Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to provide for the Idaho Board of Long-Term Care Facility Administrators.
House Bill 28 reorganizes Idaho’s licensing framework for long-term care facility administrators by repealing the existing statutes governing nursing home administrators and residential care administrators and replacing them with a single new chapter for the Idaho Board of Long-Term Care Administrators. The bill creates one board to oversee both nursing home administrators and residential care facility administrators, defines the regulated occupations and facilities, and sets out licensing, examination, renewal, endorsement, continuing education, provisional permitting, administrator-in-training, discipline, and judicial review procedures.
The measure also establishes operating rules for long-term care facilities, including a requirement that nursing homes and residential care facilities be supervised by a licensed administrator, an authorized administrator designee, or a provisional permit holder in limited circumstances. It authorizes the board to set fees, adopt rules, investigate complaints, impose penalties for unlicensed practice or fraud, and take disciplinary action for misconduct or safety-related violations. The bill further updates related statutes to conform cross-references, including provisions tied to prelitigation hearing panels for nursing facility negligence claims and certified family home rules.
The bill substantially amends Title 54 of the Idaho Code by consolidating two separate licensing schemes into one unified regulatory chapter for long-term care administrators. It changes the governing board structure, licensing standards, and enforcement authority for individuals who administer nursing homes and residential care facilities, while also updating related statutes in Titles 6 and 39 to reflect the new board name and chapter references. The bill affects administrators, facilities, applicants, and the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, and it directs fees into the occupational licenses fund. It takes effect July 1, 2025, under an emergency clause.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition in the recorded votes. It passed the House 67-0 and the Senate 35-0, suggesting general agreement that the licensing and oversight structure for long-term care administrators should be modernized and consolidated. No committee transcript was provided, so the available record shows strong legislative consensus rather than debate-driven division.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials, and the unanimous floor votes indicate that any disagreements were either resolved before final passage or were minimal. Potential areas that could have drawn attention include the new board’s authority over licensing and discipline, the fee cap, the use of administrator designees during vacancies, and the revised qualification standards for applicants, but no recorded objections or competing positions are included in the context.