The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho authorizes Department of Commerce to award tourism and economic development grants to state universities
Last action · March 10, 2026: Reported Printed and Referred to Revenue & Taxation
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE – Amends existing law to authorize the Department of Commerce to use certain tax revenue to fund state institutions of higher education.
Expands the eligible recipients of state travel and convention grant funds to include universities, altering how a portion of the 50% statewide promotional pool is distributed among economic development initiatives.
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.
state institutions of higher education
State universities become eligible to apply for and receive grant funds from the travel and convention industry grant program.
Travel and Convention Industry Council
The council gains the official duty and authority to review, recommend, and approve grant requests from state institutions of higher education.
Department of Commerce
The department is explicitly tasked with awarding grants to state institutions of higher education and expending a portion of program funds for that purpose.
Key Facts
- The Department of Commerce is newly authorized to award grants to state institutions of higher education for economic development and tourism projects.
- The Travel and Convention Industry Council is empowered to review and recommend acceptance or denial of grant requests submitted by state institutions of higher education.
- Fifty percent of funds derived from the travel assessment program, after administrative costs, are allocated for statewide travel programs and funding state institutions of higher education for economic development.
- The act declares an emergency, setting the effective date as July 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are the grant programs funded?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 10, 2026CommitteeReported Printed and Referred to Revenue & Taxation
- Mar 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.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 45)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools