Legislative Notebook: Bill could have major implications for Medicaid expansion, passes by one vote
A hallway in the Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise as seen on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)
In an effort to help Idahoans follow major bills, resolutions and memorials through the legislative process, the Idaho Capital Sun will produce a 'legislative notebook' at the end of each week to gather information in one place that concerns major happenings in the Legislature and other news relating to state government. To receive the full extent of our reporting in your inbox each day, sign up for our free email newsletter The Sunrise on our website at idahocapitalsun.com/subscribe/.
Here is our quick rundown of the major happenings during the sixth week of the Idaho Legislature's 2025 session.
One of the most consequential bills of the session passed the Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday by just one vote.
House Bill 138, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d'Alene, would require the state to make 11 Medicaid policy changes or repeal Medicaid expansion — a law passed by Idaho voters via ballot initiative in 2018 with nearly 61% of the vote.
Despite overwhelming testimony in opposition to the proposal from voters, doctors, patients who rely on Medicaid for their health insurance coverage, child advocates and disability advocates, the committee voted 8-7 to advance the legislation to the full Idaho House for consideration. Five Republicans joined the committee's two Democrats to vote against it.
'Today, you may hear testimony saying that this bill is a sneaky way to repeal Medicaid expansion. And that's simply not the case,' Redman told the committee as the hearing on Wednesday began. 'This bill is taking Medicaid expansion, putting accountability measures in place and cutting waste to make sure that the state is being the best stewards as we can be for taxpayer funds.'
Redman's bill would require that recipients work if they are able-bodied, cap how many Idahoans could enroll in expansion, and kick people off Medicaid expansion after three years.
But some who oppose the bill said many of the 89,300 Idahoans who have health insurance through Medicaid expansion do have jobs and that the bill is so onerous that it would effectively function as a repeal of a voter-approved law.
And some who testified – and one Republican on the committee – worried that repealing Medicaid expansion would create more hardship for rural hospitals and clinics already facing worrying financial problems.
'This is not a reform bill. This will kill Medicaid expansion,' said Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, the committee's vice chair. 'And those rural clinics will be the number one first places to go.'
Dr. Brandon Mickelsen, representing the board of directors for the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians, urged the committee to oppose the bill.
'These medical costs won't go away if you repeal Medicaid expansion,' Mickelsen said. 'You will create enormous costs for rural hospitals and local communities.'
House Bill 93: Co-sponsored by Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls; Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian; House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian; and Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, the bill provides a refundable tax credit up to $5,000 for a parent of homeschooled or private school students to pay for expenses including tuition and fees, tutoring, textbook costs, curriculum and transportation. The refundable tax credit is increased to $7,500 for special needs students. The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee advanced the bill to the full Idaho Senate with a recommendation that it pass, and it may be taken up by the Senate in the coming days of the session.
House Bill 83: Sponsored by Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, the bill would create a new crime known as illegal entry and allow local law enforcement to engage in immigration enforcement. The Idaho House voted 61-9 on Monday to pass the bill. It may be taken up by the Senate State Affairs Committee in the coming days of the session.
House Bill 26: Sponsored by Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth, the bill would allow people with disabilities to establish ABLE accounts. 'ABLE,' an acronym for Achieving a Better Life Experience, allows people with disabilities who collect Social Security Income to save money for future qualifying needs, such as transportation, housing or medical expenses. The Idaho House voted 56-13 on Monday to pass the bill. It may be taken up by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee in the coming days of the session.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 103: Co-sponsored by Sens. Ali Rabe, D-Boise; Ben Towes, R-Coeur d'Alene; Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d'Alene; and Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur-d'Alene; the resolution would establish a bipartisan working group to study housing availability and affordability, as well as land use regulations that affect housing. The Idaho Senate voted 23-10 on Monday to pass the resolution. It may be taken up by the House Local Government Committee in the coming days of the session.
Senate Bill 1025: Sponsored by Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, the bill would expand the state's Empowering Parents program to up to $50 million per year. The bill was amended in the Idaho Senate on Wednesday, resulting in the removal of $30 million for special education funding. On Friday, the Senate voted down the bill 6-28.
House Bill 7: Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the bill would create a $300 minimum fine for adults convicted of possessing three ounces or less of marijuana. The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee advanced the bill on Monday to the full Idaho Senate with a recommendation that it pass. It is on the Senate's third reading calendar and may be taken up in the coming days of the session.
House Bill 96: Sponsored by Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, the bill would limit the kinds of flags a government entity can use on its property. The Idaho House State Affairs Committee voted to advance the bill to the full Idaho House with a recommendation that it pass. It is on the House's third reading calendar and may be taken up in the coming days of the session.
House Bill 32: Sponsored by Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, and Rep. Robert Beiswenger, R-Horseshoe Bend, the bill would prohibit local governments, health districts and school districts from mandating that an individual must wear a mask or face covering to prevent the spread of an infectious disease. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted to advance the bill to the full Idaho Senate with a recommendation that it pass. It is on the Senate's third reading calendar and may be taken up in the coming days of the session.
House Bill 231: Sponsored by House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, the bill would increase the tax credit Idahoans receive on groceries from $120 to $155. The Idaho House voted 61-6 on Friday to pass the bill. It may be taken up by the Idaho Senate in the coming days of the session.
Week 6
Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee
Senate Bill 1101: Sponsored by Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, the bill would set consistency standards for death investigations conducted by coroners. It will get a full public hearing in the committee on Monday.
House Resources and Conservation Committee
House Joint Memorial 4: Sponsored by Rep. Jerald Raymond, R-Menan, the memorial calls upon the federal government to delist grizzly bears and review the Endangered Species Act. It will get a full public hearing in the committee on Monday.
House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee
House Concurrent Resolution 10: Sponsored by Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d'Alene, the resolution makes three separate applications to the U.S. Congress to call a convention of the states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. It will get a full public hearing in the committee on Monday.
'Every single legislator had a jaw dropping moment of surprise, shock — because they just didn't know. I think every single one of them said, 'Now what? What are we going to do about this?' And to the coroners' credit, they gathered this summer and put this bill together.' – Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, on Senate Bill 1101, which follows an Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations report released in 2024 that found inconsistencies in death investigations across Idaho, driven by sparse guidance in state law
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How to follow the Idaho Legislature and Idaho Gov. Brad Little's work during the session
Here are a few tools we use to track the Legislature's business and how to let your voice be heard in the issues that matter most to you.
How to find your legislators: To determine which legislative district you live in, and to find contact information for your legislators within that district, go to the Legislative Services Office's website and put in your home address and ZIP code. Once you've entered that information, the three legislators – two House members and one senator – who represent your district will appear, and you can click on their headshots to find their email address and phone number.
How to find committee agendas: Go to the Idaho Legislature's website, legislature.idaho.gov, and click on the 'all available Senate committee agendas' link and the 'all available House committee agendas' link on the right side of the website.
How to watch the legislative action in committees and on the House and Senate floors: Idaho Public Television works in conjunction with the Legislative Services Office and the Idaho Department of Administration through a program called 'Idaho in Session' to provide live streaming for all legislative committees and for the House and Senate floors. To watch the action, go to https://www.idahoptv.org/shows/idahoinsession/Legislature/ and select the stream you'd like to watch.
How to testify remotely at public hearings before a committee: To sign up to testify remotely for a specific committee, navigate to that committee's webpage, and click on the 'testimony registration (remote and in person)' tab at the top.
How to find state budget documents: Go to Legislative Services Office Budget and Policy Analysis Division's website https://legislature.idaho.gov/lso/bpa/budgetinformation/.
How to track which bills have made it to Gov. Little's desk and any action he took on them (including vetoes): Go to the governor's website https://gov.idaho.gov/legislative-sessions/2025-session/. You can scroll down to the bottom of the site and enter your email address to get alerts sent straight to your inbox when the page has been updated.
Reporting from Idaho Capital Sun journalists Clark Corbin, Mia Maldonado and Kyle Pfannenstiel and Idaho Reports journalist Ruth Brown contributed to this legislative notebook.
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