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Enacted

Idaho Repeals Laws Governing Indigent Financial Assistance Eligibility

Original title: INDIGENT ELIGIBILITY – Repeals existing law related to financial assistance eligibility.

Last action · March 20, 2026: Reported Signed by Governor on March 18, 2026 Session Law Chapter 67 Effective: 07/01/2026

Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Does

Idaho repeals Section 31-3502 of the Idaho Code, removing existing statutory provisions for financial assistance eligibility, effective July 1, 2026.

Why it matters

Removes the statutory framework governing financial assistance eligibility across the state, altering how county-level medical and financial aid programs operate for qualifying low-income residents.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Low-income residents seeking indigent financial assistance

The statutory eligibility rules governing indigent financial assistance programs are entirely removed.

Directly affected

County indigent medical and financial assistance programs

The legal code governing how they evaluate and administer indigent financial assistance is repealed.

Key Facts

  • Repeals Section 31-3502 of the Idaho Code regarding financial assistance eligibility.
  • Declares an emergency to set the effective date.
  • Takes full force and effect on July 1, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does House Bill 591 do?
It repeals Section 31-3502 of the Idaho Code, which relates to eligibility for financial assistance.
When does this change take effect?
The repeal becomes effective on July 1, 2026.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

17 actions
  1. Mar 20, 2026Enrolled
    Reported Signed by Governor on March 18, 2026 Session Law Chapter 67 Effective: 07/01/2026
  2. Mar 17, 2026
    Delivered to Governor at 1:35 p.m. on March 17, 2026
  3. Mar 17, 2026
    Returned Signed by the President; Ordered Transmitted to Governor
  4. Mar 16, 2026
    Signed by President; returned to House
  5. Mar 16, 2026
    Received from the House enrolled/signed by Speaker
  6. Mar 16, 2026
    Reported Enrolled; Signed by Speaker; Transmitted to Senate
Show 11 earlier actions
  1. Mar 13, 2026Floor
    Returned from Senate Passed; to JRA for Enrolling
  2. Mar 12, 2026Floor
    Read third time in full – PASSED - 32-3-0 AYES – Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke(Bjerke), Burtenshaw, Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lakey, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Ruchti, Rundhaug(Carlson), Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Woodward, Zito, Zuiderveld NAYS – Adams, Blaylock, Coho(Lenney) Absent and excused – None Floor Sponsor - Harris Title apvd - to House
  3. Mar 4, 2026
    Read second time; filed for Third Reading
  4. Mar 3, 2026
    Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
  5. Feb 26, 2026Introduced
    Introduced, read first time; referred to: Health & Welfare
  6. Feb 26, 2026Floor
    Received from the House passed; filed for first reading
  7. Feb 25, 2026Floor
    Read Third Time in Full – PASSED - 70-0-0 AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cayler, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Fuhriman, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Hawkins, Haws, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Manwaring, Marmon, Mathias, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Pohanka, Price, Rasor, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Rubel, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Shirts, Skaug, Tanner(13), Tanner(14), Thompson, Vander Woude, Veile, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Mr. Speaker NAYS – None Absent – None Floor Sponsor - Redman Title apvd - to Senate
  8. Feb 24, 2026
    Read second time; Filed for Third Reading
  9. Feb 23, 2026
    Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
  10. Feb 5, 2026Committee
    Reported Printed and Referred to Health & Welfare
  11. Feb 4, 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

Elimination of Indigent Eligibility Code

The bill entirely removes Section 31-3502 of the Idaho Code rather than amending it, pointing to a complete overhaul or removal of statutory indigent financial assistance criteria.

Connected Entities

Health and Welfare Committee
OrganizationHealth and Welfare Committee“Legislative committee sponsoring House Bill 591”Map →

Sources

Open source document

legislature.idaho.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy60
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz30
    Current news / social attention level

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