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Committee backs bill to fold major unemployment-insurance rules into Idaho statute
Summary
House Bill 54 would move large portions of Department of Labor rules into statute (eliminating an estimated 65% of rules), create six new statutory sections and amend 24 others to make core UI requirements explicit in law; the Senate Commerce Committee recommended the bill for passage by voice vote.
Janie Revere, director of the Idaho Department of Labor, told the Senate Commerce Committee that House Bill 54 would codify significant portions of existing department rules into statute to improve clarity and keep program requirements in a single location.
Revere said the measure responds to two recent legislative changes: a requirement that agencies consider moving rule language to statute when appropriate, and a change in judicial interpretation of agency rules. She said the department rarely changes rules, but many key components of the unemployment-insurance program (for example, the requirement that claimants be able and available for work) currently live in rule rather than statute.
Under the proposal, the department would eliminate about 65% of its rules and consolidate core program requirements into statute. Revere said the bill creates six new sections of employment-security law, amends 24 additional sections, and makes a single change to claims-for-wages law (Title 45, Chapter 6) to maintain program readability and statutory conformity with federal UI requirements. She emphasized that there is no fiscal impact to the general fund or to federal funds because the bill does not change program eligibility or benefit amounts.
Revere told the committee the changes are intended to keep Idaho's program conforming with federal requirements under the Social Security Act and the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, which she said saves Idaho businesses "hundreds of dollars per employee annually" in compliance costs. She reported no negative feedback from the department's outreach to businesses, industry and unions.
Senator Guthrie moved that House Bill 54 be sent to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation. Senator Ward Engle King seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the transcript records no roll-call tally.
If enacted as described by the department, the bill would move substantive eligibility and taxation rules into statute while preserving procedural guidance in administrative rule.
