H 724 Idaho House · 68th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session (2026)

CHILD CARE LICENSING – Adds to existing law to provide for a notice of safety-related rights for foster children.

H 724 establishes specific safety rights for children in Idaho foster care, including the right to a safe environment, freedom from abuse, timely medical assessments, and consideration of safety during placement changes. The bill requires the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to provide a written notice of these rights to each child at initial placement, placement changes, and annually, with foster homes required to post the notice. These rights must be addressed within existing court proceedings for foster care cases but do not create new legal claims or enforcement mechanisms. The law aims to ensure foster children’s safety through clear, accessible protections already integrated into current foster care processes.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Feb 18, 2026 Signed Mar 26, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Mar 17, 2026 · House Mar 9, 2026

How they voted

303
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 35
Mar 17, 2026
D Democratic5
5 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican30
25 Yea 3 Nay 2
83% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
17
Key actions
7
Committee
3
Mar 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President; returned to House
upper
Mar 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Received from the House enrolled/signed by Speaker
upper
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Enrolled; Signed by Speaker; Transmitted to Senate
lower
Mar 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time in full – PASSED - 30-3-2AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Bjerke(Bjerke), Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Carlson, Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Lakey, Lenney, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Ricks, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Woller(Rabe), WoodwardNAYS – Kohl, Zito, ZuiderveldAbsent and excused – Keyser, LentFloor Sponsor - HarrisTitle apvd - to House
upper
Mar 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time; referred to: Health & Welfare
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Rules Suspended: Ayes 65 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 5, read in full as required – PASSED - 58-7-5AYES – Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cayler, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson(Larsen), Fuhriman, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Haws, Hill, Holtzclaw, Mathias, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Pohanka, Rasor, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Rubel,
lower
Mar 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
Reported Printed and Referred to Health & Welfare
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.