Senate committee holds bill that would make solicitation a felony after debate on first‑offense penalty

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 as a demand‑side tool to undercut human trafficking. Raybould said data discussed in prior work informed the proposal, adding that “of those who have purchased in the last year, over 6 plus times, that’s 72 percent of that particular population,” a statistic she cited to argue that most purchasers are repeat offenders.

Senators on the committee raised concerns about severity and collateral consequences. Senator Foreman said a five‑year prison term for a first offense “is overly harsh,” and questioned whether existing law—which treated first offenses as misdemeanors and repeats as felonies—already provided fair gradations of punishment. Senator Shippey offered a hypothetical about a young person making a single mistake and said upgrading the first offense to a felony could be disproportionate.

Several senators, including Senator Wintrow, noted the committee should balance victim‑centered approaches with enforcement tools. Raybould and other supporters said prosecutors still bear the burden of proof and that charging decisions would depend on evidence. Raybould also said the proposal does not create a new maximum penalty unique to this section, but relies on the existing felony sentencing framework.

Committee action and votes

Senator Ricks moved to send the bill to the floor without recommendation; Senator Lehi seconded that motion but the committee then considered a substitute motion. Senator Lenny moved, with Senator Foreman seconding, to hold House Bill 88 in committee. On a roll call the motion to hold carried 6–3. The transcript records the final tally as 6 in favor and 3 opposed; individual roll call names are recorded in the hearing record but not fully tabulated in the committee summary provided to the committee at the end of the discussion.

Why it matters

Backers said the change would make it easier for prosecutors to pursue demand‑side offenders and thereby reduce the market that contributes to trafficking. Critics said the existing misdemeanor→felony progression already provided penalties for repeat offenders and warned of unintended consequences for individuals mistakenly charged or for one‑time offenders.

The committee held the bill in committee; Representative Raybould thanked the committee for the hearing. No further public testimony on House Bill 88 was recorded in the committee transcript.