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Committee backs bill to align recall petition thresholds with district elections in large Idaho cities
Summary
House Bill 3 77 would change recall petition signature requirements so they match district‑based elections in cities that crossed the 100,000 population threshold. The committee voted to send the bill to the House with a due‑pass recommendation after testimony from a county clerk.
The House committee voted to send House Bill 3 77 to the House with a due‑pass recommendation after hearing sponsor remarks and one public testimony.
Representative Steve Tanner (District 13) introduced HB 3 77, describing it as a drafting correction to bring recall petition rules into alignment with district‑based city council elections. Tanner said a 2020 law (House Bill 413) required cities with populations greater than 100,000 at the last decennial federal census to establish council districts, and he told the committee that city elections in Boise, Meridian and Nampa now use six districts. "If this statute doesn't get changed," Tanner said, "...you would have to get 20% of the registered electors from the whole city at large, which would make it very difficult to recall somebody from a particular district." The bill would require that the 20% signature threshold be calculated from the electors registered in the council member's district rather than the entire city.
Rick Hogewbaum, Canyon County clerk and former Nampa council member, testified in support and said the existing language is "carryover" from when council members were elected at large and needs to be clarified for district elections.
Representative Alfieri asked why the 100,000 threshold was chosen; Tanner said he did not have the historical answer and that the 2020 law set that threshold but noted that cities with fewer than 100,000 may choose district elections under current law. Representative Alfieri suggested 50,000 might be a better trigger; Tanner replied that the current statutory scheme already permits districts for smaller cities, and that lowering the threshold would require separate legislation.
The committee voted to send HB 3 77 to the House with a due‑pass recommendation.
The measure was presented as corrective drafting intended to match recall petition mechanics to how council members are elected in the affected cities; the sponsor named Boise, Meridian and Nampa as the three cities currently affected by the 100,000 threshold.
