Engage · State

How to weigh in on a state bill

Idaho's session is short and its hearings are scheduled fast. Here are four ways to tell the Legislature what you think, and the timing that catches people out.

1. Contact your own legislators

You have one senator and two representatives. A short email that names the bill and says you live in the district is the simplest thing you can do, and it works at any stage. Find them with Who represents you. During the session you can also reach the Legislative Information Center at 208-332-1000 or 800-626-0471.

2. Testify at the committee hearing

The committee hearing is the one point where the public speaks.

1. Find the hearing. Each committee posts an agenda listing the bills it will hear. Agendas are on the Legislature's website and on the calendar.
2. Register. The agenda and the committee's web page link to a testimony registration form. You'll give your name, address, any group you represent, whether you're for or against, and whether you'll be there in person or remote.
3. Remote testimony depends on the committee. Most chairs allow testimony by video or phone, but not all, and not at every meeting. The registration form shows whether it is offered.
4. Expect two or three minutes. The chair sets the time limit and can cap the total testimony. Registering doesn't guarantee you'll be called.
5. Follow the room's rules. No applause, signs or demonstrations. The chair can ask people to leave.

3. Send written testimony

Email written testimony to the committee secretary, whose address is on the committee's page. The Legislature recommends sending it even if you plan to speak, in case time runs out or a remote connection fails. Keep it to a page and put the bill number and your position in the first line.

4. Write the committee chair and the Governor

• The chair decides whether a bill gets a hearing at all. If a bill you care about is sitting in committee, the chair is the person to ask.
• The Governor has five days, not counting Sundays, to sign or veto a bill that reaches the desk during the session. The Governor's office takes messages by phone and web form.

Timing that catches people

• Hearings can be scheduled with very little notice, sometimes a day. Check the agenda daily when a bill you care about is in committee.
• Agendas change. Bills get pulled or moved, and a hearing may not happen when it was first listed.
• The first hearing isn't a hearing. When a draft is first introduced, the committee only votes on whether to print it. Testimony comes later, at the full hearing.
• You get two chances. A bill that passes one chamber gets a new committee hearing in the other.
• Nothing carries over. A bill that doesn't pass by the end of the session is dead and has to start again the next January.

Watch from anywhere

Idaho Public Television streams floor sessions and committee hearings live through Idaho in Session, and the Legislature's website archives the video. Each bill's page shows its text, its statement of purpose, where it stands and how members voted.

Sources

• Testifying before legislative committees (Idaho Legislature)
• Remote testimony (Idaho Legislature)
• Senate committees, with secretaries' contacts (Idaho Legislature)
• House committees, with secretaries' contacts (Idaho Legislature)
• Idaho in Session (Idaho Public Television)

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.