2025 legislative session gets under way

Greetings.  

The legislative session started this week. On Monday, Gov. Brad Little gave his State of the State address to a joint meeting of the House and Senate members. On Tuesday, various committees started to meet and the House and Senate will likely start meeting for organizational votes. 

At this point, nearly all the bill drafting work of the legislators (since the last legislative session) is unknown to most of the other House and Senate members (105 people). There is no clearinghouse of proposed or draft bills posted in the Capitol. The draft bills will surface as the authors (and others) believe they should. For many Legislators, these bills will come as a surprise.  

Some of the draft bills will be written to address a local issue for a certain District. Other bills will be written by a pair of legislators (or more) with an interest in remedying a state-wide problem. Still other bills will be brought forward by a legislator who is simply carrying a bill that comes from an interest group (sometimes these are bills from other states).  

The drafting of a bill is often a private matter between a legislator and a specifically assigned attorney from the Idaho Legislative Services Office. Think of it as attorney/client privilege. Because of this situation, two or more Legislators could be working independently on a bill with the same subject matter (with similar interests) but unknowing of the other's work.  Only after legislators learn of this situation and approve the sharing of the information, does a Legislator have access to the complete LSO work.  

Ideally, the above-noted issue is addressed during the social/industry meetings and food events. These events serve as a platform for communication rather than simply talking with friends. Getting past the pleasantries, the get-togethers are ideal for those with the business of the Legislature in mind to question their colleagues, ask relative questions of the hosts for these events and to collaborate with other Legislators. Many fruitful legislator conversations start out with "What bills are you working on?" For the industry hosts, its "What information do you want us (legislators) to walk away with?"

Part of the preparation for voting on a bill (after reading it) is learning the history of the bill. Perhaps the most important questions for a legislator before voting on a bill are what is the problem the bill is addressing, and how will the bill language address the noted problem?

The Idaho Legislative website (legislature.idaho.gov) has a great amount of information regarding the daily activities of the Legislature. However, the website doesn’t post draft bills before a bill is introduced at a committee meeting. For example, a bill may be introduced at a morning committee through a "print hearing" process before very few have heard of it or had an opportunity to read it. So those interested in knowing what’s going on need to familiarize themselves with the website, frequently visit it and refresh it often.  

There is a tab on the website that explains the path a bill takes to become law. However, there are many nuances to the process (and many potential roadblocks). The time necessary for a bill to ‘run the table’ can also vary widely.

Please reach out to me if you have questions or thoughts on the bill process.  

I can be reached at msauter@house.idaho.gov or office at 208-332-1035 or a cell/text at 208-254-1184. 

Mark Sauter represents Bonner and Boundary counties in the Idaho Legislature in District 1A. He can be reached at msauter@house.idaho.gov.