Senate panel advances foster homes bill that removes rule requiring firearms and ammunition locked separately

The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee on an informational-and-action agenda advanced Senate Bill 1034 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation after discussion and at least one recorded objection.

Senator Brandon Shippey, sponsor of SB1034, told the committee the bill transfers existing foster-care licensing requirements that currently appear in administrative rules into statute and removes a specific rule provision that required foster-care providers to lock firearms and ammunition in two separate locations. Shippey said the remaining home-safety requirements in statute are basic — toilets, sinks, running water — and described the weapons-storage language as an undue burden that may have discouraged some prospective foster parents from licensing.

Shippey said the Department of Health…