Senate Commerce Committee rejects final rule 17.0101.305.01.A

The Idaho Senate Commerce Committee voted to reject final rule 17.0101.305.01.A, removing a contested sentence from subsection A of IDAPA 17.0101.305.01.

The action came after Lauren Smizer, regulatory and legislative affairs bureau chief at the Department of Finance and Management (DFM), told the committee that an earlier procedural step had left the disputed sentence in the final rule and that the committee needed to reject that final rule language in its entirety. "Now, I think the next motion needs to be the rejection of the final rule, of 17.0101 0.305 0.01 point A," Smizer said during the meeting.

Committee members described the item as a technical correction. Senator Foreman moved to reject the final rule; the motion was seconded by Senator Lakey. After brief clarifying remarks from staff and members, the committee approved the motion by voice vote. A committee clerk announced, "Ayes have it," and the chair confirmed the final rule 17.0101.305.01.A had been rejected.

Why it matters: The motion removed language the committee and staff said had been left in the final version of a pending rules docket after an earlier action. Staff advised the committee that rejecting the final rule language was required to achieve the committee's intent to eliminate the blue-struck sentence and the subsection as drafted in the pending-rule materials.

Committee process and sequence: Members said the committee had previously acted on the pending rule but that the earlier vote restored the blue-struck language into the final rule text. Staff explained that two distinct steps were necessary: first, to reject the pending-rule change and, second, to reject the final-rule language that remained. After staff walked through that sequence, committee members moved and passed the rejection of the final-rule sentence and subsection.

The committee returned to its agenda after the vote and moved on to approve minutes and other items.