Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0893 – Idaho Code Technical Corrections Act 2026
Bill Summary
House Bill 893 is a codifier’s corrections bill that makes purely technical amendments across dozens of sections of Idaho Code. The most visible change is correcting the longstanding misspelling of ‘kidnaping’ to ‘kidnapping’ throughout Title 18 (criminal law) and Title 19 (criminal procedure), including the chapter heading, the definition statute, and the second-degree kidnapping provision. The bill also corrects a typographical error in the ‘An Appeal to Heaven’ license plate statute, changing ‘LICENCE’ to ‘LICENSE.’
A substantial portion of the bill resolves numbering conflicts created when the 2025 Legislature enacted multiple new chapters and sections that were assigned the same code numbers. For example, Chapter 90 of Title 18 (Advertising Illegal Drugs) is redesignated as Chapter 91, with its section renumbered from 18-9001 to 18-9101. Similarly, the Distraction-Free Learning chapter moves from Chapter 68 to Chapter 69 of Title 33, the Title IX compliance section moves from 33-3732 to 33-3733, and the Idaho Constitutional Money Act shifts from Chapter 98 to Chapter 99 of Title 67. All cross-references to these renumbered provisions are updated accordingly.
The bill also removes surplus and obsolete verbiage from several statutes. Section 39-309 (substance use disorder payment) had a stray fragment ‘(4) may’ that is deleted. Section 39-1106 (daycare licensing) had a duplicated phrase ‘revoked or suspended.’ Section 39-1392a (peer review definitions) had an orphaned code citation ’39-1313′ following a sentence. Section 58-307 (state land leases) removes an obsolete cross-reference to energy definitions in section 63-3622QQ. Subsection numbering errors in sections 39-1102, 54-5802, 56-1003, and 67-827A are corrected to restore sequential order.
Overall Assessment
This bill makes no substantive policy changes — every amendment is a technical correction to Idaho Code, including spelling fixes, chapter and section renumbering to resolve conflicts created by 2025 legislation, removal of stray text fragments, and correction of erroneous cross-references. Citizens, businesses, and government agencies are unaffected in terms of their rights, obligations, or benefits under Idaho law. The practical effect is to make the Idaho Code internally consistent and accurately reflect the laws already in force.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (0)
The bill makes no changes to government structure, fiscal policy, or accountability mechanisms. All amendments are technical corrections — renumbering sections, fixing spelling, and removing surplus text — that leave the substantive content of every affected statute unchanged.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
No provisions in this bill touch elections, voting procedures, initiative and referendum processes, or any other mechanism for citizen participation in government. All changes are administrative corrections to code formatting and cross-references.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
Although the bill amends education-related sections — correcting the capitalization of 'Schools' to 'schools' in Section 33-132, renumbering the Title IX compliance section from 33-3732 to 33-3733, and redesignating the Distraction-Free Learning chapter from Chapter 68 to Chapter 69 — none of these changes alter the policy requirements, standards, or obligations those statutes impose on schools.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The bill makes no substantive changes to agricultural policy, farm regulations, or markets. The only agriculture-adjacent section touched is 55-103 (foreign ownership of agricultural land), where the sole change is renumbering a subsection from '(4)(a)' to '(18)(a)' to correct a sequential numbering error — the underlying prohibitions and enforcement mechanisms are untouched.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
No water rights, water appropriation, or water management provisions are substantively altered. The renumbering of a subsection in Section 55-103 that references water rights is a formatting correction only and does not change any rule governing water use or ownership.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
The bill's only natural-resource-adjacent change is in Section 58-307 (state land leases), where it removes an obsolete sentence directing readers to definitions in section 63-3622QQ — a section that no longer exists in its original form. This deletion removes a broken cross-reference and has no effect on land lease policy or environmental regulation.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The removal of the definitional cross-reference to energy terms (fuel cells, wind, geothermal, etc.) in Section 58-307 is a codifier's correction eliminating an obsolete citation, not a change to energy policy. No energy development, permitting, or regulatory provisions are modified.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear energy research, or technology development programs. All amendments address unrelated areas of Idaho Code.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
While Section 55-103 — which governs foreign ownership restrictions on Idaho property — is amended, the only change is correcting a subsection number from '(4)(a)' to '(18)(a)' to match the surrounding structure. The substantive prohibitions, enforcement procedures, and whistleblower provisions protecting Idaho property rights are entirely unchanged.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
Section 58-307 governing state land leases is amended only to remove an obsolete definitional cross-reference. No lease terms, land management authorities, or policies governing state or federal land are altered.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to fish and game, hunting, fishing, predator management, or wildlife habitat. All amendments address other areas of Idaho Code.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
Technical updates to motor vehicle registration sections (49-401A, 49-402, 49-402D) and the renumbering of the small seller sales tax exemption from 63-3622XX to 63-3622YY make no changes to fee amounts, eligibility thresholds, or business obligations. The economic rules themselves remain identical.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
Multiple health and welfare sections are amended, but exclusively for technical reasons: Section 39-309 removes a stray text fragment '(4) may'; Section 39-1102 corrects definition numbering from (14)/(15) to (18)/(19); Section 39-1106 removes a duplicated phrase; and Section 39-1392a removes an orphaned code citation. No eligibility rules, benefit levels, licensing standards, or patient rights are changed.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (0)
The bill makes no changes to family law, parental rights, marriage statutes, child welfare policy, or any other provision affecting family structure. All amendments are technical corrections.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
No provisions in this bill address retirement, senior services, long-term care policy, or any other matter specifically affecting older Idahoans. All changes are technical corrections to unrelated code sections.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The correction of 'kidnaping' to 'kidnapping' in Sections 18-4501, 18-4503, and 19-307 is a spelling fix that does not alter the elements of the crime, the penalties, or the venue rules. The redesignation of the illegal drug advertising statute from 18-9001 to 18-9101 and the corresponding update to the fine apportionment reference in Section 19-4705 preserve the existing law without changing any penalty, enforcement authority, or criminal procedure.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to border security, military affairs, the Idaho National Guard, or veterans' benefits. All amendments address domestic code maintenance.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
No judicial selection, retention, or election provisions are present in this bill. The correction of a typographical error in Section 67-5242 — changing '62-5247' to '67-5247' to fix an erroneous code reference — is a cross-reference correction that does not affect judicial procedures or selection.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting religious freedom, conscience protections, or the relationship between government and religious institutions. All amendments are technical corrections to unrelated statutes.