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Health and Welfare director asks committee to clear 150 obsolete code sections in HB 91
Summary
House Bill 91, presented by Department of Health and Welfare Director Alex Adams, would repeal roughly 150 obsolete or inoperative sections of Idaho law. Adams told the committee the deletions have no fiscal impact and are intended to declutter state code; the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation.
Alex Adams, director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told the Health and Welfare Committee that House Bill 91 would remove approximately 150 obsolete code sections from department statutes.
Adams said the deletions include defunct committees, grants with no current funding and “arcane” provisions such as a historical requirement to buy newspaper ads to shame adulterated‑oil manufacturers. He described the change as decluttering statutory text so the code better reflects current practice and oversight. “None of these are operative or in effect,” Adams said, and he told senators the fiscal impact of the bill is $0.
The nut graf: HB 91 is a housekeeping and code‑cleanup bill. Adams said the department reviewed chapters proactively after a statutory directive this legislative session and posted changes publicly to give stakeholders time to review. He said the department coordinated with other sponsors to avoid inadvertently repealing provisions that had been updated in separate bills.
Sen. Wintrow asked whether sections related to assisted living and inspections would be affected; Adams said the department coordinated HB 91 with recent assisted‑living legislation so no necessary inspection authority would be lost. Senators asked for assurances that the bill would not unintentionally remove active licensing or inspection language; Adams described steps taken to “zipper” recent bills with this cleanup so operational sections remain intact.
A motion to send HB 91 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation was made and seconded; the committee voted in favor by voice vote and the bill was advanced.
What comes next: HB 91 moves to the full Senate for further consideration. The department said the deletions are intended only to remove obsolete text and not to change current regulatory authority or create new programs.
Votes at a glance: Motion to send House Bill 91 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation — approved by committee (voice vote).
