Bill Description: Senate Bill 1036 would reduce the penalty for selling raw milk from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil violation. 

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Does it directly or indirectly create or increase penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for nonviolent crimes? Conversely, does it eliminate or decrease penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for non-violent crimes?

Among the more egregious examples of state interference in the free market and the direct violation of individual liberty are the state's rules and regulations of the sale of raw milk, or as it has been known throughout nearly all of human history, milk.

Senate Bill 1036 would amend Section 37-1101, Idaho Code, to repeal some largely irrelevant portions of this law. More importantly, it would repeal the current language that makes a violation of this section a misdemeanor. The bill would replace this repealed language with a new section (§ 37-1102), making it a civil violation. 

Considering that the existing misdemeanor penalty can include a sentence of up to 3 months in jail for a victimless action, this decriminalization is significant.

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