More than 350 new statutes passed by the Idaho Legislature during its 2026 session took effect July 1, touching everything from criminal justice and child welfare to civic participation and correctional facility security. New Laws at a Glance Among the most notable changes, House Bill 522 places new restrictions on drone flights over state correctional […]

A University of Idaho law student has turned a personal policy goal into proposed legislation, drafting a bill that would ban the sale of human remains in Idaho. Desalyn Swank told the Times-News protecting the deceased from exploitation has been a driving motivation since she enrolled in law school. She told the Magic Valley that […]

Residential Facility Oversight Moving Forward The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Legislative Oversight Committee received a progress report Friday from the Office of Performance Evaluations on the state’s oversight of children’s residential care facilities — finding significant headway on a slate of 2025 recommendations while flagging several items still requiring legislative action. Of 19 recommendations issued in […]

Idaho’s Republican legislative leaders have established a new interim working group to examine health insurer practices across the state, with the effort prompted by a contract breakdown between Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello and the Regence health insurance network. Origins of the Task Force House Speaker Mike Moyle and Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon […]

Bonneville County Sheriff Samuel Hulse told Idaho lawmakers last Thursday that local agencies should not be required to enter formal partnerships with federal immigration authorities, arguing that such decisions belong to elected sheriffs answerable to their own communities. Hulse, who also serves as president of the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association, testified before the Legislature’s Committee on […]

A wave of new Idaho laws took effect July 1, 2026, touching everything from how cities zone residential neighborhoods to how social media platforms handle children’s accounts — and making Idaho the first state in the nation to designate the firing squad as its primary method of execution. The changes come out of a 2026 […]