Idaho Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Idaho, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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When an Idaho prisoner had multiple consecutive sentences and was eligible for parole on the first one, could the parole board release them onto parole while still keeping them in prison to serve the next sentence?
The 1987 AG opinion concluded yes, for crimes committed before February 1, 1987 (the effective date of the Unified Sentencing Act). The Commission of Pardons and Parole could parole an inmate from an …
Did Idaho's Medicare supplement insurance law cover policies sold to disabled people on Medicare, or only people on Medicare 'by reason of age'?
The 1987 AG opinion concluded that Medicare supplement policies could be sold to persons eligible for Medicare by reason of disability (not just by age), and the Director of the Department of Insuranc…
Did Idaho's law requiring AIDS testing of incoming prisoners apply to existing inmates, and could prison officials keep an AIDS-positive prisoner quarantined past the end of their sentence?
The 1987 AG opinion concluded that Idaho Code § 39-604 required AIDS testing only for incoming inmates entering a detention facility, with the state covering medical costs at state facilities. AIDS-po…
Could the Idaho Board of Correction release inmates early to relieve overcrowding, and could it use long-term work furloughs to do the same thing?
The AG concluded the Idaho Board of Correction had no power to do an outright early release of inmates. The Commission of Pardons and Parole was the only body that could parole or pardon. The Board co…
If an Idaho boarding school keeps kids 24 hours a day for therapeutic and educational programs, does it have to be licensed under Idaho's child-care licensing law?
The AG concluded that a boarding school providing 24-hour group care for children under 18 was subject to Idaho's Child-Care Licensing Act, even when the program also offered education and therapy. Th…
Can the Idaho legislature kill an approved minimum stream flow application just by passing a concurrent resolution?
No. The 1987 AG opinion concluded that the provision in Idaho Code § 42-1503 allowing the legislature to reject an approved minimum stream flow by concurrent resolution would be found unconstitutional…
Whose job is it to attend Idaho district and magistrate courts: the sheriff, or court-appointed bailiffs and marshals?
The AG concluded the sheriff had primary statutory duty to attend Idaho district and magistrate courts. There was no statutory authority for courts to appoint bailiffs, marshals, constables, or specia…
Did the 'exclusive franchise' language in the Idaho telephone deregulation bill (H.B. 149) violate the Idaho Constitution's right of telephone companies to construct lines?
The AG concluded H.B. 149's 'exclusive service area franchise' language could be read constitutionally if it meant existing certificates were preserved as valuable property rights, subject to administ…
What happens if an Idaho sheriff lets a deputy keep working as a peace officer without P.O.S.T. certification past the one-year deadline?
The AG concluded that under Idaho Code § 19-5109(b), a peace officer must complete P.O.S.T. certification within one year of employment. Failure exposed the deputy, the sheriff, the county commissione…
When filing a UCC financing statement on Idaho farm products, do you need a full legal description of the land, or is the county name enough?
The AG concluded that for an Idaho UCC-1 farm products financing statement, naming the county where the products are produced or located was a legally sufficient description of real estate. A full leg…
When does an Idaho felony conviction count as a 'conviction' under the federal Gun Control Act, especially after probation, parole, or a withheld judgment?
The AG concluded a person with a federal Gun Control Act-disqualifying Idaho felony stays disqualified after release from prison, probation, or parole, even after restoration of civil rights. Pardons …
Can Idaho's governor, attorney general, or other elected executive officers cash out unused vacation leave when their term ends?
No. The AG concluded elected officials of Idaho's executive branch (governor, secretary of state, state auditor, treasurer, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction) could not receive ca…
Was Idaho's lower wine excise tax on Idaho-produced wine constitutional, and could distributors of out-of-state wine get a refund?
The AG concluded Idaho's lower 20-cent-per-gallon excise tax on in-state wine (versus 45 cents on out-of-state wine) was an unconstitutional Commerce Clause violation under the U.S. Supreme Court's 19…
Can an Idaho school district create or run a nonprofit corporation to accept donations and tax-credit gifts for the schools?
No. The AG concluded a school district could not create or be on the board of a nonprofit corporation to manage school gifts. Private individuals could set up an independent foundation, and gifts to t…
When school district employees opted into a cafeteria plan, did the employer-paid premiums count as 'salary' for PERSI retirement contributions and benefits?
Only as to the cash-elect portion. The AG concluded that under Idaho Code § 59-1302(31), as amended in 1984, cafeteria plan amounts were included in 'salary' to the extent the employee had a right to …
Could Idaho require students to live in Idaho for five calendar years before they could be certified for state-funded special graduate programs like WAMI medical or WICHE veterinary education?
No. The AG concluded that Idaho Code § 33-3717(8)'s five-year residency requirement violated equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. The state could impose a reasonable durational residency r…
What authority did Idaho's county commissioners have over deputies and assistants of other elected county officers, and could commissioners hire their own staff or create new offices?
The AG concluded county commissioners can set salaries and authorize appointments for deputies and assistants of other elected officers, and can adopt countywide pay scales and FLSA-compliant work-hou…
Was the Idaho law forcing the legislature to wait for an advisory popular vote before ratifying U.S. constitutional amendments enforceable?
Only partly. The AG concluded the nonbinding advisory referendum itself was constitutional, but the requirement that the legislature defer ratification until after that referendum conflicted with Arti…
Could Idaho's Plumbing Division issue plumbing permits to people who were not licensed plumbers?
Yes, in limited circumstances. The AG concluded the Plumbing Division had authority under chapter 26 of title 54 to issue permits to non-licensed individuals or firms when needed to protect public hea…
Did the Coeur d'Alene police have to disclose all of their investigation records to the public or news media on request?
No, not all of them. The AG concluded that Idaho Code § 9-335 (Supp. 1986) exempted certain investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes if disclosure would interfere with proceedings, …
Can an Idaho legislator take office as a county prosecuting attorney without resigning the legislative seat first, and can a sitting prosecutor still run for the legislature?
No to the first; yes to the second. The AG read Idaho Code § 31-2601 to bar a prosecuting attorney from holding any other county or state office during the prosecutor's term, so a legislator must resi…
Did Idaho's 1978 right-to-bear-arms amendment make the law banning uncased-firearm possession by unlicensed people in fields and forests unconstitutional?
No. The AG concluded that Idaho Code § 36-401 punishes hunting (or attempted hunting) without a license, not mere possession of a firearm. Read with criminal-act and criminal-intent requirements, it d…
After H 708 extended Idaho liquor-by-the-drink hours to 2 a.m., could counties also extend beer and wine sales to 2 a.m. by ordinance?
No. The AG concluded that H 708 extended only liquor-by-the-drink sales (and added a 30-minute consumption grace period for that category). Beer and wine sales still had to end at 1 a.m., and the grac…
Did Idaho's sick pay plans qualify state employee sick payments for exclusion from Social Security wages between 1978 and 1981?
Yes. The AG concluded that Idaho's mandatory statutory sick leave plans for both classified and nonclassified employees met the requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 409(b), so payments on account of sickness d…
Could Idaho state employees, board members, or elected officials be held personally liable when the state's self-insurance ran out of money to pay tort judgments?
Generally no. Under the Idaho Tort Claims Act, the governmental entity (not the Insurance Division) had the duty to defend and indemnify employees acting within the course and scope of their employmen…
Could Idaho legally bar unlicensed people from calling themselves 'accountant' or 'auditor' on advertising or business cards?
Yes. The AG concluded the legislature could restrict the title 'accountant' (and similar terms) to licensed CPAs and PAs without violating due process, equal protection, or commercial-speech rights. T…
Did Idaho's Open Meeting Law require the Commission of Pardons and Parole to hold its parole and pardon hearings in public, and did it allow voting in private?
Yes to public hearings; no to private voting. The AG concluded the Commission was a 'public agency' under Idaho Code § 67-2341 and had to open all meetings except those properly conducted in executive…
Were Idaho cities, counties, school districts, and other political subdivisions required to carry mandatory automobile liability insurance under Idaho Code § 49-233?
No. The AG concluded that political subdivisions were exempt from the mandatory auto liability insurance laws because § 49-1533 expressly exempts state and local government vehicles from the financial…
Did Idaho's Department of Labor and Industrial Services need legislative appropriations each year before spending money in its dedicated electrical, plumbing, and building code fund accounts?
Yes. Even though the statutes creating the dedicated accounts contained 'perpetually appropriated' language, the AG concluded that chapter 35 of title 67 required annual budgeting and appropriation. T…
Could Idaho enforce its Relative Responsibility law (requiring adult children, spouses, and parents to repay Medicaid nursing home costs) consistent with the federal Social Security Act?
Only with a federal waiver, and even then with significant collection limits. The AG concluded a § 1115 waiver could authorize a demonstration project but that Idaho still could not reach non-resident…
How should Idaho's Department of Finance handle records and unclaimed funds from long-defunct banks and savings and loans, given the interplay between the state records management law, the Bank Act, and the Unclaimed Property Act?
Bank records the Department no longer needs may be destroyed or transferred to the State Historical Society under Idaho Code §§ 67-5751 through 67-5753 (with court-ordered destructions controlling whe…
Could the Governor of Idaho appoint a sitting judge to the Children's Trust Account Board?
No. The AG concluded that appointing a member of the judiciary to the Board would violate the separation of powers clause in Article 2, § 1 of the Idaho Constitution. The Board's duties are executive,…
Could Idaho's Endowment Fund Investment Board legally invest permanent endowment funds in money market mutual funds, and what was the State Treasurer's role in questioning those investments?
Yes, with two conditions. Money market mutual funds whose assets are limited to U.S. or U.S. agency obligations are permissible if (1) the fund unconditionally guarantees full repayment of principal a…
When Idaho put 10% of timber, grazing, and recreation site lease income into a special fund for state land maintenance, did interest on those endowment-derived dollars belong to the general fund or to the endowment lands themselves?
To the endowment lands. The AG concluded that to avoid violating the constitutional land grant provisions, the special fund created by § 58-140 should be moved from the state operating fund to the age…
Could the Idaho Water Resource Board issue revenue bonds to finance a stand-alone hydroelectric project that did not provide irrigation or other water-development benefits?
Yes. The AG concluded that Idaho Code § 42-1734(x) authorized the Water Resource Board to issue revenue bonds and loan the proceeds to a local water-project sponsor for a hydroelectric project, and th…
Does an unpaid personal-property tax lien wipe out a bank's earlier purchase-money security interest in the same equipment?
Yes. The AG concluded that Idaho personal-property tax liens have first priority, even ahead of prior perfected purchase-money security interests under UCC Article 9. The result followed from Article …
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Attorney general opinions in Idaho are written by the Idaho Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.