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House approves bill letting counties appoint interim cemetery-district boards
Summary
Lawmakers passed House Bill 658 to allow counties to appoint a quorum to cemetery-district boards that have all resignations, and to require counties to maintain basic operations until a board is appointed, sponsors said.
The Idaho House passed House Bill 658 after the sponsor described a local example where all three members of a cemetery maintenance district board resigned, leaving the political subdivision unable to govern itself.
"This bill empowers the counties... to appoint enough members to the board so it's an odd-number quorum so that there's no stalemate," the sponsor said on the floor, describing the Joplin Cemetery case and noting counties would be reimbursed from cemetery-district funds for any applicant-search costs. The bill also requires counties to maintain essential cemetery operations, such as basic maintenance and filing necessary tax or burial documents, until a new board is appointed.
Sponsor remarks framed the change as a local-government fix to enable more proximate governance than relying on gubernatorial appointments. After brief debate, the House approved the bill and the clerk announced that the title was corrected and the bill will be transmitted to the Senate.
Next steps: House Bill 658 will be sent to the Senate for consideration.
