Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0941 – Administrative Rules Coordinator Office Transfer
Bill Summary
House Bill 941 makes two structural changes to Idaho’s administrative rulemaking process. First, it relocates the Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator from the executive branch’s Division of Financial Management to the Legislative Services Office, with the coordinator now appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the director of the Legislative Services Office. Second, it expands the coordinator’s editing authority from narrow clerical corrections to broader, undefined ‘changes to both proposed and existing rules prior to publication in the administrative bulletin,’ removing the prior prohibition on altering the sense, meaning, or effect of any rule.
The bill also repeals Section 67-5292, which had required periodic review of administrative rules. This section functioned as a sunset mechanism, compelling agencies to justify the continued existence of their rules on a recurring basis. Its repeal means existing rules face no mandatory review cycle and can remain on the books indefinitely without reauthorization.
In sum, HB 941 is a procedural and structural bill focused on the internal mechanics of Idaho’s administrative rulemaking apparatus. It shifts oversight authority from the executive to the legislative branch, broadens editorial discretion over rule content, and eliminates the primary mechanism for forcing periodic justification of existing regulations.
Overall Assessment
House Bill 941 is a procedural bill that reorganizes administrative oversight functions within Idaho state government. Its provisions are structural in nature, addressing which branch of government controls the Administrative Rules Coordinator and what editing authority that office holds. Because the bill does not directly advance or impede any of the specific policy areas evaluated in the metrics — such as agriculture, water, energy, education, health, or individual rights — it does not score positively or negatively on any of the nineteen articles.
The bill’s repeal of the periodic review requirement for administrative rules could theoretically have downstream effects on any number of policy areas by allowing outdated regulations to persist, but this indirect and speculative impact is insufficient to generate a score in any specific policy category. Similarly, the transfer of the coordinator’s office to the legislature and the expansion of editing authority are governance mechanics that do not align with or oppose any of the enumerated policy priorities in the evaluation framework.
As a result, HB 941 receives a score of zero across all nineteen metrics, reflecting that it is a neutral administrative reorganization bill with no direct bearing on the substantive policy areas used to evaluate legislation.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (0)
Moving the coordinator's office from the executive Division of Financial Management to the Legislative Services Office places rulemaking oversight under direct legislative control, strengthening the legislature's check on executive agency rulemaking. This shift is partially offset by the repeal of Section 67-5292, which eliminated the periodic review process that required agencies to justify the continued need for their rules — a meaningful anti-bureaucracy safeguard. The expansion of coordinator authority to make unspecified 'changes' to rules prior to publication also introduces an undefined layer of intervention by a legislative appointee without clear statutory boundaries.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
The bill restructures the internal administrative management of rulemaking but makes no changes to public notice requirements, comment periods, or any other mechanism through which citizens participate in the rulemaking process. The transfer of the coordinator's office between branches does not alter citizen access to or involvement in government.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
The bill's provisions are limited to the organizational placement and authority of the Administrative Rules Coordinator and have no bearing on education policy, school funding, curriculum, parental rights, or any other education-related matter.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The bill makes no changes to agricultural regulations, water law, farming or ranching policy, or any provision affecting Idaho's agricultural sector. Its scope is confined to the administrative structure of rulemaking coordination.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
No provisions in this bill address water rights, water appropriation, inter-basin transfers, or any aspect of Idaho water law or management. The bill's changes are purely structural and administrative.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to natural resource management, environmental regulation, federal land use, or wilderness policy. It addresses only the organizational home and editing authority of the Administrative Rules Coordinator.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The bill makes no changes to energy policy, energy resource development, electricity rates, or hydropower. Its provisions are confined to administrative rulemaking structure and do not touch energy-related statutes.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill contains no reference to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, or technology development. Its scope is limited to the administrative coordination of state agency rulemaking.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
The bill makes no changes to property rights protections, eminent domain procedures, or regulatory takings standards. The administrative rulemaking changes it enacts are structural and do not directly affect property owners.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill contains no provisions addressing state or federal land ownership, management authority, or land use policy. Its changes are confined to the internal structure of Idaho's administrative rulemaking office.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (0)
The bill makes no changes to fish and game regulations, hunting and fishing rights, predator control policy, or any wildlife management statute. It addresses only the administrative coordination of rulemaking.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
While the administrative rulemaking process governs regulations that affect businesses, the bill makes no direct changes to commerce, small business regulation, labor law, or tax policy. Any economic effect would be indirect and speculative, dependent on how the coordinator exercises the newly expanded editing authority.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting healthcare delivery, health insurance, patient rights, Medicaid, or welfare programs. Its changes are limited to the administrative structure of rulemaking coordination.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (0)
The bill makes no changes to policies affecting marriage, family structure, right to life, abortion, or child welfare. Its provisions are entirely structural, addressing only the organizational placement of the Administrative Rules Coordinator.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting services, benefits, or policies for older Idahoans. Its scope is limited to the administrative management of state agency rulemaking.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill makes no changes to criminal law, gun rights, drug policy, incarceration standards, or law enforcement authority. Its provisions address only the administrative coordination of rulemaking between branches of state government.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to national defense, border security, veterans' services, or military policy. It is confined entirely to the internal administrative structure of Idaho state government.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
The bill makes no changes to judicial selection, judicial elections, or court procedures. Its provisions address only the organizational placement and authority of the Administrative Rules Coordinator.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting religious freedom, conscience protections, or government interference in religious practice. Its scope is limited to the administrative structure of state agency rulemaking.