Engage · Skills

How to read a bill or an agenda

Bills and agendas look dense, but they follow patterns. Once you know the patterns you can find what matters in a few minutes.

Reading an Idaho bill number

• H 123 is a House bill. S 1045 is a Senate bill. Senate bills start at 1001, so a four-digit number means it began in the Senate.
• A lowercase "a" means amended. H 123a has been amended once and H 123aa twice. "aaS" means one of those amendments was made in the Senate.
• HJR and SJR are joint resolutions, used to propose amendments to the Idaho Constitution. These go to voters.
• HCR and SCR are concurrent resolutions, used for the Legislature's own business and to approve or reject agency rules.
• HJM and SJM are joint memorials: formal messages to Congress or the President. They don't change Idaho law.
• RS followed by a number is a draft that hasn't been introduced yet. It becomes a bill when a committee votes to print it.

Reading the bill itself

1. Start with the Statement of Purpose. Every Idaho bill comes with a one-page statement of what it does and a fiscal note estimating what it costs. Both are written by the sponsor, so read them as the sponsor's case, not a neutral analysis.
2. Read the title. The long sentence at the top lists every section of law the bill touches.
3. Look for the markup. Underlined text is being added to the law. Struck-through text is being removed. Plain text is current law that stays.
4. Check the last section. It says when the law takes effect. Most take effect July 1. An "emergency clause" makes it take effect as soon as the Governor signs.
5. Check the bill's page on the Legislature's website for its history: where it is now and how each member voted.

Reading a local agenda

• Action items. Idaho law requires anything the board will vote on to be marked as an action item. If your issue isn't marked, no decision is coming at this meeting.
• Consent agenda. Routine items passed in one vote with no discussion. A board member can pull an item off for discussion, and you can ask one to.
• Public hearings. Items where the law requires the board to take testimony. Each lists what is being decided.
• Executive session. A closed-door portion. The agenda must cite the section of Idaho Code that allows it, and no final decision can be made there.
• The packet. The staff reports, maps and draft ordinances behind each item. It is usually a separate, much longer file, and it is where the details are.

Shortcuts

• Search the file for your street, your school or the key word.
• Read the staff recommendation first. Boards follow it most of the time.
• Ask the clerk or the committee secretary when something is unclear. Answering that kind of question is part of their job.

Sources

• How a bill becomes a law (Idaho Legislature)
• Bill text, statements of purpose and bill history (Idaho Legislature)
• Idaho Code Title 74, Chapter 2, Open Meetings Law (Idaho Legislature)

Last reviewed November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the linked sources before you rely on a deadline.