Votes at a glance: key bills the Idaho Senate acted on March 18, 2025

The Idaho Senate took final action on a range of bills on March 18. Below are the measures that reached final consideration on the floor, the Senate’s recorded tally, and a brief description of each measure as stated on the floor.

- Senate Bill 10‑96 — Passed 20‑15. Education: changes distribution method for K‑12 discretionary funds to per‑student attributes (see separate article).

- House Bill 47 — Passed 30‑4 (1 absent). Adoption records: extends access to original birth records to all adoptees with a 30‑day notification to registered birth parents and options for contact or redaction.

- House Bill 9 (as amended) — Passed 35‑0. Administrative Procedure Act amendments: updates terminology (e.g., hearing officer > administrative law judge), modernizes provisions and adds due‑process safeguards for contested cases.

- House Bill 158 — Passed 35‑0. Reporter‑shield: creates statutory protections for journalists’ confidential sources and unpublished materials, with limited exceptions for imminent harm or national security.

- House Bill 208 — Passed 35‑0. Fire districts: technical corrections to consolidate and treat fire districts consistently with other taxing districts to remove disincentives for consolidation.

- House Bill 3‑30 — Passed 29‑6. Alcoholic beverages: expands historic‑theater carve‑out so theaters located in buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places can qualify for use of beer and wine licenses under specified conditions.

- House Bill 3‑29 — Passed 31‑3 (1 absent). Taxation: replaces property taxation of rate‑regulated electric and gas utilities with a consumption‑based tax (kilowatt‑hour and thermal energy tax) and directs revenue collection to the Idaho Tax Commission for distribution to local governments.

- House Bill 3‑31 — Passed 35‑0. Public charter school facilities program: modifies credit enhancement eligibility to broaden participation for charter school refinancing; sponsor said program produces interest savings for participating schools.

- House Bill 2‑90 — Passed 23‑11 (1 absent). Immunizations: moves existing Department of Health and Welfare immunization rules into statute; floor debate focused on record‑retention and exclusion language.

- House Bill 3‑27 — Passed 35‑0. Nursing: allows nurses to delegate specified tasks to medical assistants under defined supervision and standards.

Votes were taken by roll call or by using the roll from a recent recorded vote as noted in the floor proceedings. Where the clerk announced a tally on the record, the counts above match the Senate’s floor announcement.