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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho House Bill 619 Establishes Wildfire Risk Mitigation Fund and Grants for Property Owners
Last action · February 11, 2026: Reported Printed and Referred to Business
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 619 creates the Idaho Wildfire Risk Mitigation Fund to provide property-protection grants of up to $20,000 to citizens and fund educational wildfire-mitigation efforts, financed by excess insurance es.
Property owners gain access to state-backed grants and resources for clearing defensible space and protecting structures against wildfire, drawing funding from state insurance tax revenues when collections exceed $125 million.
- Wildfire mitigation funding legislation is frequently introduced in western states to address rising property insurance premiums and the increasing frequency of destructive wildfire seasons. context
- The Idaho Department of Insurance regulates insurance providers and administers specialized state funds related to risk pools and tax collections. 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.
Property owners in Idaho
Property owners become eligible to receive grants and educational resources for wildfire risk mitigation to protect their property.
Idaho Department of Insurance
The department and its director gain new rulemaking authority, administrative duties regarding asset accounting, and oversight of grant distributions.
Property insurance companies
Insurers operate in an environment supported by risk reduction efforts intended to attract and retain insurance options in the state property marketplace.
Key Facts
- Establishes the Idaho Wildfire Risk Mitigation Fund in the state treasury to be used solely for wildfire risk reduction, grants, and education.
- Limits individual grants distributed to Idaho citizens for wildfire risk mitigation to a maximum of $20,000 per grant.
- Finances the fund using one-fourth of excess premium taxes remaining after specific statutory deductions once collections exceed $125 million.
- Authorizes the fund to receive private sector contributions, grants, fees, and legislative appropriations, exempting the fund from all taxation.
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- Grants the Director of the Department of Insurance the power to promulgate rules, appoint an advisory committee, and select a fund administrator.
- Directs the State Treasurer to invest idle moneys of the fund, with earned interest retained by the fund.
- Amends Idaho Code to allocate portions of insurance premium tax collections to the insurance refund account, public employee retirement fund, and insurance insolvency administrative fund.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum amount an individual can receive from the wildfire risk mitigation grants?
Where does the money for the Idaho Wildfire Risk Mitigation Fund come from?
Who administers the newly created wildfire risk mitigation fund?
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
2 actions- Feb 11, 2026CommitteeReported Printed and Referred to Business
- Feb 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.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Tiered Allocation of Surplus Insurance Taxes
The bill links wildfire mitigation funding to the tail-end of insurance premium tax distributions, chaining funding directly after allocations to refund accounts, retirement funds, insolvency reserves, and high-risk reinsurance pools.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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