Bill Description: House Bill 936 is a trailer bill, which would significantly weaken the private property protections contained in Senate Bill 1326. 

Rating: -2

NOTE: House Bill 936 is a trailer bill to Senate Bill 1326, which was not particularly strong in its original form, and which was further weakened by the Senate Amendment to the bill. 

Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States 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 US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

House Bill 936 would amend Section 18-7102, Idaho Code, as added by Senate Bill 1326aa, to exclude an employee or representative of the federal government from the definition of a “government agent,” thereby allowing federal agents to violate property rights in all the ways the bill would otherwise prohibit. 

(-1)

The bill would also amend Section 18-7104, Idaho Code, as added by Senate Bill 1326aa, to change “shall” to “should” in the sentence that says, “Prior to executing a search warrant on private land pursuant to section 18-7103, Idaho Code, federal government agents shall notify the county sheriff, unless exigent circumstances exist.”

This change neuters this section entirely, changing it from a requirement to a mere suggestion.

(-1)