All Roll Calls
Yes: 102 • No: 1
IdahoS 11022025 regular legislative sessionSenateWALLET
IDAHO RESIDENTIAL CARE OR ASSISTED LIVING ACT – Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding the Idaho Residential Care or Assisted Living Act.
Sponsored By: HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
Signed by Governor
IDAHO RESIDENTIAL CARE OR ASSISTED LIVING ACT
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
24 provisions identified: 11 benefits, 4 costs, 9 mixed.
Care residents get discharge notice and appeals
Facilities can transfer or discharge residents only for medical reasons, the resident’s welfare, other residents’ welfare, or nonpayment. In non-emergencies, residents must get at least 30 calendar days’ notice. Residents can appeal an involuntary discharge.
Assisted residents keep income after allowances
Residents whose board and care is paid by public assistance keep income above the allowed rent, utilities, and food costs. Idaho Department rules set those allowances. This replaces the former board-and-care allowance standard. The law does not state how much an individual resident keeps.
Care plans follow each resident’s needs
Facilities must assess each resident’s needs, develop an individual care plan, provide appropriate services, and honor resident rights. Initial assessments can happen during the 30 days before move-in but must be finished before admission. When needed, administrators or managers must consult residents or people involved in their care while developing service agreements. Agreements still require annual reviews and reviews after specified diagnosis or condition changes, but need not list the next review date.
Care rate increases cannot predate notice
Facilities cannot charge a higher rate for a changed level of care before giving notice. Facilities must describe services and costs at admission. They must also give 30 days’ notice before changing billing practices or policies. The law does not set the amount of a care-related rate increase.
Care residents get prompt record access
Idaho care facility administrators must put policies into practice that protect and promote each resident’s rights. Residents and people authorized by law get immediate access to resident records upon request. Facilities must provide copies within two business days.
Regular nursing checks for care residents
Idaho care facility administrators must ensure nursing services follow state requirements. A licensed nurse must visit at least every 90 days to assess each resident; supervised delegation is allowed. Nurses must be available for specified health or mental-status changes and must review and carry out new orders. They must notify a physician or authorized provider when a resident repeatedly refuses physician orders. Each resident’s service agreement must also state when outside services are needed.
Residents get care consent safeguards
Support devices with restraining qualities require a nurse’s assessment, consideration of less restrictive options, and documented written consent. Residents able to consent must receive risk and benefit information from a licensed health professional. Otherwise, the facility must document consent from the appropriate guardian, representative, or power of attorney. Facilities must train staff, include device use in the service plan, and review it quarterly. For informed refusals of medical care, facilities must document consequences explained to residents and legal guardians, plus notification of their provider.
Residents get rights notices and visitor protections
Facilities must explain resident rights aloud and in writing at admission, post them, and give updates when rights change. Written copies must be available on reasonable request and explain personal-fund protections and the right to report abuse, neglect, or property misuse. Residents can make those reports to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare at any time. For in-person visits covered by the law, facilities cannot impose stricter health precautions on visitors than on staff. Facilities also cannot deny those visits because of a visitor’s vaccination status.
Care operators get narrower enforcement exposure
Agencies can cite facilities only for violating requirements expressly stated in applicable law or rule. Required corrective actions must be written and identify the corresponding rule. Operating without a required license can lead to a misdemeanor, but that penalty is now discretionary rather than mandatory. The maximum penalty remains six months in county jail, a $5,000 fine, or both.
Care inspections follow schedules and protect interviews
Initial, licensing, renewal, follow-up, and fire safety inspections require at least 30 days’ notice to facilities. Initial surveys are due within 90 days after licensing, followed by licensing surveys within 15 months. Complaint surveys remain unannounced and are scheduled based on potential severity. Inspectors can examine care, records, resident accounts, premises, and other areas needed to check compliance. Resident interviews must be private unless residents request otherwise, and the department can use qualified public or private inspectors.
Care penalties can fund resident improvements
Facilities can spend money equal to a civil penalty fixing deficiencies instead of paying the penalty. This option excludes deficiencies requiring resident relocation or facility closure, and facilities must document correction costs to the department. The department can also distribute civil penalty money through grants to improve resident care and quality of life. Eligible funds include money held on July 1, 2025, and money collected later. The department must set grant application and distribution guidelines; the law sets no total grant amount.
Care residents lose explicit storage guarantees
The law removes an express requirement for Idaho care facilities to provide each resident with a separate living-area storage space. It also removes the express requirement for at least one locked cabinet or drawer. Residents lose these specific guarantees for storing personal belongings.
Residents lose some information access guarantees
Facilities no longer must tell prospective residents about options and rights through other programs, including Medicare where applicable. The state health department no longer must supply forms for that information. Facilities must still admit advocates from community legal-services programs at reasonable times when those programs provide free help to residents. But the law removes the list of protected activities, such as rights education, claims help, and private talks with consenting residents.
Homeowner tax relief changes during care
Beginning July 1, 2025, Idaho removes one facility reference from its homestead property-tax relief definition of a care facility. The removed reference is to Idaho Code § 39-3302(16); other listed categories and the remaining dwelling category stay. This definition applies to otherwise qualified homeowners living in care who do not let paying occupants use their homestead. The change does not establish that any particular homeowner loses relief or specify a tax amount.
Narrower standards define serious care failures
Inadequate care now means an action or failure that harms a resident or creates likely immediate jeopardy to health, safety, or well-being. This replaces a broader list of care failures and violations. Operating more than 30 days without a designated licensed administrator is no longer classified as a core issue. Core issues still include abuse, neglect, exploitation, inadequate care, specified fire-system failures without a fire watch, and denied surveyor access.
Resident money gets separation, fewer guarantees
With written authorization to manage a resident’s money, facilities must keep every amount separate from operating accounts. This replaces the former threshold of five times the personal needs allowance; interest-bearing accounts are no longer expressly required. Residents retain reasonable access to fund records, but the law no longer expressly grants that access to legal representatives. After death, facilities must promptly send funds to the estate administrator; department clients’ remaining balances go to Medicaid estate recovery. The law also removes the express final-accounting requirement.
Care incident deadlines replace complaint procedures
Facilities must keep a complaint process, but prior agency-approval, immediate-response, complainant-update, anonymous-complaint documentation, and meeting requirements are removed. Staff must immediately report serious incidents, accidents, and abuse, neglect, or exploitation allegations to administrators; health-and-safety complaints require reporting within one business day. Administrators must notify the licensing agency of reportable incidents within one business day and contact protective services or police when required. Administrators or designees must investigate, track patterns, and complete written reports within 30 calendar days for each accident, incident, complaint, or allegation. Facilities must take immediate corrective action after abuse, neglect, exploitation, incidents, or accidents and monitor it to prevent recurrence.
Serious care problems get correction deadlines
The licensing agency must provide written deficiency notices, proposed correction plans, and reasonable compliance periods. For core issues, its report is due within 10 business days after the exit conference or receipt of final additional materials. Facilities then have 10 business days after receipt to submit acceptable plans covering corrections, monitoring, and completion dates. Corrections are generally due within 45 days of the report’s exit date; unusual circumstances require written approval for extensions. Immediate-jeopardy problems require immediate correction, but non-core deficiencies do not require facility-submitted plans.
Surprise care inspections, limited online complaints
Idaho’s licensing agency must inspect without warning when it reasonably believes a care facility violated the law’s requirements. The department cannot list complaints on its public website. However, a substantiated complaint resulting in a citation may appear in public inspection results. Current facility deficiency lists and correction plans are available upon request. People can request them at the facility or in writing from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Care facilities gain alternative inspection paths
The department must accept valid qualifying accreditation surveys instead of routine state inspections when standards meet or exceed state requirements. Facilities must submit required reports with renewals; results remain publicly inspectable, and accrediting bodies must follow HIPAA and protect resident information. The department can inspect uncovered periods and still conduct complaint and emergency inspections. Gold- or silver-rated facilities with no significant deficiencies on their latest inspection must self-inspect complaints not involving health or safety. They must report findings and corrections; the department can verify health-and-safety complaints and incomplete reports.
Care facilities get medication handling options
Facility policies must allow licensed nurses to fill individual-dose medication systems under conditions stated in those policies. Labels must show the medication name, dosage, amount, time to take it, and special instructions. Facilities can also use bulk containers for over-the-counter medicines.
Care facilities share administrators, revise staffing
One licensed administrator can serve up to three facilities, replacing the prior approved-plan approach. In that arrangement, on-site managers must handle all day-to-day duties; an administrator or designee must be reachable and available at all times. Hands-on care or supervision staff must be at least 17 unless they have completed a certified nursing assistant course. The law removes language allowing extra staff when building conditions or residents’ disabilities indicate emergency assistance is needed. It also removes assessment benchmarks for when certified nursing assistants or licensed nurses are needed.
Care facility licensing allows delayed fire inspections
New or converted facilities and buildings changing ownership need licenses before operating; new operators or lessees must complete licensing and provide requested documents. Idaho-established operators with at least one operating facility need not submit updated policies; fire safety inspections can follow licensing but are due within 180 days. Minor ownership changes require notice within 60 days, and the department can allow exceptions for temporary management. Facilities are exempt when residents obtain supportive services from an Idaho-approved provider with no legal ownership in the facility operator. The law removes the director’s authority to exempt similar facilities.
Seven assisted living rules lose force
After July 1, 2025, seven identified provisions of Idaho’s residential assisted living rules have no legal force. They are IDAPA 16.03.22 provisions 001(05), 130, 152(03)(b), 215, 300, 550, and 560. The supplied text does not describe their contents or establish the resulting household costs or benefits.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
Affiliation unavailable
Cosponsors
Camille Blaylock
Republican • Senate
Dori Healey
Republican • House
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 3/19/2025
House Floor Vote
Yes: 67 • No: 1
Senate vote • 2/24/2025
Senate Floor Vote
Yes: 35 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Signed by Governor on 03/28/25 Session Law Chapter 208 Effective: 07/01/2025; 07/01/2025 IDAPA Sunset Clause - SECTION 23
4/3/2025Reported delivered to Governor at 11:30 a.m. on 03/24/25
3/24/2025Reported signed by the Speaker & ordered delivered to Governor
3/24/2025Received from Senate; Signed by Speaker; Returned to Senate
3/21/2025HouseReported enrolled; signed by President; to House for signature of Speaker
3/20/2025SenateReturned From House Passed; referred to enrolling
3/20/2025SenateRead Third Time in Full – PASSED - 67-1-2
3/19/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar one legislative day
3/18/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar one legislative day
3/17/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar until Monday, March 17, 2025
3/14/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar one legislative day
3/14/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar one legislative day
3/13/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar one legislative day
3/12/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar one legislative day
3/11/2025HouseU.C. to hold place on third reading calendar one legislative day
3/10/2025HouseRead second time; Filed for Third Reading
3/7/2025HouseReported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
3/6/2025HouseRead First Time, Referred to Health & Welfare
2/25/2025HouseReceived from the Senate, Filed for First Reading
2/25/2025HouseRead third time in full – PASSED - 35-0-0
2/24/2025SenateRead second time; filed for Third Reading
2/17/2025SenateReported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
2/14/2025SenateReported Printed; referred to Health & Welfare
2/11/2025SenateIntroduced; read first time; referred to JR for Printing
2/10/2025Senate
Bill Text
Bill Text
Related Bills
S 1142, EDUCATION – Amends and repeals existing law to transfer funds from the Empowering Parents Grant Program Fund to the General Fund and to repeal the Empowering Parents Grant Program.
H 0479, TAXATION – Amends House Bill 40, House Bill 304, and existing law to revise provisions regarding certain tax deductions, certain corporate income tax rates, certain protections for taxpayers, and certain sales tax distributions and to revise an effective date.
H 0482, APPROPRIATIONS – Relates to the appropriation and transfer of moneys in the state treasury for fiscal years 2025 and 2026; provides an additional appropriation to the Military Division for fiscal year 2025; and provides pay increases to the Military Division in accordance with the federal general schedule pay scale.
H 0465, APPROPRIATIONS – PUBLIC SCHOOLS – DIVISION OF STUDENT SUPPORT – Relates to the appropriation to the Public Schools Educational Support Program’s Division of Student Support for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
H 0460, APPROPRIATIONS – DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION – Relates to the appropriation to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
H 0477, APPROPRIATIONS – DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE – FOSTER AND ASSISTANCE PAYMENT PROGRAM – Relates to the appropriation to the Department of Health and Welfare for fiscal year 2026.