All Roll Calls
Yes: 93 • No: 11
IdahoS 13062026 regular legislative sessionSenateWALLET
IRRIGATION DISTRICTS – Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding irrigation district hearings.
Sponsored By: RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
Signed by Governor
IRRIGATION DISTRICTS
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Landowners shed future irrigation district charges
Beginning July 1, 2026, Idaho landowners can stop future irrigation district assessments through qualifying land exclusion. The exclusion petition must be filed by December 1 for assessments after the filing year to be invalid. No liens attach for those later assessments. Landowners still owe assessments from the filing year and earlier, with liens remaining until payment. Excluded land also remains liable for its share of the district’s outstanding bond or contract debt.
Landowners get deadlines for exclusion hearings
Beginning July 1, 2026, Idaho irrigation boards can investigate land-exclusion petitions and grant or deny them by resolution. A resolution can address multiple petitions and must include reasons mailed to each petitioner. If the board rejects the facts and a hearing is not waived, it must hear the petition within 150 days of filing. A petitioner disputing a decision has 45 days after mailing to request a hearing in writing; otherwise, the decision becomes final. The board must set the hearing within 60 days after receiving the request and notify the petitioner, subject to deposit rules. Petitioners must prove their claims with reliable evidence, and the chair can administer oaths. The board must promptly order exclusion when it accepts the facts, the facts are proven, or it misses the 150-day hearing deadline. No hearing is held if the board orders exclusion beforehand.
Landowners face exclusion costs and deposit rules
Beginning July 1, 2026, Idaho landowners generally pay the costs of excluding land from an irrigation district. One exception covers excluded land that is too high or cannot receive district water without pumping. Another covers requests under Idaho Code 43-1102(a)(3) or (a)(4), with no delivery system connecting the land to the district’s delivery point for the five irrigation seasons before filing. Both exceptions require the petitioner or prior owners to have paid district assessments. When payment is required, the board can demand an estimated-cost deposit before hearing the petition. The 60-day hearing clock starts only after that deposit is paid. If actual costs are lower, the excess first pays amounts owed before exclusion; any remainder is refunded within 14 days after the hearing. If costs are higher, the difference is due within 14 days after receiving a statement, and exclusion waits until payment. The district bears costs charged to the petitioner after a successful appeal.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
Affiliation unavailable
Cosponsors
Kevin Cook
Republican • Senate
Jerald Raymond
Republican • House
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 3/19/2026
House Floor Vote
Yes: 59 • No: 11
Senate vote • 3/3/2026
Senate Floor Vote
Yes: 34 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Signed by Governor on 03/24/26 Session Law Chapter 111 Effective: 07/01/2026
3/24/2026Reported delivered to Governor at 3:45 p.m. on 03/23/26
3/24/2026Reported signed by the Speaker & ordered delivered to Governor
3/23/2026Received from Senate; Signed by Speaker; Returned to Senate
3/23/2026HouseReported enrolled; signed by President; to House for signature of Speaker
3/20/2026SenateReturned From House Passed; referred to enrolling
3/19/2026SenateRead Third Time in Full – PASSED - 59-11-0
3/19/2026HouseRead second time; Filed for Third Reading
3/18/2026HouseReported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
3/17/2026HouseRead First Time, Referred to Resources & Conservation
3/4/2026HouseReceived from the Senate, Filed for First Reading
3/4/2026HouseRead third time in full – PASSED - 34-0-1
3/3/2026SenateRead second time; filed for Third Reading
2/27/2026SenateReported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
2/26/2026SenateReported Printed; referred to Resources & Environment
2/17/2026SenateIntroduced; read first time; referred to JR for Printing
2/16/2026Senate
Bill Text
Bill Text
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