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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho House Bill 836 establishes the Idaho Personnel Reduction Act to eliminate long-vacant state positions and mandate detailed travel expense reporting
Last action · March 25, 2026: Take bill off General Orders; referred to Appropriations
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What This Bill Proposed
Idaho state departments must identify and eliminate full-time equivalent positions that have been vacant for more than 180 calendar days, while also reporting comprehensive state employee travel expenses in their annual budget submissions.
Changes how state agencies budget for personnel and travel, redirecting a portion of eliminated executive branch position funds to legislative district support personnel starting in 2026 and 2027.
- The Idaho Legislature operates under regular sessions, where bills relating to the state budget and statutory additions are considered. context
- Section 67-3502 of the Idaho Code governs agency budget requests submitted to the state. 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.
Idaho state departments and agencies
Must identify and eliminate long-vacant positions, adjust annual budget submissions, and report detailed employee travel expenses.
Legislative branch
Receives annual transfers of one-third of eliminated executive branch positions and fringe benefits for district support personnel and administrative staff in 2026 and 2027.
State employees
Subject to mandatory detailed reporting of their travel expenses and potential elimination of vacant positions within their departments.
Key Facts
- Establishes the Idaho Personnel Reduction Act to eliminate long-vacant state positions.
- Requires every state department to identify vacant appropriated full-time equivalent positions (FTP) vacant for more than 180 calendar days as of the end of the previous fiscal year.
- Mandates that identified vacant FTPs be eliminated along with their associated salaries and fringe benefits in annual budget submissions, starting on or before July 1, 2026, and annually by September 1 thereafter.
- Allows departments to request retention of vacant positions vacant for less than one year, provided they are fully funded from existing funds.
Show all 8 facts
- Ninety-five percent of moneys transferred to the legislative account shall be allocated for district support personnel for individual legislators and associated administrative staff.
- Requires departments to detail individual vacant FTPs, length of vacancy, job descriptions, funding availability, and reasons for vacancies in their annual budget submissions.
- Requires detailed reporting of all state employee travel expenses from the preceding fiscal year in annual budget submissions, including airfare, lodging, food, and third-party payments.
- Declares an emergency, putting the act in full force and effect on and after its passage and approval.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to state positions that have been vacant for a long time?
Can a department keep a recently vacant position?
What travel expense details must state departments report?
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
4 actions- Mar 25, 2026CommitteeTake bill off General Orders; referred to Appropriations
- Mar 13, 2026Reported out of Committee, Recommend place on General Orders
- Mar 6, 2026CommitteeReported Printed and Referred to Appropriations
- Mar 5, 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.
Inter-branch Resource Transfer
The legislation creates a direct mechanism in 2026 and 2027 to shift resources and personnel funding from executive branch agencies to legislative district support staff.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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