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Senate State Affairs approves rules on signature gatherer badges, utility customer relations and alcohol licensing; exception taken on telephone billing clause
Summary
The committee approved multiple administrative dockets: a temporary rule defining paid signature gatherer badge formatting, a customer-relations rule changing 'may' to 'shall', an administrative rewrite for telephone customer relations approved with an exception for two subsections, and two alcohol control rules including discussion about subjective licensing language. Motions carried by voice vote.
The Senate State Affairs Committee considered and approved several administrative rules on Jan. 15, 2025.
Robert McQuade, Assistant Chief Deputy for the Idaho Secretary of State, summarized Docket No. 34-0801-2401 as a temporary rule that "defined the formatting of paid signature gatherers’ badges," specifying badge size, color, font and language. Senator Harris moved approval and Senator Den Hartog seconded; the motion carried by voice vote.
Stephen Goodson of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission summarized Docket No. 31-2101-2401, noting it amended the Utility Customer Relations Rules as requested by the House in 2024, including changing section 304 from "may" to "shall." The committee approved that docket by voice vote.
Mr. Goodson also presented Docket No. 31-4101-2401, a rewrite of Telephone Customer Relations Rules intended to incorporate federal code by reference and clarify recurring disputes about deposits, guarantees, billing and service. Senator Adams asked specifically whether Sections 205.02.a and 205.02.b (customer responsibility for payment of another customer’s bill) were moved or addressed; Mr. Goodson said retaining those passages would be acceptable. Senator Adams moved to approve the docket except for 205.02.a and 205.02.b; Senator Den Hartog seconded and the motion carried by voice vote.
Lt. Colonel Wheatley of the Idaho State Police presented two Alcohol Beverage Control dockets. Docket No. 11-0501-2402 (temporary rule) was framed as a response to Title 23 that defines statutory terms such as "owner" and "business," and was approved by voice vote. For Docket No. 11-0501-2403 (ZBR chapter rewrite), senators raised questions about why building-structure definitions appear in a section on controlled access to minors and the subjective standard in 11.02.b—"demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director"—which some senators worried could allow bias in licensing decisions. Lt. Colonel Wheatley said the wording was intended to help Alcohol Beverage Control identify true restaurants and to allow necessary nuance; the committee approved the docket by voice vote.
All actions in the minutes are recorded as motions carried by voice vote; the minutes do not provide numerical roll-call tallies.
