Bill Description: Senate Bill 1026 would allow homeowners living in single-family dwellings to have up to four chickens per two-tenths of an acre. Homeowner associations, however, could adopt "reasonable rules," including bans on roosters.

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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

Senate Bill 1026 would amend Section 22-1002, Idaho Code, and create Section 22-1003, Idaho Code, to expand the definition of "urban farming" to include "the responsible rearing of small-scale livestock or poultry to support food production goals."

It would specify that homeowners living in single-family dwellings may own and pasture up to four chickens per two-tenths of an acre. It would allow HOAs to "adopt reasonable rules, subject to applicable statutes and ordinances, regarding the housing and pasturing of chickens, including a prohibition or restriction on ownership or pasturing of roosters."

While this bill takes a small step to support property rights, it effectively requires a homeowner to have a lot of at least two-tenths of an acre (8,712 square feet) to have any chickens, at which point four are allowed. Many subdivisions have lots below this minimum, yet the size or suitability of a backyard for raising chickens is not directly linked to overall lot size. It might be better to adopt a less rigid standard that gives homeowners more flexibility to determine if and how many chickens their property can support. 

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