Idaho lawmaker introduces measure to remove Yellow Dot emergency-information program from state code

Representative Heather Scott, R.-District 2, introduced RS31902 on the House Health & Welfare Committee agenda, a measure to remove the Yellow Dot Program from state code.

The bill’s sponsor said the program — originally enacted around 2020 — “was a well intentioned program” but now “lacks oversight and it doesn’t track participation and there’s no dedicated funding.” Heather Scott said the legislation would “remove 1 whole chapter of code in 10 sections.”

Scott described the program as one that allowed residents to provide medical information that is tied to a yellow sticker placed in a vehicle; first responders would recognize the sticker and look up the information. “They give all your medical information to the government,” Scott said, and added that when emergency medical services arrive “they're trained for this kind of stuff. They're not gonna go look on a website to dig up information.”

Scott told the committee she consulted the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and was told the agency had no objection to removing the program from code. She said most people she spoke to were unaware the program existed and that she personally voted against the original bill in 2020 and has sought to repeal it since.

Representative Redmond moved to introduce RS31902. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the measure was introduced and will return for further consideration, including a possible hearing at which members expect fuller explanation and discussion.

No formal vote on repeal occurred at the meeting; the action taken was to introduce the resolution and place it on the committee’s legislative calendar for later consideration.