H 668 Idaho House · 68th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session (2026)

CHILD CUSTODY INTERFERENCE – Amends and adds to existing law to provide for penalties, enforcement requirements, and affirmative defenses regarding child custody interference.

Idaho's H 668 amends child custody interference law to clarify prohibited actions and strengthen enforcement. It defines interference as intentionally taking a child from a custodian without lawful authority, while adding specific defenses (e.g., protecting a child from harm, returning within 24 hours, or temporary impracticality due to unforeseen circumstances). The bill establishes graduated penalties: fines up to $100 for first offenses (misdemeanor), escalating to up to $5,000 and 1 year imprisonment for fifth offenses (felony). Law enforcement must verify child safety and complete detailed reports for all reports, with courts able to award custody compensation for denied visitation. The law directly affects parents or agents who interfere with custody orders and aims to ensure prompt child welfare checks.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 13, 2026 Last action Mar 11, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill Text Engrossment 1 · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to remove references to establishing objective timelines for response and compliance, as well as a specific requirement for law enforcement to complete written offense reports after every custody interference incident. The amendment also changed a defense clause from requiring 'any' of several conditions to be met to requiring 'all' of them to be met, making the defense harder to establish.
Scope change
The bill's scope regarding enforcement procedures was narrowed by removing mandates for specific law enforcement reporting requirements and timeline standards.
REQUIREMENT

Removed the legislative intent to establish objective timelines for response and compliance.

ENFORCEMENT

Deleted the requirement for law enforcement officers to complete a written offense report following every child custody interference incident.

DEFINITION

Changed a legal defense provision from requiring 'any' of several conditions to be met to requiring 'all' of them to be met, making the defense more difficult to prove.

Floor votes · House Mar 10, 2026

How they voted

631
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 65
Mar 10, 2026
D Democratic8
6 Yea 1 Nay 1
75% Yea
R Republican57
57 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
3
Committee
6
Mar 11, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time; referred to: Judiciary & Rules
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Rules Suspended: Ayes 69 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 1, read in full as required – PASSED - 68-1-1AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cayler, Cheatum, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson(Larsen), Fuhriman, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Hawkins, Haws, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Manwaring, Marmon, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palme
lower
Mar 6, 2026
Committee
Bill as Amended Referred to JRA for Engrossing
lower
Mar 6, 2026
Committee
Amendments Referred to the JRA for Printing
lower
Mar 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out without recommendation as amended
lower
Mar 6, 2026
Committee
Referred to the Committee of the Whole
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Committee, Recommend place on General Orders
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Committee
Reported Printed and Referred to Judiciary, Rules & Administration
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.