Idaho legislative leaders sets deadline targets for 2024 session

Leaders of the Idaho Legislature released their unofficial deadlines for the upcoming 2024 legislative session on Thursday, signaling they hope to wrap the session up in March well before next year’s primary elections.

Legislative leaders hope to adjourn for the year March 22, the 75th day in session. If legislators could hit that target, that would make the 2024 legislative session the shortest session since 2020, when legislators adjourned after 74 days in session.

All 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature will be up for election in 2024, and the primary election is May 21. Generally, legislative sessions in election years are shorter because legislators want to be able to leave Boise and return to their home districts to campaign for re-election

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Members of the Legislative Council discussed the 2024 deadlines during a meeting Thursday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. The deadlines are unofficial but are intended to set parameters and expectations for the annual legislative session, which kicks off Jan. 8 at the Idaho State Capitol.

The Legislative Council includes legislative leaders from both major political parties and is responsible for overseeing the management responsibilities of the Idaho Legislature.

Legislative sessions generally last between 75 and 90 days, although there is no time limit. For example, the 2021 session was the longest in state history and ran for 311 days – although it was punctuated by several stops and starts and a long recess that counted toward the total number of days.

Here is a look at several 2024 dates and deadlines legislators released Thursday:

• Jan. 8: legislative session convenes with Gov. Brad Little’s State of the State address.
• Jan. 10: respectful workplace training for all legislators.
• Feb. 12: deadline for the Idaho Legislature’s nonprivileged committees to introduce new bills, proposed constitutional amendments and resolutions. So-called privileged committees, including the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, House State Affairs Committee, House Education Committee, House Revenue and Taxation Committee and House Health and Welfare Committee are not subject to the deadline and have privileges to introduce new bills all the way until the end of session.
• Feb. 20: target date for the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee to begin setting state budgets.
• March 4: target date to transmit all bills between the two legislative chambers.
• March 8: target date for the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee to complete setting the fiscal year 2025 budget.
• March 22: target date to adjourn the 2024 legislative session.