaker announces the results once the program has recorded them.
In the Senate, voting is conducted by voice roll call and recorded on a tally sheet by the Secretary of the Senate. At the same time, Senate staff enter the votes electronically into a voting program, where they are automatically tallied and displayed on a monitor for the President of the Senate, who then announces the results.
A majority vote (51%) of members present is required to pass most measures. Exception to this rule applies to certain matters require a two-thirds majority.
The staff, at the desks just below the Speaker and the President, process all bills and resolutions through the Legislature.
The Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House, are the parliamentarians of their respective chambers, administer the legislative process. Directly responsible to the presiding officers, they are in charge of keeping a record of all business transacted during the sessions. They are responsible for the distribution of all printed bills and in charge of all documents for the session. They record and process each document for each day’s business. A bill is said to be “read across the desk” when this processing has been completed.
The Idaho Legislature employs approximately 70 to 80 session staff during the legislative session to fill various support positions. The Sergeant at Arms in each chamber oversees security, pages and doorkeepers.
Three publications are printed and/or published online daily by the Legislature. The Senate and House Journals give a chronological account of the daily proceedings, including the roll call vote upon all actions which require a recorded vote.
The Journals are published online daily upon completion of each day’s session and printed in limited quantity by the following morning. The Mini-Data is published online and printed in limited quantity daily and is available before the session begins each morning. It lists bills in numerical order and gives an abbreviated description and the last action on each bill. The Weekly Bill Status, published online weekly by Monday morning, lists all bills and resolutions in numerical order, gives more detailed descriptive information and recaps all actions taken on the bill(s), including roll call votes. The Weekly Bill Status also includes a complete subject index of legislation introduced.
These publications and all bills, resolutions, proclamations and memorials are available online and at the Legislative Information Center located on the Garden Level of the Capitol building.
Established in 1963, the Legislative Council oversees the management responsibilities and permanent staff of the Legislature. It includes the President Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House, majority and minority leaders of each house, and eight additional members (four senators and four representatives, two from each party). The Council meets twice yearly, in spring and fall.
The Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee meet as the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) to establish the state budget. Meeting daily through most of the legislative session, JFAC members review the executive budget and budget requests of each state department, agency and institution, including requests for construction of capital improvements, as well as other requests for appropriations submitted to the Legislature. JFAC’s recommendations on agency budgets are submitted to the Legislature in the form of appropriation bills, and rarely fail to be approved by the full Legislature. JFAC also has been asked by the Legislative Council to review legislative audits of state and local governments.
The Legislative Services Office was created by the Legislature in 1993 to consolidate the nonpartisan staff support to Idaho’s citizen legislators. In an effort to coordinate services, a Director of Legislative Services was named to oversee three formerly separate offices. Functions of the Legislative Services Office include:
Budget and Policy Analysis: assists legislators with the state’s budget making process and provides policy advice to individual legislators and legislative committees.
Information Technology: maintains the Legislature’s comprehensive computer network, which links all legislative and staff offices, and supports other legislative technology initiatives.
Legislative Audits: conducts financial post-audits of state agencies — an effort to ensure state and local government agencies spend funds properly and in accordance with government accounting standards.
Research and Legislation: conducts research for legislators, drafts legislation, staffs legislative study committees, reviews administrative agency rules, and provides information on the legislative process and legislative history to the public and other state agencies.
Streamlining legislative staff services represents the Legislature’s commitment to “reinventing government” and improving the way government works. An effort to modernize services, the team management concept encourages communication and coordination among all areas of legislative support staff.
Under the direction of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee, a staff of performance evaluators examines the effectiveness of state agency administration, makes recommendations to the Legislature about ways in which state agency operations might be improved, and helps legislators ensure that agencies operate as intended, to maximize the quality of state services provided to Idaho citizens.
A bill is the most common type of legislation. It is a proposal for a law. All statutes, except those initiated by the people or referred to the people by the Legislature, must be enacted through a bill.
The Legislature can also accomplish many tasks in addition to creating, amending, or repealing laws. It may honor a distinguished Idahoan, propose an amendment to the Idaho Constitution, or convey a message on behalf of the Idaho Legislature to the President of the United States. In these instances, a bill is not the appropriate form of measure.
Bill
A proposal for the enactment of a new law, the amendment or repeal of an existing law, or the appropriation of public money. There is no other vehicle by which the Idaho Legislature may enact law.
Amendment
A formal change to an existing law or bill, by modification, deletion, or addition.
A change to an Idaho Code section is an amendment to that section. The changes are shown by underlining new language and striking through language to be deleted.
A change to a bill that has been introduced is also an amendment. Once a bill has been introduced, it can only be changed by formal amendment, a process requiring action on the floor of the House or Senate. When a bill is amended, it is rewritten to incorporate the adopted amendments.
Engrossment
When a bill has been amended, it is engrossed by incorporating the changes specified in the amendment into the bill. A bill can only be engrossed in the house in which it was introduced. If a bill is amended in the opposite house, it is not engrossed until the house of origin concurs in the amendment(s). The highest-numbered engrossment represents the final version considered for adoption.
Joint Resolution
A measure requiring the approval of a two-thirds majority in both houses. It does not require the Governor’s signature and is used only to:
Propose amendments to the Idaho Constitution, or
Ratify amendments to the United States Constitution.
Concurrent Resolution
A measure not having the force of law, typically used to:
Manage and regulate the internal affairs of the Legislature (e.g., authorizing printing of bills);
Express appreciation on behalf of the Legislature; or
Direct interim studies by the Legislative Council or executive agencies.
A concurrent resolution is acted upon in the same manner as a bill but is not signed by the Governor.
Resolution
A resolution is the adoption of a motion such as altering the rules, issuing a vote of thanks, or a vote of censure. A formal expression of the Legislature’s opinion or will.
Joint Memorial
A petition addressed to the President, Congress, or another federal official or department, requesting action within their jurisdiction. A joint memorial is acted upon in the same manner as a bill and must be passed by both houses. It is not signed by the Governor.
Proclamation
A measure expressing thanks, praise, or honor for a special achievement, accomplishment, anniversary, or birthday. It is adopted by both houses and is not signed by the Governor.
RS (Routing Slip)
A RS number is used by the Legislature to identify confidential draft legislation. RSs may or may not become bills and are not publicly available until they receive official bill status.
Session Law
The Session Laws are the official compilation of all bills and resolutions that have passed and become law during a legislative session. They are published in bill format—showing strikeouts and underlines—and arranged in the order in which they were enacted. Session Laws are published online and in two printed volumes annually after the close of each legislative session.
Idaho Code
The Idaho Code is the comprehensive compilation of all laws of the State of Idaho. Statutes are organized by Title, Chapter, and Section. The Code is published online and in approximately twenty-eight printed volumes. Each volume is updated annually after the close of the legislative session with pocket supplements reflecting newly enacted legislation.