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Committee approves bill adding subpoena procedures and enforcement for administrative hearings
Summary
House Bill 36 would add explicit procedures and an enforcement mechanism for subpoenas in administrative contested-case hearings by aligning Idaho language with the 2010 model state Administrative Procedure Act. The committee voted to send the bill to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation.
House Bill 36, presented by Senator James Ruckde (presenting for Representative sponsors) and explained at length by Brian Nichols of the Idaho Office of Administrative Hearings, seeks to clarify the process and enforcement options for subpoenas issued in administrative contested‑case hearings. The measure moves contested-case subpoena procedure language closer to the 2010 model state Administrative Procedure Act and adds an enforcement mechanism already used in other Idaho statutes.
Brian Nichols, the chief administrative hearing officer, told the committee the bill is part of a broader effort to update Idaho’s contested-case provisions and to provide "bumpers" for subpoena issuance and enforcement. "There isn't really bumpers to how that's done or really an enforcement mechanism in the circumstance where someone may disobey a subpoena," Nichols said, and the bill borrows existing enforcement language already present elsewhere in Idaho law.
Senators asked clarifying questions; no outside witnesses testified. The committee voted to send the bill to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation by voice vote.
If enacted, the bill would give administrative law judges clearer statutory authority both to issue subpoenas and to seek enforcement when parties fail to comply. Supporters said the change would bring statutory clarity and reduce procedural uncertainty in contested administrative matters.
