Bill Description: House Bill 637 would require the Ada County Highway District to expand from five to seven commissioners and, starting in 2026, to hold partisan elections. 

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House Bill 637 would repeal and replace Section 40-1404A, Idaho Code, which deals with "countywide highway districts located in a county with a population of more than two hundred thousand (200,000) persons in which the voters have chosen to establish a countywide highway district at a previous election. …"

At present, this language only applies to the Ada County Highway District, as Ada County is the only county in Idaho with a population above 200,000 that has a countywide highway district. (Canyon County meets the population threshold and Kootenai County comes close, but these counties each have multiple highway districts, not countywide districts.)

This revised section would require the district to expand from five to seven commissioners. Subdistrict boundaries would be required to provide representation for the seven "most populated incorporated cities" in the district. 

Additionally, the bill would require that "beginning with the elections of 2026, the election of highway district commissioners in a highway district subject to this section shall be on a partisan basis."

Taken together, these changes are likely to provide better and more accountable representation for Idaho voters who live within the district.

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