With the calendar turning to July 1, states across the country, including Idaho, have new laws taking effect for the first time.
Legislators spent much of the 2026 legislative session in budget negotiations, though several billstgrabbed the state’s attention.
Here’s our list of those that made headlines this year:
Idaho lawmakers criminalize transgender bathroom use
The first entry on our list comes with a bit of a caveat.
That’s because House Bill 752 is only partially in effect while a federal lawsuit makes its way through the courts.
This is the law that makes it a crime for a transgender person to use bathrooms or changing facilities that align with their gender identity.
In June, a federal judge partially blocked the statute from taking effect – specifically for restrooms only.
In her opinion, Judge Amanda Brailsford found the law to be unconstitutionally vague.
“Without statutory definitions, narrowing context, or settled legal meanings, H.B. 752 invites arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement,” Brailsford wrote.
Specifically, she pointed to exceptions in the law that allow trans people to use their preferred bathroom as long as the one coinciding with their birth sex wasn’t “reasonably available.”
Another exception is when someone is in “dire need of urinating or defecating.”
“[The law] does not identify any objective benchmark, specify what evidence may establish such a need, or explain how an officer is to assess whether the exception applies,” Brailsford wrote.
Classes to start with a moment of silence
Hundreds of thousands of public school kids across all grades will be in for a new experience when classes begin next month.
Teachers will be required to kick off each day with 60 seconds of silence during which students can pray, meditate or otherwise reflect on the day ahead.
“Why not give this 60 seconds in the morning for students to start their day without any screen time, no interruption, just to settle in and start,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa), in February.
As I wrote in my Legislative Round-up newsletter (shameless plug to subscribe here), Skaug’s bill caught some strays on the House floor. Here’s that excerpt:
“I know 60 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot, but sometimes it’s hard to get us to be quiet for 60 seconds,” Rep. Ben Fuhriman (R-Shelley) said at the time.
He and others said it’s another example of further regulations being put on public schools.
Rep. Steve Berch (D-Boise) went a step further, saying he wanted to demonstrate what lawmakers were about to impose on local school districts.
After ending that sentence, he raised his left wrist to monitor his watch.
Fifteen seconds later, House Speaker Mike Moyle told him the silence was essentially a prop, which are banned during House debates.
Trucks can’t drive 55
Don’t be shocked to see big rigs hauling heavy loads matching your speed on the highway.
Legislators nixed part of Idaho code requiring vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds to drive slower than passenger vehicles. For years, these trucks had to travel at least 10 miles per hour slower than smaller, lighter vehicles.
“Inconsistent road conditions are the biggest danger on the highway, not speed itself,” Rep. Doug Pickett (R-Oakley), citing syndicated conservative radio host and Watergate mastermind G. Gordon Liddy.
As the Idaho Trucking Association told the Idaho Statesman in June, most of its members will not be changing their driving speed.
Online bullying investigations
Public school districts will now be required to investigate all reports of a student harassing or bullying their peers or staff members.
That includes incidents that happen off-campus and during non-school hours.
House Bill 785 doesn’t direct school boards to enact any certain punishment, if appropriate, but it can include a warning, required participation in an online behavior awareness program, suspension or expulsion.
Who can access Idaho’s crime victim compensation fund?
Undocumented immigrants in Idaho can once again receive funding from the state’s Crime Victims Compensation Program.
A bill signed into law in 2025 excluded people from accessing many publicly funded benefits if they aren’t in the country legally.
Senate Bill 1293, which passed nearly unanimously, reversed that law in part.
Idaho’s Crime Victims Compensation Program helps pay for any treatment received inflicted upon someone during a crime, which includes physical injuries and rape kits.
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