House Business Committee sets rules, deadlines and paperless workflow for 2025 session

Chairman Clow opened the Idaho House Business Committee’s organizational meeting on Jan. 9 by reading a brief quote and laying out how the committee will operate during the 2025 legislative session. The committee—made up of returning and new members—set expectations for bill drafting, public testimony, and document access and reviewed key legislative calendar dates.

Clow said he prefers sponsors bring a draft bill before requesting a rewrite or RS and reiterated that the committee will try to keep debate focused and avoid procedural shortcuts. "I prefer you bring me a draft of the bill before you request the RS," Chairman Clow said. He said the committee intends to avoid motions such as calls for the previous question and to do the "hard work" of debate instead.

The chair outlined deadlines the committee will follow: sponsors should submit RS drafts to the Legislative Services Office (LSO) by Feb. 3; Feb. 10 is the last day this committee can introduce legislation without special permission from the Speaker; the committee aims to complete its rules review by Feb. 28; the interhouse transmittal target is March 3; and the overall target for sine die is March 21. Clow said Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) timing in March is part of the schedule that enables the session to adjourn by that date.

The committee also announced operational changes. Members will use a paperless workflow with materials posted to a shared OneDrive folder, and IT staff will be available after the meeting to assist members in accessing files. "We will be in a paperless, committee, an electronic committee," Clow said. He asked members to leave committee folders behind when the meeting ends and noted that an on-screen "scrolling agenda" will let members move quickly from one item to the next.

On public testimony, Clow said sponsors should present first, followed by any expert witnesses, committee questions, then public testimony. He said he will generally limit individual public testimony to two minutes and asked members to avoid asking rhetorical questions during RS or bill review. "I have on all the agendas a right to limit testimony to 2 minutes, and I'll make the judgment call by how much time we have for the day," he said. He added that sponsors should note incorrect statements raised during testimony and address them in closing remarks rather than interrupting the testifier.

Representative Faye Thompson and Representative Steve Birch volunteered to proofread committee minutes. The chair said the committee will normally not meet on Fridays, and that a likely meeting next week would be Wednesday, Jan. 14. Vice Chairman Jordan Redmond will work on rules and scheduling; Redmond was introduced as the committee’s vice chairman.

Members used the introductions portion of the organizational meeting to identify districts and committee tenure; several members noted long service on the committee while others said this was their first term. The meeting had a light agenda and included an invitation to members to request a printed agenda page in their folder if they prefer a paper copy during the meeting.

No public hearings were scheduled for this meeting and the committee took no formal votes or motions on legislation. The chair closed the meeting after reviewing logistics and next steps for rules work and OneDrive setup: "Once you open up your file you can start out with the agenda and work your way down as we go through it," he said, and then adjourned.