These new laws are set to go into effect in Idaho on July 1

The Idaho Legislature this year passed 350 new laws, the majority of which are set to go in effect July 1.

The new laws cover wide-ranging topics, such as execution methods, housing policies, foster child protections, large truck speed limits, and more.

The 2026 legislative session marked the most new bills enacted into laws in the last five years, according to the legislative Sine Die report.

Here are a selection of laws that go into effect starting in July.

Criminal Justice:

House Bill 37 (2025): This law, passed in 2025, makes a firing squad the primary method of execution in the state, rather than lethal injection. To provide time to prepare for the change, the legislation was not slated to go into effect until July 1, 2026. House Bill 803: Passed this year, this law keeps identities of firing squad members confidential. House Bill 522: This law makes it illegal to fly drones over prisons, in an effort to thwart efforts to drop contraband items onto correctional facility properties. House Bill 681: The law removes the statute of limitations for the crimes of aggravated lewd conduct with a child and producing or making of sexually exploitative material of a child, meaning the prosecution may happen at any point after the crime. House Bill 752 (partially in effect): This prevents people from entering bathrooms or changing facilities that don’t align with their biological sex. It applies to public venues and includes private businesses. A judge partially blocked its enforcement, but the law still applies to changing rooms and multi-stall bathrooms if there was a single-user bathroom available. House Bill 696: This adds to the definition of prohibited sexual contact with correctional facility inmates, making it easier to prosecute sexual abuse. This legislation was in response to InvestigateWest reporting that found few Idaho prison workers accused of sexually abusing incarcerated women were criminally charged. Senate Bill 1226: The law adds misdemeanor sexual battery and domestic violence to a list of crimes for which a DNA sample collection and thumbprints are required. Senate Bill 1232: The law ensures convicted criminals do not profit from the publicity of their crimes. It redirects money earned, such as through book royalties, to victims if it’s earned from criminal notoriety. It had been reported that Idaho had no state law to prohibit Bryan Kohberger from profiting off of a “tell all” book or other medium after his 2025 sentencing for the murder of four university students in Moscow. Kohberger has not disclosed his motive for the crimes.

Education:

House Bill 516: This law places restrictions on teachers unions’ use of taxpayer money, prohibiting them from using the district’s payroll system to pay dues. It prohibits things such as unions holding meetings on district property, and in some cases, letting teachers use paid leave to advocate on legislation. House Bill 623: It requires all public schools to have 60 seconds of silence at or near the beginning of each school day. Senate Bill 1288: It establishes a one-time fund of $5 million for services for special education students with particularly high needs.

Elections:

House Bill 560: This law allows prospective jurors to serve as volunteer poll workers instead of on a jury in certain circumstances. Senate Bill 1322: The law adds a requirement for a voter to provide either their date of birth or Idaho driver’s license number to use a signed affidavit as voter identification at the polls. Senate Bill 1356: This law only affects one entity: the Ada County Highway District. It makes the election of its commissioners countywide instead of by district. In 2027, it will also change the elections from non-partisan to partisan.

General government:

House Bill 542: This law requires large social media platforms to require parental consent for accounts belonging to children age 16 or younger. It also has requirements for privacy settings and “addictive” features for accounts for young people.House Bill 652: This will make hunting the Idaho state sport. The legislation was spearheaded by 9-year-old Betty Grandy. Senate Bill 1297: The “Conversational AI Safety Act” requires a host of restrictions for AI programs that simulate human conversations, including requirements that operators create protocols for users expressing suicidal ideation, disclose that the service is AI, and put in place limitations for users under the age of 18. Senate Bill 1300: This law changes how the directors of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Idaho Transportation Department are selected, making them gubernatorial appointments confirmed by the state Senate. Opponents have said the change may violate a condition of the gift of 11,000 acres that became Harriman State Park.

Health and human services:

Senate Bill 723: This law overhauls the oversight of children’s residential treatment facilities, addressing a report that found widespread abuse and gaps in safeguards. Senate Bill 1257: This law allows courts to pause or end parental visitation in cases of substantiated abuse by the parent against the child. It also allows courts to accelerate parental termination when there’s documented abuse. Senate Bill 1292: This law creates new training requirements to be a licensed foster parent.

Housing:

House Bill 583: The law limits regulations local governments may impose on short-term rentals, like Airbnbs or VRBOs. The will invalidate restrictions McCall and other resort cities have placed to try and address issues related to the rise of short-term rentals, BoiseDev reported. House Bill 800: It prevents local governments from banning smaller manufactured homes in certain residential areas. Senate Bill 1352: The law prevents many cities from requiring lot sizes larger than 1,500 square feet and limits setback requirements to allow for smaller, denser housing projects. Senate Bill 1354: It loosens local restrictions to allow for more accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs.

Transportation:

House Bill 533: This law eliminates the requirement to display registration stickers on vehicles. Valid registration is still required. House Bill 577: This eliminates the requirement to replace license plates every 10 years, and allows plates to be used as long as they are legible. House Bill 664: This allows semi-trucks to match speed limits of other passenger vehicles on highways. This means semis with five or more axles, weighing more than 26,000 pounds will be able to go 80 mph in some areas, such as on Interstate 84, instead of 10 mph below the posted speed limit.

Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.