James Ruchti

Voted for Senate Bill 1297, the Conversational AI Safety Act, which sets rules for chatbots used in Idaho. If a reasonable person could think they were talking to a human, the operator must say clearly that the service is artificial intelligence. The operator must have a protocol that points a user who raises suicidal thoughts to a crisis line or similar help, and may not program the service to claim it provides professional mental health care. For a user known to be a minor, the disclosure must be a standing notice or must repeat at the start of each session and at least every three hours. The operator may not use unpredictable rewards to keep a minor engaged. It must take reasonable steps to stop the service producing sexual material about a minor or claiming to be human or sentient. The Idaho Senate passed it 21-12, and it became law.

March 19, 2026Supports AI Regulation

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1294, which requires every Idaho newborn to be screened for hearing loss. A baby born in a hospital or birthing facility must be screened before going home. A baby born elsewhere must be screened, or referred for screening, within twenty-one days of birth. The screening must use a physiologic method approved by Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind, such as otoacoustic emissions or automated auditory brainstem response. A failed screening must be reported to that agency within seven days so follow-up can begin, and other results monthly. The requirement lasts only while federal funding for it continues. The Idaho Senate passed it 22-13, and it became law.

March 20, 2026Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 134, which makes health plans in Idaho pay for extra breast cancer screening. A plan must cover one supplemental breast screening a year for a person at higher risk of breast cancer. Higher risk includes a personal or family history of breast cancer, a genetic predisposition, past chest radiation therapy, certain breast tissue findings, or a lifetime risk above twenty percent. Supplemental screening means magnetic resonance imaging, a contrast mammogram, or an ultrasound where those are not possible, when the treating doctor recommends it. The plan must cover every cost of that screening. The rule reaches insurance companies, hospital service corporations, managed care organizations, fraternal benefit societies, and exchange plans. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-10, and it became law.

March 17, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1269, which sets up a state cloud seeding program. Cloud seeding spreads particles into clouds to try to increase snow and rain. The act writes findings that it helps with drought and protects water rights, and it creates authorization and yearly reporting duties for projects. State money may be spent only in river basins where the water board finds existing supplies fall short of water rights, water quality, recreation, or fish and wildlife needs. Seeding done under a state-funded or board-approved project needs no state or local permit. It also cannot be the basis of a trespass or nuisance claim unless the operator was grossly negligent or acted willfully. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-9, and it became law.

March 3, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 290, which moves Idaho's school and daycare immunization requirements out of health board rules and into state law. The act lists the required vaccines in the statute itself, so the Board of Health and Welfare can no longer set or change that list by rule. It voids the department's current immunization rules and ends the Idaho Childhood Immunization Policy Commission. Parents keep the existing right to exempt a child on medical, religious, or other grounds by signed statement. The act adds a right for a student who has reached adulthood to exempt themselves at any school, including a college or university. It also makes daycare facilities exclude a child who is not in compliance, lets the department inspect them, and makes schools report immunization figures by grade each year. The Idaho Senate passed it 23-11, and it became law.

March 18, 2025Opposes Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 930, which tightens how campaign money must be held in Idaho. A candidate's campaign or a political committee that files reports must keep at least one checking account, and all money it receives must go into that account. Campaign funds must be kept apart from every other account and may not be mixed with them. They may be held only in certificates of deposit, money market accounts, or similar cash accounts, and may not be put into stocks or other equity investments. A candidate who lends their campaign more than one thousand dollars of their own money must move it into the campaign account. The treasurer keeps the duty to record every contribution and expense within seven days, becomes the official contact for the Secretary of State, and is responsible for filing the reports. The Idaho Senate passed it 19-14, and it became law.

April 1, 2026Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 398, which rewrites Idaho's lobbying rules and moves them into the state's open government chapter. The act repeals the lobbying sections of the campaign finance law and creates a lobbying disclosure chapter whose stated purpose is transparency. It widens what counts as lobbying. The definition now covers indirect lobbying, meaning paid efforts to get the public to contact lawmakers through email, texting, social media, billboards, or door-to-door work. It also covers contacts with executive branch officials about rulemaking, rate setting, buying, contracts, bids, and bond issues, not only about legislation. A group talking with its own members is not lobbying. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

April 2, 2025Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 253, which treats public records requests from people outside Idaho differently from requests by residents. The act defines a resident as a person living in Idaho for at least thirty continuous days, and makes every requester declare under oath whether they are one. An agency must answer a resident within three working days, but has thirty days to answer someone who is not a resident. The free first two hours of staff time and first one hundred pages now apply only to residents. So does the fee waiver for a request that would significantly help the public understand government. An agency may set a separate fee schedule for people who are not residents, limited only by its actual cost. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-9, and it became law.

April 1, 2025Opposes Anti-Corruption

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 79, which lets Idaho community colleges charge more in tuition. State law caps what a community college may charge a student who lives in its district. That ceiling was two thousand five hundred dollars a year. The act raises it to three thousand two hundred fifty dollars a year, an increase of thirty percent. The rule that tuition may rise by no more than ten percent in any one year stays in place, as does the floor of three hundred fifty dollars. Fees for laboratories, night school, summer school and other special courses are set separately and are not capped. The Idaho Senate passed it 26-9, and it became law.

March 4, 2025Opposes Cost of Living Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1311, which tightens Idaho's ignition interlock rules. An interlock is a breath tester wired to a car's ignition, ordered for some drunk driving offenders, that blocks a start above a set alcohol level. The act requires the company that supplies the device to tell the prosecuting authority every time a driver is blocked from starting the car. It also requires the company to give the Transportation Department proof that the device was installed. The act writes into the definition that the device includes a camera. The blocking level stays at .025. The Idaho Senate passed it 21-14, and it became law.

March 2, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 187, which sets out what people on felony probation and parole must be told and must agree to. A judge placing someone on felony probation must explain the conditions, the penalties for breaking them, and the rewards for following them. The act then writes into law that a person released on parole gives up their Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless searches. Officers may search that person, their home, their vehicle, and their phone or other devices at any hour, with or without cause. A parolee must sign an acceptance of those terms, and someone who refuses cannot be released on parole. Officers may not search solely to harass. The Idaho Senate passed it 24-8, and it became law.

March 13, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1354, which requires Idaho cities to allow accessory dwelling units. An accessory dwelling unit is a self-contained home with its own kitchen, sleeping area, and bathroom on the same lot as a single-family house. It may be inside the house, attached to it, or standing separately, but not a camper, a motorhome, or a home on wheels. The act applies only to cities with more than ten thousand residents. Such a city may not ban them from a residential zone, and by February 2027 it must change its plan and zoning rules to allow one internal or one detached unit per lot, except in historic districts. Cities generally may not require extra off-street parking for the unit, and may not charge higher impact or utility connection fees than for other single-family homes. The act also rewrites the rule barring homeowner associations from banning these units. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-10, and it became law.

March 20, 2026Supports Housing Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1352, which requires Idaho cities to allow small starter home subdivisions. A starter home subdivision is a development of at least four acres of detached single-family houses on compact lots of no more than one thousand five hundred square feet each. The act applies only to cities with more than ten thousand residents. Such a city may not ban them from a residential zone, and by February 2027 it must change its comprehensive plan and zoning rules to permit them, except in historic districts and on historic properties. Cities may not demand lots larger than the compact size, front or rear setbacks over fifteen feet, side setbacks over five feet, lot fronts over thirty feet, or lot depths over seventy feet, unless the land or the infrastructure makes that impossible. They also may not charge higher permit, impact, or utility connection fees than for other single-family subdivisions. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-10, and it became law.

March 19, 2026Supports Housing Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 776, which speeds up child protection checks on babies in risky homes. When a mandatory reporter contacts the Department of Health and Welfare about a child under one year old, the department must check within twelve hours whether a listed risk factor applies to the caregiver. The risk factors are an entry in the child protection central registry within the past ten years, a conviction for injury to a child, an earlier termination of parental rights, or a baby born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. If a risk factor is confirmed, the department must open its highest priority response and write a full safety assessment. That assessment must cover the caregiver's compliance with any court-ordered conditions and the child's living environment. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

March 30, 2026Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 245, which raises the age limit for extended foster care in Idaho. A court could order extended foster care for a young adult up to age twenty-one. The act raises that limit to twenty-three, and makes the same change to continued care and to transitional living. It also lets the Department of Health and Welfare set separate licensing standards for relatives who take in a child. That sits alongside the department's existing power to speed up a relative placement or waive a licensing standard. The act ends the health board's duty to write rules for relative foster care and voids the department's current foster care licensing rules. The Idaho Senate passed it 21-14, and it became law.

March 13, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 849, which raises pay for career technical education teachers in Idaho. Teacher pay runs on a career ladder, and a teacher normally starts at the bottom and moves a cell a year. The act credits industry experience for a teacher holding an occupational specialist certificate. Two or three years in a related industry starts them where a teacher with one year of service sits, and eight or more years starts them at the four-year point. Career technical teachers already on the lowest rung must have their placement updated if the new rule puts them higher. The act also sets out how those teachers move up once they reach the professional rung. The same credit applies to a teacher returning to an Idaho public school, not only to a new one. The Idaho Senate passed it 18-14, and it became law.

March 24, 2026Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1288, which creates a state fund to help schools pay for very expensive special education. A high-needs student is one whose individual education program costs a school more than thirty thousand dollars a year, after Medicaid and other funding is counted. The fund reimburses school districts and independent charter schools for eligible costs above that line. Eligible costs are those tied directly to the education program, such as nursing, interpreting, speech therapy, occupational and physical therapy, personal care, specialized equipment, and extended school year services. Ordinary classroom costs, basic supplies, and standard transportation do not count. The law gives rural districts and rural charter schools their own place in the arrangement. The Idaho Senate passed it 22-12, and it became law.

February 26, 2026Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1069, which changes how Idaho trains teachers to teach reading. The state Department of Education used to owe districts and schools professional development on literacy instruction. The act replaces that with a duty to train every teacher and elementary administrator who works with children from kindergarten through grade three, spread over several years and paid for only if the legislature funds it. The training must be based on the science of reading and must include coaching on the job. It must cover reading data, the statewide reading test, and the state literacy plan. The act also broadens the reporting on the intervention program to cover public charter schools alongside districts. The Idaho Senate passed it 22-13, and it became law.

February 24, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 810, which adds a residency test for Idaho legislators. A candidate for the House or Senate already had to be twenty-one, a United States citizen, and a registered voter in the district for the year before the general election. The act adds that the candidate must also have kept a fixed home inside the district boundaries for that same year. Registering to vote at an address in the district is no longer enough on its own. The requirement takes effect at the start of 2027, so it applies to the 2028 election cycle. The Idaho Senate passed it 20-14, and it became law.

March 26, 2026Supports Election Integrity

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 1297, the Conversational AI Safety Act, which sets rules for chatbots used in Idaho. If a reasonable person could think they were talking to a human, the operator must say clearly that the service is artificial intelligence. The operator must have a protocol that points a user who raises suicidal thoughts to a crisis line or similar help, and may not program the service to claim it provides professional mental health care. For a user known to be a minor, the disclosure must be a standing notice or must repeat at the start of each session and at least every three hours. The operator may not use unpredictable rewards to keep a minor engaged. It must take reasonable steps to stop the service producing sexual material about a minor or claiming to be human or sentient. The Idaho Senate passed it 21-12, and it became law.

March 19, 2026Supports Data Privacy

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 149, which restricts the use of mortgage trigger leads. When someone applies for a home loan, credit bureaus can sell that fact to rival lenders, who then call and write to the applicant. Under the act a lender using such a lead must say up front that it is not connected to the lender the person applied to, and that it bought the person's information from a credit bureau without that lender's knowledge. It must also make a firm offer of credit, as federal law requires. Using a trigger lead to contact someone who has opted out of prescreened credit offers, or who is on a do-not-call list, is barred. The Idaho Senate passed it 26-9, and it became law.

March 10, 2025Supports Data Privacy

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 187, which sets out what people on felony probation and parole must be told and must agree to. A judge placing someone on felony probation must explain the conditions, the penalties for breaking them, and the rewards for following them. The act then writes into law that a person released on parole gives up their Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless searches. Officers may search that person, their home, their vehicle, and their phone or other devices at any hour, with or without cause. A parolee must sign an acceptance of those terms, and someone who refuses cannot be released on parole. Officers may not search solely to harass. The Idaho Senate passed it 24-8, and it became law.

March 13, 2025Opposes Civil Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 562, which gives Idaho policyholders more warning before insurance ends. An insurer cancelling a property or casualty policy for most reasons had to give thirty days' notice. The act raises that to sixty days. An insurer that will not renew a policy had to give forty-five days' notice before the expiry date. That also becomes sixty days. If the nonrenewal notice goes out late, cover now continues for sixty days after it is sent rather than forty-five, with the extra premium charged pro rata. The change takes effect at the start of 2027. The Idaho Senate passed it 20-13, and it became law.

March 24, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 294, which raises the civil penalties Idaho can impose for breaking its pipeline safety laws. The old law capped the penalty at two thousand dollars a day for each violation, with a limit of two hundred thousand dollars for a related series of violations. The act deletes both caps. In their place it sets the penalty at the federal maximum under 49 CFR 190.223 at the time of the violation, which is far higher. The penalty reaches anyone who breaks, or helps someone break, Idaho's pipeline safety and gas transportation laws or a Public Utilities Commission order or rule under them. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

March 17, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted for House Bill 508, which widens when Idaho highway districts may build bike lanes and sidewalks. Idaho law already said a bicycle or pedestrian facility could be improved only as a secondary benefit of a highway project, or where needed for safety near a school, a park, or another designated area. The act adds a third case: such a facility may be improved when federal funds or a grant pay for that purpose. The two existing cases stay in place. The act makes the same addition to the definition of a project built mainly for motor vehicles, so federally funded bike and pedestrian work can be included in one. The Idaho Senate passed it 19-16, and it became law.

March 31, 2026Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 516, which bars Idaho school districts from using public money to support teachers unions. Districts may no longer deduct union dues from teachers' pay, give a union more teacher contact information than public records law requires unless the teacher agrees in writing, or send out union messages. Teachers may still use their own personal leave for union work, but on-duty union representation is paid only if the union repays the district. Violations carry civil fines of up to $2,500. The Idaho Senate passed it 20-14, and it became law.

April 1, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House Bill 706, which lets Idaho cities allow apartment buildings with a single stairway. Building codes normally require two separate stairways in a multi-story apartment building, which forces a long central corridor and rules out smaller lots. The act lets a local government adopt an exception permitting one stairway in qualifying buildings. It also adjusts the rule on how local governments adopt and enforce building codes so that the exception fits within it. The change is permissive, so a city that wants two stairways may keep requiring them. The Idaho Senate passed it 18-17, and it became law.

April 1, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 822, the Pediatric Secretive Transitions Parental Rights Act, which requires schools and clinicians to tell parents. A school, child care provider, or medical, behavioral, or mental health provider may not help a child under eighteen with a sex transition procedure or a social transition without informing the parents and getting their consent. Social transition is defined as living as a gender different from the child's sex, including a change of name, pronouns, appearance, or dress. A sex transition procedure means one already barred by Idaho law for minors. A parent may sue over a violation, and the attorney general may enforce the act. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

March 30, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 752, which makes it a crime to use a restroom or changing room meant for the opposite sex. Knowingly entering one in a government building or a place of public accommodation is a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in county jail. A second conviction within five years is a felony carrying up to five years in state prison. The act lists exceptions, including cleaning or maintenance work, giving medical or law enforcement help, aid during a disaster, coaching at an athletic event, and accompanying someone who needs assistance. A person may also use a single-user room or, in dire need, the only room reasonably available. Sex here means biological sex. The Idaho Senate passed it 28-7, and it became law.

March 27, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 561, which tightens the flag rules Idaho passed in 2025 and adds a fine. The list of flags a government body may fly on its property is rewritten. A city or county flag qualifies only if it was official before 2023, and a college may fly its own flag only if policy names exactly one. Foreign flags may be flown to mark an occasion or a historic tie, but not those of countries the United States is fighting. The act says property includes land, buildings, parks, roads, and boulevards, and it allows banners on poles and streetlights that are not political, religious, or ideological. A body that breaks the rule faces a civil penalty of two thousand dollars per flag per day. The attorney general must enforce it, after giving ten days to take a flag down. The Idaho Senate passed it 26-8, and it became law.

March 24, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 542, the Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media Act, which puts parents in control of a child's social media account. A platform must ask every applicant for a birth date and must estimate the age of existing account holders, treating anyone it cannot place above sixteen as a child. It may not open or change a child's account without verifiable parental consent, and it must delete the information gathered to get that consent. A child's account must start with the most private settings, which cannot be changed without the parent agreeing again. The parent must be offered a password that lets them see how long the child spends on the platform and set daily and weekly limits and times of day. A platform may not show a child addictive interface features or advertising targeted from their profile. The Idaho Senate passed it 21-14, and it became law.

March 20, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 583, which narrows what cities and counties may do about short-term rentals. Idaho already barred a local government from banning short-term rentals outright. The act extends that to any type of short-term rental, closing the gap where a city banned one kind while allowing another. It also narrows the grounds for local rules. A city or county could regulate to protect public health, safety, and general welfare and to protect the character of residential neighborhoods. The act keeps public health and safety as the grounds but drops general welfare and neighborhood character. It also adds a new limit: a local rule may not put any restriction or duty on a short-term rental that it does not put on an ordinary house. It also limits the tax collection duties a state or local government may place on a short-term rental marketplace. The Idaho Senate passed it 23-12, and it became law.

March 9, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1300, which moves three agency director jobs under the governor. The Fish and Game Commission chose the director of the Department of Fish and Game, and boards chose the directors of the Transportation Department and of Parks and Recreation. Under the act the governor appoints all three, and each serves at the governor's pleasure. The three posts are added to the list of offices the governor fills under the state vacancy statute. The commissions and boards keep their other duties, but no longer pick or hold the director. The Idaho Senate passed it 21-14, and it became law.

March 2, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1198, which bans diversity, equity, and inclusion work at Idaho's public colleges and universities. A school may not run a diversity, equity, or inclusion office or employ an officer for that purpose. It may not require such training of students or staff, and may not require a course on those subjects for a degree. It may not run a bias reporting system that collects reports about protected student speech. The definition reaches programs that promote named concepts such as implicit bias, systemic racism, intersectionality, and gender theory. Work an attorney certifies as needed to obey a court order or a state or federal law is exempt. The attorney general may enforce the ban, and a student or employee may sue over a violation. The Idaho Senate passed it 23-12, and it became law.

April 4, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1211, which lets people buy ivermectin in Idaho without a prescription. Ivermectin is a drug approved to treat parasites, and some people took it for Covid-19 despite federal regulators advising against that use. The act says that ivermectin made for human use may be sold and bought over the counter in Idaho. No prescription is needed, and no consultation with a doctor, pharmacist, or any other health care professional is needed. The change took effect immediately on the governor's signature. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-9, and it became law.

April 3, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 135, which narrows who can receive public benefits in Idaho without proof of lawful presence. State and local agencies must already check that an applicant aged eighteen or older is lawfully present in the United States. The act removes several exemptions from that check. Immunizations and the testing and treatment of communicable diseases are no longer exempt. Neither is prenatal care, postnatal care in the first year after birth, or food assistance for a child under eighteen. The act narrows the exemption for community services such as soup kitchens and crisis counseling so that it covers short-term shelters. It keeps the exemption for emergency medical treatment and adds a general exemption where federal law requires one. The Idaho Senate passed it 26-9, and it became law.

April 1, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1180, which sets rules for how Idaho agencies may use automated license plate readers. These devices photograph the plates of passing vehicles without the driver doing anything. An agency may use them for law enforcement, to study traffic flow, or both. For law enforcement the data may be used only to investigate a felony, a misdemeanor, or a traffic accident, or to look for a missing or endangered person. It may not be used to enforce ordinary traffic tickets. Only cleared staff may reach the data, every search must be logged, and each agency must audit those logs twice a year and train its users. Misuse can bring discipline, penalties, or prosecution. The act also requires a front license plate only on a vehicle that has a bracket for one. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-10, and it became law.

March 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 96, which limits the flags an Idaho government body may fly. A state agency, county, city, or special district may display only a short list of flags. That list is the United States flag, the body's own official flag, the flag of any state, and the flags of the armed forces. It also covers the POW and MIA flag, the flags of Indian tribes, and the flags of Idaho colleges, universities, and public schools. Flags of other countries may be flown to mark a special occasion. Any other flag, such as a political or cause flag, may not be displayed. Schools, colleges, and universities are outside the definition of a government body, so the rule does not reach them. The Idaho Senate passed it 20-11, and it became law.

March 26, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 109, which seeks to stop food stamps from being spent on candy and soda. It orders the director of the Department of Health and Welfare to ask the United States Department of Agriculture for a waiver removing candy and soda from the list of foods the program covers. If the waiver is granted, the director must bar those purchases. If it is refused, the director must ask again every year until it is granted. Candy is defined as a sweetened confection, and does not include anything more than one tenth flour by weight or anything needing refrigeration. Soda is any sweetened nonalcoholic drink, and does not include drinks with milk, drinks more than half juice, or powders and concentrates. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-10, and it became law.

March 26, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 271, which makes it a crime to advertise a product or service that is illegal where it is offered. A person who willfully publishes a commercial advertisement in any medium in Idaho for such a product or service is guilty of a misdemeanor. The fine is five hundred dollars for each violation, and each day the advertisement stays up counts as a separate offense. A commercial advertisement is one that encourages consumers to engage with a product or service to benefit a business. Fines go ninety percent to the sheriff's office in the county where the violation happened and ten percent to that county's district court fund. The Idaho Senate passed it 24-10, and it became law.

March 26, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1183, which limits when an electric utility can be held responsible for a wildfire. A utility regulated by the state must file a wildfire mitigation plan with the Public Utilities Commission for approval. If the utility reasonably followed an approved plan, a court must presume it was not negligent, and the person suing has to overcome that presumption. Those lawsuits become the only civil remedy against the utility for anything tied to an approved plan. The act also lets a utility enter private land or a right of way to clear plants or do fire work when the owner refuses access or does not answer within thirty days. The utility cannot be sued over that entry unless it acted willfully or recklessly and caused substantial damage. The Idaho Senate passed it 24-11, and it became law.

March 24, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1141, which bans camping and sleeping in public places across Idaho. No city or countywide highway district may allow a person to camp or sleep on public land, public building grounds, or roads and rights of way. Camping or sleeping means lodging outdoors for a prolonged time, shown by a tent, a car, a recreational vehicle, bedding, cooking gear, a heat source, or stored belongings. Recreational camping in places set aside for it, permitted events, and authorized overnight parking at rest areas or businesses are not covered. The attorney general may sue a city or highway district that knowingly allows it, and recover costs and legal fees. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

March 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 86, which bars Idaho governments from requiring electric vehicle charging in new buildings. Neither the state nor any local government may make a building plan include a charging station, a marked charging parking space, upgraded electrical conduit, or other wiring meant for charging. The ban overrides any city or county ordinance or rule that already requires those things. Nothing stops a builder or owner from installing charging equipment by choice. The Idaho Senate passed it 28-7, and it became law.

March 5, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 40, which cuts Idaho income taxes. The rate on individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations falls from 5.695 percent to 5.3 percent. Gains and losses from selling precious metal bullion no longer count toward Idaho taxable income. Military retirement pay becomes deductible at any age, where before a retiree had to be sixty-five, or sixty-two and disabled. A military retiree under sixty-two who is not disabled must have earned enough from work that year to owe a federal return. The changes apply back to the start of the tax year. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

March 4, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1007, which widens what the public may say at a school board meeting. Idaho law let a board confine public comment to items already on the meeting agenda. The act removes that limit, so a resident of the district may speak on school and education matters generally. A board must still hear public comment before it acts on an agenda item. Boards keep the power to set reasonable rules for the comment period, including time limits and standards of conduct. Comment on matters that would allow the board to go into closed session is still not permitted. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-9, and it became law.

February 28, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1099, which raises the penalty for vehicular manslaughter by a repeat drunk driver. Killing someone while driving under the influence carried up to fifteen years and a fifteen thousand dollar fine. The act keeps that for a first offender and creates a higher tier for a driver with a previous conviction for driving under the influence, in Idaho or a comparable offense elsewhere. The act also makes a court tell a defendant at sentencing that a later conviction can carry the higher penalty. That warning must be given in both misdemeanor and felony driving under the influence cases. The Idaho Senate passed it 25-10, and it became law.

February 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 1046, which requires a fetal development lesson in Idaho public schools. From the 2025-2026 school year, every district, charter school, and specially chartered district serving grades five through twelve must teach human growth and development. The lesson must include a high-definition ultrasound video of at least three minutes showing the brain, heart, sex organs, and other organs developing in early pregnancy. It must also include a computer-generated animation of fertilization and of every week of development in the womb until birth. The same material must be included in any class that covers human biology, contraception, or sexually transmitted infections. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

February 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026

Voted against House Bill 7, which sets a minimum fine for possessing a small amount of marijuana. Idaho law already treats possession of three ounces or less as a misdemeanor. The act adds that a person eighteen or older convicted of that offense must be fined at least three hundred dollars. That fine comes on top of the jail time and other penalties the law already allows. Possession of more than three ounces stays a felony. The Idaho Senate passed it 27-8, and it became law.

February 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 8, 2026