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H0062................................by JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
PUBLIC FUNDS - Amends existing law to revise provisions applicable to the
misuse of public money by officers.
01/26 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/29 Rpt prt - to Jud
02/02 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/05 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/06 3rd rdg - FAILED - 25-44-1
AYES -- Bedke, Bilbao, Black, Block, Bolz, Chadderdon, Clark, Crane,
Edmunson, Henderson, Kren, Labrador, Lake, McGeachin, Moyle, Patrick,
Raybould, Ring, Roberts, Shirley, Smith(24), Wills, Wood(27),
Wood(35), Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bell, Bock, Boe, Brackett,
Bradford, Chavez, Chew, Collins, Durst, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart,
Harwood, Henbest, Jaquet, Killen, King, LeFavour, Loertscher, Luker,
Marriott, Mathews, Mortimer, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Pence,
Ringo, Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Shively,
Smith(30), Snodgrass, Stevenson, Thayn, Trail, Vander Woude
Absent and excused -- Schaefer
Floor Sponsor - Smith(24)
Filed in Office of the Chief Clerk
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 62
BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO PUBLIC FUNDS; AMENDING SECTION 18-5701, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PRO-
3 VISIONS APPLICABLE TO THE MISUSE OF PUBLIC MONEYS BY OFFICERS.
4 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
5 SECTION 1. That Section 18-5701, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
6 amended to read as follows:
7 18-5701. MISUSE OF PUBLIC MONEYS BY OFFICERS. Each officer of this state,
8 or of any county, city, town or district of this state, and every other person
9 charged with the receipt, safekeeping, transfer or disbursement of public
10 moneys, who:
11 (1) Without authority of law, appropriates the same public moneys or any
12 portion thereof to his own use, or to the use of another; or
13 (2) Loans the same public moneys or any portion thereof; or, having the
14 possession or control of any public money, makes a profit out of, or uses the
15 same public moneys for any purpose not authorized by law; or
16 (3) Fails to keep the same public moneys in his possession until dis-
17 bursed or paid out by authority of law when legally required to do so; or
18 (4) Deposits the same public moneys or any portion thereof in any bank,
19 or with any banker or other person, otherwise than on special deposit, or as
20 otherwise authorized by law; or
21 (5) Changes or converts public moneys or any portion thereof from coin
22 into currency, or from currency into coin or other currency, without authority
23 of law; or
24 (6) Knowingly keeps any false account, or makes any false entry or era-
25 sure in any account of or relating to the same public moneys; or
26 (7) Fraudulently alters, falsifies, conceals, destroys or obliterates any
27 such account; or
28 (8) Willfully refuses or omits to pay over, on demand, any public moneys
29 in his hands, upon the presentation of a draft, order or warrant drawn upon
30 such moneys by competent authority; or
31 (9) Willfully omits to transfer the same public moneys when such transfer
32 is required by law; or
33 (10) Willfully omits or refuses to pay over to any officer or person
34 authorized by law to receive the same public moneys, any public moneys
35 received by him under any duty imposed by law so to pay over the same; or
36 (11) Knowingly uses any financial transaction card, financial transaction
37 card account number or credit account that is issued to or for the benefit of
38 any public entity, office or agency to make any purchase, loan, guarantee or
39 advance of moneys for any personal purpose or for any purpose other than for
40 the use or benefit of the public entity, office or agency;
41 Iis punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than one (1)
42 year nor more than ten (10) years, and is disqualified from holding any office
43 in this state.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16665
The purpose of the amendment to Idaho Code, Section 18-5701, is
to include all public officials that use public funds, not just
those officials with a clear statutory duty to keep public monies
safe. The Idaho Court of Appeals recently interpreted the
current statute to only apply to public officials who are
specifically charged by law with the receipt, disbursement and
safe keeping of public money. As a result, public officials who
misused public monies, but were not charged by law with the
receipt, disbursement and safe keeping of those monies could not
be punished under Idaho Code, Section 18-5701. Because public
officials have a greater duty to make proper and legal use of
public funds as a result of the trust the public places in those
officials and because public officials have greater and more
frequent access to public funds, the misuse of public monies
merits a specific provision prohibiting the conduct and greater
penalty than ordinary theft.
FISCAL NOTE
None.
Contact
Name: Bill von Tagen, Attorney General's Office
Phone: 334-4155
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 62