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House advances multiple bills on third reading, including petition disclosure and foster-youth benefits
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Summary
The Idaho House passed several bills on third reading Feb. 18, including measures requiring disclosure on paid petition signature-gatherer name tags, codifying protections for foster youths’ survivor benefits, and clarifying school facility funding rules; all passed measures will be transmitted to the Senate.
The Idaho House of Representatives passed several measures on third reading Feb. 18, advancing bills that address petition-gatherer disclosures, foster-youth survivor benefits, and school facility funding. Each successful bill will be transmitted to the Senate for consideration.
The most immediate action on the floor was House Bill 501, described by a sponsoring representative as a disclosure measure for paid signature gatherers. "It requires signature gatherers on certain petitions to have the name ... and if someone is paying them, they have to say who or what entity is paying them on their name tag," the representative said on the floor. The roll call was recorded in the transcript as "65 ayes, 5 absent unsecused," and the presiding officer announced that House Bill 501 had passed the House and will be transferred to the Senate.
House Bill 558, described by another member as a bill to protect survivor Social Security funds for foster youth from being used to offset state costs, was presented as a codification of protections the state had already implemented administratively. On the floor the sponsor said lawmakers wanted to "make sure that those funds ... the parents ... can actually do to provide for their kids" once youth leave state care. The transcript records the vote as "53 ayes, 13 a, 4 absent and excused" and notes the bill passed the House.
House Bill 608, a follow-up to the public school cooperatives facilities fund passed last year, was presented as technical and clarifying. The sponsor summarized that the bill "clarif[ies] that in certain cases, districts that have run bonds that fall less than the amount of the acquired project do not need to run a supplemental bond" and explained adjustments tied to an equalization index and limits on extending repayment beyond constitutionally mandated periods. The roll call was recorded as "66 ayes, 4 abstinent excused," and the bill passed the House and will be sent to the Senate.
House Bill 636 would add flexibility to the school district facility fund, allowing additional loan or lease options that officials said are meant to address maintenance and building needs without immediate taxpayer burden. The House approved the measure by roll call; the title correction was declined and the bill will be transmitted to the Senate.
All passage tallies are reported verbatim from the session transcript; several entries contain unclear transcription tokens (for example, the transcript records "13 a" and uses spellings such as "unsecused" and "abstinent" in places). Where vote tallies are ambiguous in the record, the article quotes the transcript language rather than attempting to infer a corrected tally.
The House adjourned to reconvene at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
