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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho Senate Bill 1328 Permits Independent Legal Counsel and Revises Natural Resource Penalties
Last action · March 9, 2026: Read First Time, Referred to Resources & Conservation
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What This Bill Would Do
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS – Amends existing law regarding counsel for the Department of Lands.
Forest landowners, miners, and oil and gas operators face restructured civil liabilities, increased statutory penalties, and a new ten-year statute of limitations for uncontrolled fires beginning July 1, 2026.
- The Idaho Department of Lands manages state endowment lands, provides wildfire protection, and regulates forestry and mining practices across the state. context
- Senate Bill 1328 was introduced by the State Affairs Committee during the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature in 2026. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Lands
The Department is authorized to hire independent general counsel and enforce updated statutory provisions across natural resource laws.
Forest landowners and timber operators
Property damage liability limits, fire protection requirements, slash disposal liens, and log branding rules are revised.
Mining and oil/gas operators
Permit, bonding, inspection, and civil penalty provisions are modified across mining and oil and gas conservation statutes.
Key Facts
- Authorizes the Director of the Department of Lands to hire a licensed attorney as general counsel, subject to approval by the state board of land commissioners, independent of the attorney general.
- Limits real and personal property damage in civil actions for negligent forest or range fires to reasonable control/extinguishment costs, economic damages, and either property fair market value diminution or tangible restoration costs.
- Establishes a ten-year statute of limitations for civil actions brought under Section 38-107, Idaho Code, regarding uncontrolled fires.
- Sets registration and renewal fees for log brands at twenty-five dollars ($25.00) with a five-year expiration term starting January 1, 1993.
Show all 8 facts
- Creates the oil and gas conservation commission within the department of lands consisting of a county commissioner and four governor-appointed members.
- Sets civil penalties for violations of oil and gas or dredge mining provisions up to thousands of dollars per day and establishes misdemeanor criminal penalties.
- Establishes the mining reclamation fund and the cyanidation facility closure fund in the state treasury to hold recovered sums related to reclamation and closure provisions.
- Declares an emergency and provides that the act shall be in full force and effect on and after July 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who provides legal counsel for the Department of Lands under this bill?
What is the statute of limitations for civil actions regarding uncontrolled fires?
When does this act take effect?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed both. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
8 actions- Mar 9, 2026IntroducedRead First Time, Referred to Resources & Conservation
- Mar 9, 2026Received from the Senate, Filed for First Reading
- Mar 9, 2026FloorRead third time in full – PASSED - 30-5-0 AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke(Bjerke), Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Keyser, Lakey, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Ruchti, Rundhaug(Carlson), Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Woodward NAYS – Coho(Lenney), Hart, Kohl, Zito, Zuiderveld Absent and excused – None Floor Sponsor - Harris Title apvd - to House
- Mar 6, 2026Retained on calendar
- Mar 3, 2026Read second time; filed for Third Reading
- Mar 2, 2026Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
Show 2 earlier actions
- Feb 19, 2026CommitteeReported Printed; referred to Resources & Environment
- Feb 18, 2026IntroducedIntroduced; read first time; referred to JR 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.
Independent General Counsel Authorization
The legislation shifts legal representation authority for the Department of Lands away from exclusive reliance on the Attorney General by establishing an independent general counsel.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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