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H 510IDAHOSession 2026State Billdead
Did Not Advance

Idaho House Bill 510 protects public employee communications with legislators and sets agency public records deadlines

Original title: GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY AND ETHICS – Amends and adds to existing law to establish provisions to protect public employees from certain adverse actions, to provide certain remedies for violations, and to provide special procedures for public record requests by the Legislature and legislative staff.

Last action · January 22, 2026: Reported Printed and Referred to State Affairs

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Proposed

Idaho House Bill 510 prohibits employers from taking against public employees who communicate in good faith with lawmakers or legislative staff, and establishes mandatory deadlines for executive agencies to respond to legislative public records requests.

Why it matters

Executive branch agencies face strict statutory deadlines—acknowledging requests within three working days and providing s within fifteen working days—when handling inquiries or records requests from the legislature or legislative staff.

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.

Directly affected

Public employees

Public employees gain statutory protections against adverse action when communicating in good faith with legislators and legislative staff.

Directly affected

Executive branch agencies

Executive branch agencies are required to follow mandatory acknowledgment and response timelines for legislative public records requests.

Directly affected

Idaho Legislature

Lawmakers and legislative staff obtain formal mechanisms for receiving public records from executive agencies within specified timeframes.

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 protections do public employees receive under this bill?
Public employees are protected from adverse employment actions when communicating in good faith with members of the legislature, legislative committees, or legislative staff, or when responding to legislative public records requests.
How quickly must state agencies respond to legislative public records requests?
Agencies must acknowledge receipt within three working days and provide a within fifteen working days, unless a delay notice is issued for up to an additional fifteen working days.
What constitutes communicating in good faith?
A communication is made in good faith if there is a reasonable basis in fact. Good faith is lacking if the employee knew or reasonably should have known that the communication was malicious, false, or frivolous.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.

Procedural history

2 actions
  1. Jan 22, 2026Committee
    Reported Printed and Referred to State Affairs
  2. Jan 21, 2026Introduced
    Introduced, 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.

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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

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Codification of Legislative Record Timelines

The bill bridges whistleblower protections with public records compliance by mandating strict executive agency response times for legislative inquiries.

Idaho

Connected Entities

Idaho, State Affairs Committee
locationIdaho“State jurisdiction where the legislation applies”Map →
OrganizationState Affairs Committee“House committee that introduced House Bill 510”Map →

Sources

Open source document

legislature.idaho.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance20
    Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
  • Controversy40
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz35
    Current news / social attention level

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