Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0939 – Idaho Hunting Technology Restrictions 2026
Bill Summary
House Bill 939 amends Idaho Code Section 36-1101 to prohibit hunters from using thermal imaging technology, night vision technology, transmitting trail cameras on public lands, and drones or unmanned aircraft systems for hunting or scouting big game animals and game birds during the period of August 30 through December 31 each year. These restrictions are designed to align with the primary big game hunting season and are intended to preserve fair-chase hunting ethics by limiting the technological advantages available to hunters during the most critical hunting months.
The bill includes several targeted exemptions to ensure the restrictions do not unduly burden other legitimate activities. Hunters pursuing wolves, mountain lions, or predatory wildlife are exempt from the prohibitions, as are landowners, lessees, and their authorized representatives who use these technologies to monitor, prevent, or control damage to livestock, domestic animals, or crops. Additional exemptions cover the use of these technologies to retrieve wounded game and to monitor buildings or personal property for theft deterrence or to monitor traps.
The bill is set to take effect July 1, 2026, under an emergency declaration, ensuring it is in force prior to the August 30 start date of the restricted period. By establishing these prohibitions in statute, the legislature codifies specific boundaries around the use of advanced scouting and hunting technologies on public lands during the fall hunting season.
Overall Assessment
House Bill 939 is a narrowly focused piece of legislation that primarily affects hunting practices in Idaho by restricting the use of certain advanced technologies during the core big game hunting season. Across nearly all of the evaluation metrics, the bill has no meaningful impact, as its subject matter is confined to hunting methods and does not touch on areas such as education, energy, water, agriculture, health, or most other policy domains evaluated here.
The one area where the bill registers a measurable effect is Wildlife Management, where it receives a negative score. While the bill is framed as a fair-chase measure, it functionally restricts hunting opportunities for Idaho residents by expanding the list of unlawful hunting methods. This runs counter to the principle of managing fish and wildlife to enhance fishing, hunting, and trapping opportunities for Idahoans, resulting in a score of -1 for that metric.
All other metrics receive a score of zero, reflecting the bill’s limited and specific scope. The exemptions for predator hunting, livestock protection, and property monitoring help mitigate broader concerns in areas like agriculture and private property rights, but these provisions are not significant enough to generate positive scores in those categories. The bill’s total score of -1 reflects its singular negative impact on wildlife management policy as evaluated against Idaho’s legislative priorities.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (0)
The bill regulates hunting technology and has no provisions touching fiscal policy, government spending, taxation, or the size and structure of state government.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
The bill addresses wildlife taking methods and has no bearing on elections, voting procedures, citizen participation in government, or political processes.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
The bill's provisions are confined to hunting technology restrictions and have no connection to schools, curricula, parental rights in education, or education funding.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
While subparagraph (B)(ii) explicitly exempts landowners and lessees using these technologies to monitor or prevent damage to livestock, domestic animals, or crops, the bill's primary focus is regulating hunting methods rather than agricultural policy, trade, or farm operations.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
The bill concerns hunting technology restrictions and contains no provisions related to water rights, water appropriation, dam management, or federal interference in water policy.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
Although the bill touches wildlife—a natural resource—its provisions regulate hunter behavior rather than land use, environmental regulation, forest health, or resource extraction policy that defines this metric's scope.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The bill regulates hunting technologies and contains no provisions related to energy production, energy independence, utility rates, or energy infrastructure.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill concerns wildlife hunting regulations and has no connection to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, or technology transfer programs.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
The transmitting trail camera restriction applies specifically to land owned by federal, state, or local government, leaving private landowners free to use these technologies on their own property. The bill imposes no new restrictions on private property use, development, or takings.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill restricts transmitting trail cameras on government-owned lands but does not address the transfer of federal land to state control, reduction of federal land ownership in Idaho, or state management of federal lands—the core concerns of this metric.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (-1)
The bill adds subsection 10. Use of Certain Technologies prohibiting thermal imaging, night vision, transmitting trail cameras on public lands, and drones 'for hunting or scouting big game animals or game birds' during fall months. This expands unlawful methods, restricting hunting opportunities, which opposes 'manage fish and wildlife to enhance fishing, hunting and hunting opportunities for Idahoans'.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
The bill's seasonal restrictions on hunting technology are narrow in scope and do not address commerce, small business regulation, labor markets, or the broader economic drivers relevant to this metric.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
The bill regulates hunting methods and has no provisions related to healthcare access, health insurance, welfare programs, or public health policy.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (0)
The bill concerns hunting technology restrictions and has no bearing on family structure, marriage, abortion, or child welfare policy.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting services, benefits, or policies directed at older Idahoans.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill creates wildlife-specific violations enforced under existing penalty structures in Section 36-1402, but its subject matter—hunting technology—falls outside this metric's focus on gun rights, criminal justice reform, drug policy, incarceration, and state sovereignty.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill regulates civilian hunting technologies and contains no provisions related to military readiness, border security, veterans' services, or national defense.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
The bill addresses hunting regulations and has no connection to judicial elections, judicial appointments, or constitutional interpretation.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill's hunting technology prohibitions have no bearing on religious exercise, religious freedom restoration, or conscience protections.