Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls, listens to proceedings during the House State Affairs Committee on March 10, 2025, at the Idaho Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)
After debate on a legislative travel transparency bill broke down in the Idaho House on Wednesday, the chamber on Thursday quickly passed the bill.
House Bill 378, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls, would require all Idaho legislative officials to report out-of-state travel, paid by another individual or entity, that is “reasonably related to a legislative or governmental purpose or to an issue of state, national, or international public policy.”
Legislative travel paid through personal funds or campaign funds would not be subject to the bill.
The Idaho House passed the bill in a 47-22 vote Thursday.
No lawmakers debated the bill Thursday, but Mickelsen offered remarks on the House floor.
“The only currency you have in this building is your integrity,” she said. “And I would submit to you that the integrity we have also goes out to the voters and the citizens of this state.”
But in an about 16-minute debate Wednesday — before lawmakers shouted amid a procedural breakdown, as the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported — several lawmakers spoke in support of the bill. But several lawmakers also felt like the bill was unfair by only requiring reporting for travel that lawmakers don’t pay for themselves.
“To me, this creates kind of a transparency caste system, right?” Rep. Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls said on Wednesday. “If you can afford it, you don’t have to be transparent. But if you can’t afford it, or someone else pays — all of a sudden, you’re liable for transparency.”
The bill heads to the Idaho Senate for consideration. To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate, and avoid the governor’s veto.
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