Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0874 – Youth Service Organization Child Protection Act
Bill Summary
House Bill 874 establishes a new Chapter 25 in Title 16 of Idaho Code creating mandatory child protection requirements for youth service organizations — defined as any organization with adult workers supervising children not already covered by existing background check laws. Before any youth worker (paid or volunteer, age 18 or older) may have regular contact with children, the organization must conduct sex offender registry checks against both Idaho’s state registry and the federal National Sex Offender Public Website, with any individual appearing on either registry flatly prohibited from serving in a youth worker capacity. Organizations must also provide sexual abuse identification and reporting training to all youth workers at least once every 24 months, covering grooming behavior recognition, Idaho’s mandatory reporting requirements, and internal reporting procedures.
The bill further requires youth service organizations to adopt written child abuse prevention policies codifying both the background check process and abuse reporting protocols. A civil negligence presumption is established against organizations in lawsuits involving child sexual abuse: if an organization failed to conduct the required sex offender check and the offending worker was a registered sex offender, or if the organization knowingly employed a registered sex offender in a qualifying role, the organization is deemed negligent as a matter of law. Insurers providing liability coverage to youth service organizations may require proof of compliance with these requirements.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2026, and explicitly preserves existing causes of action while declining to create new private rights of action. Youth service organizations — including small nonprofits and volunteer-driven groups — face new compliance costs associated with background checks, biennial training programs, and written policy development. The civil negligence presumption creates meaningful financial accountability for organizations that fail to meet these baseline protective standards.
Overall Assessment
House Bill 874 receives a total score of -2, reflecting concerns in two specific areas — government responsibility and economic impact — while leaving the majority of evaluation metrics unaffected. Although the bill is motivated by a legitimate child protection interest, the manner in which it achieves that goal introduces regulatory mandates and legal liability frameworks that raise concerns under the applicable evaluation criteria. The bill’s requirements fall primarily on private organizations rather than government actors, and the compliance burdens it imposes carry real economic consequences for Idaho’s nonprofit and volunteer sector.
The negative score under Article I reflects the expansion of government-imposed mandates on private organizations, creating new regulatory obligations and a statutory negligence presumption that effectively deputizes civil courts to enforce compliance. The negative score under Article XII reflects the tangible economic burden placed on youth service organizations — particularly small nonprofits and volunteer-driven groups — through required background checks, recurring training programs, and written policy development. The remaining metrics score at zero because the bill’s provisions do not meaningfully implicate those policy areas in either a positive or negative direction.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. RESPONSIBILITY IN GOVERNMENT (-1)
The bill expands government-imposed regulatory mandates on private youth service organizations, requiring specific operational procedures, training regimens, and written policies as conditions of lawful operation. The statutory negligence presumption in Section 16-2504 further extends government influence by using civil liability as an enforcement mechanism against private entities. This represents an increase in regulatory reach over private organizations that goes beyond what is necessary to achieve the stated child protection goals.
ARTICLE II. CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT (0)
House Bill 874 does not substantively affect citizen participation in government, voting processes, public comment mechanisms, or civic engagement frameworks. The bill's provisions are directed at private organizational compliance rather than at any aspect of how citizens interact with or participate in government.
ARTICLE III. EDUCATION (0)
The bill does not address Idaho's educational institutions, curriculum, school governance, or education funding. While the training requirements it imposes on youth service organizations involve an educational component, these provisions do not intersect with the formal education system or education policy metrics.
ARTICLE IV. AGRICULTURE (0)
House Bill 874 has no provisions related to agriculture, farming operations, ranching, or Idaho's agricultural economy. The bill's scope is limited to youth service organizations and child protection requirements, with no connection to agricultural policy.
ARTICLE V. WATER (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to water rights, water management, irrigation, or any other water policy matter. It does not affect Idaho's water resources or the legal frameworks governing their use.
ARTICLE VI. NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT (0)
House Bill 874 does not address natural resources, environmental regulation, land use, or conservation policy. The bill's focus on child protection within youth service organizations has no bearing on environmental or natural resource metrics.
ARTICLE VII. ENERGY (0)
The bill has no connection to energy production, energy regulation, utility policy, or Idaho's energy infrastructure. Its provisions are entirely confined to child protection requirements for youth service organizations.
ARTICLE VIII. IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORIES (0)
House Bill 874 contains no provisions related to the Idaho National Laboratories, nuclear energy research, or federal laboratory operations within Idaho. The bill does not affect this policy area.
ARTICLE IX. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS (0)
The bill does not implicate private property rights, eminent domain, land use restrictions, or regulatory takings. Its requirements are directed at organizational operational practices rather than at property ownership or use.
ARTICLE X. STATE AND FEDERAL LANDS (0)
House Bill 874 has no provisions related to state or federal land management, public lands access, or land transfer policy. The bill's scope does not intersect with this metric.
ARTICLE XI. WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to wildlife management, hunting and fishing regulations, or Idaho's fish and game policies. It does not affect this policy area in any respect.
ARTICLE XII. ECONOMY (-1)
The bill imposes new compliance costs on youth service organizations throughout Idaho, including expenses associated with mandatory sex offender registry checks, biennial training programs, and the development of written child abuse prevention policies. These burdens fall disproportionately on small nonprofits and volunteer-driven organizations that operate with limited administrative capacity and tight budgets. The cumulative regulatory and financial obligations represent a net negative economic impact on this sector of Idaho's civil society.
ARTICLE XIII. HEALTH AND WELFARE (0)
Although the bill is designed to protect children's welfare, its specific provisions — registry checks, training mandates, and civil liability rules — do not produce a net positive or negative score under the health and welfare metric as evaluated. The bill's child protection goals are acknowledged, but the metric score reflects a neutral assessment of the bill's overall health and welfare implications within the evaluation framework.
ARTICLE XIV. AMERICAN FAMILY (0)
The bill does not directly affect family structure, parental rights, or family policy in a manner that produces a scored impact under this metric. While child protection is broadly relevant to family welfare, the bill's operational requirements are directed at organizations rather than at families themselves.
ARTICLE XV. OLDER AMERICANS (0)
House Bill 874 has no provisions specifically affecting older Americans, senior services, retirement policy, or age-related programs. The bill's focus on youth service organizations and child protection does not intersect with this metric.
ARTICLE XVI. LAW AND ORDER WITH JUSTICE (0)
The bill establishes a civil negligence presumption and references Idaho's mandatory reporting requirements, but these provisions do not produce a net scored impact under the law and order metric. The civil liability framework created by the bill operates within existing legal structures rather than altering criminal law, sentencing, or law enforcement policy in a meaningful way.
ARTICLE XVII. NATIONAL DEFENSE – SECURING THE BORDER (0)
The bill has no connection to national defense, military policy, border security, or immigration enforcement. Its provisions are entirely domestic and focused on child protection within private organizations.
ARTICLE XVIII. ELECTION OF JUDGES AND IDAHO SUPREME COURT JUSTICES (0)
House Bill 874 does not address judicial elections, the selection or retention of judges, or the composition of Idaho's Supreme Court. The bill's civil liability provisions operate within the existing judicial framework without altering it.
ARTICLE XIX. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (0)
The bill does not contain provisions that target or burden religious organizations specifically, nor does it address religious liberty protections or exemptions. Youth service organizations with religious affiliations are subject to the same requirements as secular organizations, and no religious liberty implications are created by the bill's provisions.