Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: S1348E1 – Public Outdoor Shotgun Sporting Complex Development
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 1348 creates Idaho Code Section 36-1808, directing the Idaho Fish and Game Commission to plan and construct a full-scale public shotgun sporting complex on state fish and game lands adjacent to Farragut State Park, with a hard deadline of December 31, 2040. The complex must include at minimum six combination trap and skeet fields, fifteen sporting clay stations with sixty mechanical target throwers, a five-stand station with ten throwing machines, a clubhouse, bathrooms, trailer parking, outdoor seating, off-highway vehicle pathways, and storage facilities.
While the new complex is being developed, the bill mandates that the Department of Fish and Game lease the existing Kootenai County skeet and trap range — home to the Coeur d’Alene Skeet and Trap Club, founded in 1947 — and keep it continuously operational. The department bears full responsibility for operating the range even if no concessionaire is available, and the lease cannot be terminated for any reason other than the new complex opening to the public.
Funding comes primarily from Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act federal funds and matching state dollars previously appropriated through House Bill 304 (2023). If those funds prove insufficient, the commission may request additional legislative appropriations. The commission must submit a long-term development plan to legislative committees by the 2027 session, update it every five years, and provide annual written reports to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee and relevant legislative resource committees.
Overall Assessment
This bill delivers a concrete, government-built shooting sports facility for north Idaho residents, guaranteeing uninterrupted access to the Coeur d’Alene Skeet and Trap Club’s current range while a permanent replacement is constructed near Farragut State Park. Shooters, hunters, and sporting clay enthusiasts in north Idaho gain a legally protected right to continued range access and a mandated timeline for a significantly expanded public facility. The bill commits state and federal wildlife restoration funds to a specific recreational infrastructure project, with the Fish and Game Commission bearing statutory responsibility for both the transition period and the new complex’s completion.
This is the engrossed version of S1348.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (-1)
The bill mandates that the Department of Fish and Game operate the Kootenai County shooting range directly — regardless of whether a private concessionaire is available — placing the state in the role of day-to-day range operator using public funds. It also commits the commission to constructing and maintaining a detailed, specification-heavy complex by statute, with the legislature prescribing the exact number of throwing machines, field types, and infrastructure elements rather than leaving those decisions to agency discretion or the private market. This level of government-directed recreational facility development, funded through wildlife restoration dollars, raises questions about whether public funds are being directed toward services that private shooting clubs and concessionaires could provide.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
The bill requires the commission to make its long-term development plan publicly available and present it to legislative committees during the 2027 session, providing a degree of public transparency. However, it creates no formal mechanisms for citizen input, public comment periods, or community participation in the planning process beyond that legislative review.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
This bill concerns shooting sports facility development and has no provisions related to school curricula, educational funding, parental rights in education, or any other educational policy matter.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The bill addresses recreational shooting infrastructure on fish and game lands and has no connection to agricultural policy, farming operations, water rights for irrigation, or rural land use for agricultural purposes.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
No provisions in this bill address water rights, water appropriation, water management, or any water-related policy. The bill's scope is limited to shooting range development and operation.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
The bill directs development of recreational facilities on Idaho fish and game lands adjacent to Farragut State Park, which involves land use decisions on state natural resource lands. However, it neither expands resource extraction opportunities nor imposes new environmental restrictions — it simply authorizes a recreational shooting complex on existing state-managed lands without addressing broader natural resource utilization or environmental protection policy.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
This bill has no provisions related to energy production, energy independence, utility rates, or energy resource development of any kind.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill concerns outdoor shooting range development and has no connection to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, or technology development.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
The bill authorizes the commission to negotiate leases or acquisitions of property on behalf of the state, but these transactions are limited to the Kootenai County lease and potential land adjacent to Farragut State Park — both involving government-to-government or willing-party arrangements. No provisions compel private landowners to sell or restrict private property use.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill directs development on existing Idaho fish and game lands and authorizes leasing of Kootenai County land — actions that work within the current state land management framework without altering federal land ownership, transferring federal lands to state control, or changing how federal lands in Idaho are managed.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (1)
The bill directly expands public hunting-related recreational opportunities by mandating a new shotgun sporting complex that supports trap, skeet, and sporting clay shooting — disciplines that develop the marksmanship skills used in bird hunting. It directs the Idaho Fish and Game Commission and Department to actively enhance shooting sports access for north Idaho residents and visitors, consistent with the department's mission to promote hunting opportunities. Pittman-Robertson funds, which are generated by excise taxes on firearms and ammunition paid by hunters and shooters, are appropriately directed toward facilities that serve that same community.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
The legislative findings acknowledge the Coeur d'Alene Skeet and Trap Club as 'an invaluable part of north Idaho's community and economy,' and the new complex near Farragut State Park could generate tourism revenue for the region. However, the bill creates a government-owned and operated facility rather than enabling private sector economic activity, and it does not address business regulation, tax policy, or labor markets.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
The bill has no provisions related to healthcare, health insurance, Medicaid, welfare programs, or public health policy. Its scope is limited to shooting sports facility development.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (0)
The bill does not address marriage, parental rights, right to life, child welfare, or any other family policy matter. It concerns recreational infrastructure development.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
No provisions in this bill address policies affecting older Idahoans, retirement, senior services, or age-related employment issues.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill preserves and substantially expands public access to firearms training and shooting sports facilities in north Idaho, directly supporting the right to keep and bear arms by ensuring citizens have accessible venues to practice and develop shooting skills. Section 4 legally prohibits the existing Kootenai County range from closing during the transition period, protecting current gun owners' access, while Section 3 mandates a new complex with six trap/skeet fields, fifteen sporting clay stations, and a five-stand — a significant expansion of public shooting infrastructure. The bill also commends the Coeur d'Alene Skeet and Trap Club's 77-year history of fostering shooting sports in the community.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill has no provisions related to national defense, military readiness, veterans' services, border security, or immigration enforcement.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
This bill concerns shooting range development and has no connection to judicial selection, judicial elections, or constitutional interpretation.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill has no provisions related to religious freedom, the free exercise of religion, or government interference with religious practice.