S 1221 Idaho Senate · 68th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session (2026)

PERSI – Amends existing law to revise a definition regarding who is not considered an employee.

S 1221 amends Idaho Code Section 59-1302 to revise the definition of "employee" for the state's public retirement system (PERSI). Specifically, it changes the threshold for who qualifies as an employee eligible for retirement benefits, clarifying that individuals working fewer than 20 hours per week are no longer automatically considered employees under the system. This directly affects Idaho public employees whose work hours fall below this threshold, ensuring only those meeting the revised criteria are counted for retirement benefit eligibility. The change aims to align the definition with current employment patterns and streamline administrative processes for the retirement system.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 15, 2026 Signed Mar 4, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Feb 3, 2026 · House Feb 25, 2026

How they voted

340
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 36
Feb 3, 2026
D Democratic6
6 Yea
100% 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
6
Committee
3
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Received from Senate; Signed by Speaker; Returned to Senate
lower
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported enrolled; signed by President; to House for signature of Speaker
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read Third Time in Full – PASSED - 70-0-0AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cayler, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Fuhriman, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Hawkins, Haws, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Manwaring, Marmon, Mathias, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Pohanka, Price,
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time in full – PASSED - 33-0-2AYES – Anthon, Bernt, 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, Toews(Toews), VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Zito, ZuiderveldNAYS – NoneAbsent and excused – Adams, WoodwardFloor Sponsor - GuthrieTitle apvd - to House
upper
Jan 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
upper
Jan 16, 2026
Committee
Reported Printed; referred to Commerce & Human Resources
upper
Jan 15, 2026
Introduced
Introduced; read first time; referred to JR for Printing
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.