Bills of Interest

 

2008 Legislative Session

January14 through January 18, 2008

 

Bills Introduced in the House

 

H0339 – PUBLIC EMPLOYEES – Changes annual leave entitlement for state employees for National Guard or military reserve duty from 15 days to 120 hours.

 

H0366 – MOTOR VEHICLES – Provides that persons who are not lawfully present in the United States are not eligible for driver’s licenses, and that licenses issued to persons who are not citizens or permanent legal residents shall have an expiration date no later than the end of their lawful stay in the United States.    

 

 

Bills Introduced in the Senate

 

S1252 – PUBLIC EMPLOYEES – Amends provisions relating to overtime compensation and comp time; provides that employees who become executives have 12 months to use any comp time balance; adds exempt employees under federal law to those who are ineligible for time-and-a-half for overtime; limits comp time balances for administrative, professional and exempt employees to 240 hours; conforms definitions of administrative and professional employees and computer workers to federal definitions.

 

S1254 – SECURITIES – Provides that the Department of Finance may obtain payment of investigative and legal costs in enforcement actions.

 

S1255 – SECURITIES – Attempts to broaden the list of records that broker-dealer agents and investment adviser representatives are required to maintain and clarifies the duty of such persons to provide such records to investigators.  (This is in response to In re Karel, 144 Idaho 379, 162 P.3d 758 (2007).)

 

S1258 – ELECTIONS – Provides for party registration by voters and that only voters who have registered as affiliated with a political party may vote in that party’s primary.  (“Closed primary” bill.)

 

S1260 – CRIMINAL – Makes it a felony to own, possess, keep, train, buy or sell dogs for the purpose of dog fighting, or to knowingly advertise, promote, organize, participate in or have a monetary interest in a dog fighting event; makes it a misdemeanor to be knowingly present at a dog fight.  

 

S1261 – MEDIATION – Adopts the Uniform Mediation Act.

 

S1262 – BUSINESS – Amends the Idaho Entity Transactions Act to incorporate changes made to the Model Entity Transaction Act by the Uniform State Law Commissioners.

 

S1263 – Adopts the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, giving courts authority upon certain factual findings to issue orders aimed at preventing child abduction.

 

S1264 – FISH & GAME – Imposes a penalty for the illegal killing, possession or waste of grizzly bears.

 

S1266 – FISH & GAME – Provides that wolves that are molesting or attacking livestock or domestic animals may be disposed of.

 

S1270 – COURTS – Adds a fourth judge to the Court of Appeals.  (Court bill.)

 

S1271 – COURTS – Removes requirement that the state law library be kept in the Capitol or in the Supreme Court Building.  (Court bill.)

 

S1272 – COURTS – Removes obsolete provisions relating to compensation of court reporters; removes requirement that transcripts be prepared in the order in which the orders for such transcripts have been received by the court reporter.  (Court bill.)

 

S1273 – CRIMINAL – Clarifies that the animal cruelty statute, I.C. § 25-3504, applies both to the animal’s owner and to others.

 

S1275 – CRIMINAL – Amends the statutes pertaining to misuse of public moneys; makes it a felony for any public officer or public employee to misuse public money, as defined in the statute, if the amount misused is at least $300, or if the public officer or public employee is charged with the receipt, safekeeping or disbursement of public money; makes other misuses of  public money by public officers and employees a misdemeanor.

 

S1277 – WATER – Makes Northern Idaho Water Adjudication voluntary for domestic water users.

 

S1278 – WATER – Narrows the focus of the Northern Idaho Water Adjudication to the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

 

S1279 – WATER – Repeals the statutes establishing the Northern Idaho Water Adjudication.

 

S1283 – ATTORNEYS FEES – Allows the Human Rights Commission to seek attorneys fees in cases where the court finds that unlawful discrimination has occurred.

 

S1287 – JUVENILES – Amends I.C. § 20-520 to clarify that the Custody Review Board makes the determination of whether to extend a juvenile’s custody beyond the juvenile’s nineteenth birthday.

 

S1288 – COURTS – Amends the provisions relating to District Magistrates Commissions to provide that the magistrate judge member of the Commission is a voting member, that an attorney member is disqualified if he or she has been a law partner of a magistrate judge candidate within the previous five years, that the trial court administrator is the secretary of the Commission unless the Administrative District Judge or the district judge designee designates another member of the Commission as secretary, and to eliminate the requirement of duplicate minutes.  (Court bill.)

 

S1291 – PUBLIC OFFICERS – Requires public officers and candidates for public office to file financial disclosure statements.  (The definition of “public officer” set forth in the statute includes Supreme Court justices and judges of the Court of Appeals, but not district judges or magistrate judges.)