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DFM bureau chief previews Idaho rulemaking timeline, explains temporary versus pending rules ahead of July 1 changes
Summary
Lauren Smizer, a bureau chief at the Division of Financial Management, briefed the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on the state rulemaking process, explaining the hierarchy of law, the five-step rulemaking sequence, the role of temporary rules and how pending rules are scheduled to take effect July 1, 2025. She pointed senators to Town Hall
Lauren Smizer, a bureau chief at the Division of Financial Management overseeing rule review, told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that temporary administrative rules are currently in effect but most have corresponding pending rules that will become final on July 1, 2025, if the Legislature does not act otherwise.
Smizer walked senators through the rulemaking hierarchy—from the Idaho Constitution and statutory law down to agency rules and nonbinding policies—and summarized the five-step process agencies follow: negotiated rulemaking, proposed rule with a public comment period, adoption of pending rule, legislative review (the committee's current step) and final rule effective date. She emphasized the difference between temporary rules (which can be effective immediately) and pending rules (which are the final drafts submitted for legislative review).
The bureau chief said agencies must identify the statutory authority for rules in notices and must disclose effective dates, fiscal impacts above $10,000 and contact information. She noted the Administrative Procedures Act, Title 67, Chapter 52 of Idaho Code, governs the process and cited Idaho Constitution Article III, Section 29 as the basis for legislative review authority. Smizer encouraged senators to use materials in the pending- and temporary-rule books and said staff will be available during the committee's rule-review sessions.
On timing, she explained why the committee sees two separate rulebooks: many temporary rules were needed to be effective immediately and will later be replaced by the corresponding pending rule, which by statute becomes final on July 1, 2025 unless the legislature adopts a concurrent resolution to the contrary. Smizer also noted a statutory change requiring periodic legislative review of administrative rules on an eight-year schedule beginning in 2026.
Smizer said the governor's Town Hall Idaho site hosts executive-agency meetings and materials and offered the committee contact information and assistance from her team, which includes Brad Hunt (rules coordinator), a rules specialist named Logan and Margaret in the DFM office.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about temporary rules and whether staff would be present for the next day's review session; Smizer said staff would attend.
No formal committee action was taken; Smizer's presentation was informational and intended to prepare senators for the pending rules the committee will consider at its next meeting.
