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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho House Bill 617 Restricts Programmable Money and Creates Consumer Protections
Last action · February 11, 2026: Reported Printed and Referred to Business
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What This Bill Proposed
Idaho House Bill 617 defines and regulates , prohibiting issuers from mandating its use without a free non-digital alternative and from denying transactions based on protected classes, political speech, or lawful activities. The bill creates civil remedies, attorney fee recovery, and criminal misdemeanor penalties carrying fines up to $10,000 per violation.
Financial technology companies and digital currency issuers operating in Idaho face potential business license revocation, misdemeanor criminal charges, and civil liability for using programmable restrictions or social credit metrics to block consumer transactions.
- House Bill 617 was introduced during the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature by the Business Committee. context
- Programmable money and central bank digital currencies have become subjects of state-level legislative focus regarding financial privacy and transaction restrictions. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Consumers
Consumers gain legal rights to demand non-digital payment alternatives, challenge transaction denials with written explanations, and sue issuers for damages and attorney fees.
Programmable Money Issuers
Issuers are prohibited from enforcing certain automated transaction restrictions, must respond to denial inquiries within 30 days, and are subject to civil lawsuits and criminal misdemeanor penalties.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is programmable money under this bill?
What penalties do issuers face for unjustified transaction denials?
Can financial issuers still block transactions related to criminal acts?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Feb 11, 2026CommitteeReported Printed and Referred to Business
- Feb 10, 2026IntroducedIntroduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of State-Level Digital Currency Regulations
Idaho is introducing explicit statutory definitions and criminal misdemeanor penalties specifically targeting programmable money features and transaction filtering.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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