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Committee moves bill to amend search-and-rescue reimbursement threshold to amendment order
Summary
Senate committee sent House Bill 185 to the fourteenth order for a possible amendment to raise the reimbursement threshold from $4,000 to $8,000; sponsors and law‑enforcement witnesses said the change reflects higher costs for rescues involving helicopters, specialized equipment and prolonged searches.
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee sent House Bill 185 to the fourteenth order for possible amendment after sponsors described the proposal as a technical update to the statewide search‑and‑rescue reimbursement thresholds.
Senator James Ruckde (District 29) introduced the bill, saying it would raise the point at which counties may seek catastrophic reimbursement from $4,000 to $8,000. Kelly Brasfield, representing the Idaho Association of Counties, said the association supports the bill and the proposed drafting amendment. Sheriff Chris Goetz, testifying remotely for the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association, said the change is needed because search‑and‑rescue operations now often require costly resources such as helicopters, underwater robots and other specialty equipment.
Goetz said helicopter bills “easily surpass $4,000” if used more than two or three hours, that catastrophic fund reimbursements can take longer because the catastrophic fund is reviewed infrequently, and that the catastrophic fund currently holds about $700,000 with an average of roughly five incidents a year at the current threshold. He said the bill does not increase fees but raises the amount that counties can draw from the standard fund before seeking catastrophic reimbursement.
Sponsors noted a drafting oversight: a $4,000 reference on the first page (line 18) should be changed to $8,000 in the proposed amendment. The committee voted to send the bill to the fourteenth order for that technical amendment; no final floor enactment decision was made in committee.
The bill affects how counties seek reimbursement for search‑and‑rescue operations and does not itself appropriate additional funding, according to committee testimony.
