H 887 Idaho House · 68th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session (2026)

WATER SKIING – Amends existing law to provide an exception for water skiing.

This bill amends Idaho's water skiing laws to allow boat operators to tow water skiers without a second person in the boat acting as an observer, provided the boat is equipped with a large rearview mirror at least four inches in size that gives the operator a clear view of the skier. The exemption applies when skiing within a legal slalom course or during specific early morning hours between May and September, while maintaining existing safety rules about towing times and operating speeds. The legislation also clarifies requirements for displaying warning flags when a skier is in the water and includes technical corrections to the current code. These changes directly affect recreational water skiing participants and boat operators in Idaho by modifying observer requirements under specific conditions.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Mar 12, 2026 Signed Apr 2, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Mar 31, 2026 · House Mar 18, 2026

How they voted

330
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 36
Mar 31, 2026
D Democratic6
5 Yea 1
83% Yea
R Republican30
28 Yea 2
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
17
Key actions
7
Committee
3
Apr 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President; returned to House
upper
Apr 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
Received from the House enrolled/signed by Speaker
upper
Apr 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Enrolled; Signed by Speaker; Transmitted to Senate
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time in full – PASSED - 32-0-3AYES – Adams, Bernt, Bjerke(Bjerke), Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Carlson, Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lakey, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Woodward, Zito, ZuiderveldNAYS – NoneAbsent and excused – Anthon, Toews, WintrowFloor Sponsor - LentTitle apvd - to House
upper
Mar 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
upper
Mar 19, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time; referred to: Resources & Environment
upper
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Rules Suspended: Ayes 66 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 4, read in full as required – PASSED - 66-0-4AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cayler, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Fuhriman, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Handy, Harris, Hawkins, Haws, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Marmon, Mathias, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Pohank
lower
Mar 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
lower
Mar 13, 2026
Committee
Reported Printed and Referred to Resources & Conservation
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.