Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Senate committee holds bill that would make solicitation a felony after debate on first‑offense penalty
Summary
The Idaho Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted 6–3 to hold House Bill 88 in committee after lawmakers questioned making first‑time commercial solicitation a felony. Representative Britt Raybould said the change implements an Attorney General recommendation to address demand in human trafficking.
The Idaho Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted 6–3 to hold House Bill 88 in committee after lawmakers debated a proposal to remove a misdemeanor provision from the commercial solicitation statute and make solicitation a felony.
Representative Britt Raybould, R‑District 34, told the committee the change is intended to follow a recommendation in a 2023 attorney general report to “better address the demand side of the market for commercial ****** activity.” She said the bill would remove the misdemeanor tier and leave only the felony provision, pointing to Idaho Code 18‑112 as the general felony punishment reference and saying: “We should expect more of individuals in our state when it comes to this and … it is wrong to pay for ***.”
Supporters of the bill framed it…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
