Todd Lakey — Seconded the motion to adopt the minutes.
Todd Lakey — Asked the nominee about the future direction of PERSI and praised his service.
Todd Lakey — Seconded the motion on House Bill 543.
Todd Lakey — Senator Lakey was recognized as the next speaker and then moved to send House Bill 563 to the floor with a due pass recommendation; the chair subsequently restated his motion.
Todd Lakey — Todd Lakey questioned whether the proposal was modeled on similar laws in other states and was told it is not currently being done elsewhere. He then followed up on the role of federal regulation, suggesting it functions more like a floor than a ceiling, and asked about product names and acronyms on the handouts—whether they appear on labels and what they mean. The discussion concluded with the observation that the products are listed, but consumers are not clearly told what they are, relying on scientific names that may not be understandable.
Todd Lakey — Asked the witness to repeat the court case citation.
Todd Lakey — Called during the roll call vote.
Jeff Seilich / Jeff Seelike / Jeff Seelik — Presented himself for consideration of a gubernatorial reappointment to the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho board.
Jeff Seelik / Mr. Seelick — Continued his introductory remarks regarding his appointment to the PERSI board.
Jeff Seelick — Said PERSI should continue its current approach, emphasizing stability and steady performance.
Christy Zito — Senator Zito was called on and moved to adopt the minutes, specifically the minutes from the February 24th, 2026 meeting.
Christy Zito — Voted nay on the substitute motion.
Ben Fuhriman — Introduced House Bill 543 and explained the technical changes for PERSI compliance.
Mike Hampton — Director of PERSI; explained the bill as a technical correction.
Melissa Wintrow — The chair recognized Senator Janie Ward-Engelking, and she then moved to send House Bill 543 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Nichols was called during the roll call vote and then recorded as voting aye on the substitute motion.
Tammy Nichols — Senator Tammy Nichols introduced House Bill 563 and then turned the presentation over to Representative Ehlers.
Tammy Nichols — Moved to send Senate Bill 1310 to the amending order for possible amendments.
Tammy Nichols — The speaker yielded to Senator Nichols, who then began discussing state disclosure requirements.
Tammy Nichols — The speaker yielded to Senator Nichols, who began discussing state disclosure requirements and GMO labeling.
Tammy Nichols — The speaker yielded to Senator Nichols, who argued that states routinely require disclosures and that GMO labeling helped drive federal action.
Tammy Nichols — The speaker continued supporting the original motion and cited state disclosure laws, consumer transparency, and a Supreme Court case as justification.
Tammy Nichols — Called during the roll call vote.
Tammy Nichols — Likely Senator Burns; recorded as voting aye on the substitute motion, though the transcript is unclear.
Jeff Ehlers — Representative Jeff Ehlers introduced House Bill 563 and explained that the bill is aimed at addressing the CPA shortage by lowering barriers to entry and reviewing licensing requirements. The discussion then continued with a question about whether reducing those barriers would raise concerns about lowering CPA standards.
Jeff Ehlers — Representative Ehlers was invited to give closing remarks on House Bill 563 and noted that Idaho has roughly 3,000 licensed CPAs, using that point to ask the committee for support.
Daniel Foreman — Was addressed in the discussion of House Bill 563; the speaker said the association does not oppose the bill and that the bill lowers education hours while increasing experience requirements.
Daniel Foreman — Was addressed by Senator Guthrie regarding fiscal impact and regulation.
Daniel Foreman — Was referenced again in the follow-up question about fiscal impact.
Daniel Foreman — Responded that he uses available information but verifies it, and challenged Senator Ward-Engelking to verify the information.
Daniel Foreman — Said he verifies information and urged Senator Ward-Engelking to do the same; noted some sources are verifiable and others may be blogs.
Daniel Foreman — Referenced as having said the state can go above and beyond FDA labeling requirements.
Daniel Foreman — Addressed as chair during the exchange.
Daniel Foreman — Addressed by the witness during the exchange.
Daniel Foreman — Addressed by the witness during the exchange.
Daniel Foreman — Indicated willingness to answer questions during closing and asked whether there was further testimony.
Daniel Foreman — The chair says he can return later for closing remarks.
Daniel Foreman — Addressed by the witness and committee during the introduction.
Daniel Foreman — The speaker thanked Senator Laking and said he would reluctantly vote to hold the bill in committee. He then yielded to Senator Byrne, who raised practicality and enforcement concerns and indicated support would depend on FDA backing for a labeling change. The discussion continued with references to Senator Burns’ comments about cost and regulation, along with a clarification to Senator Burton about the speaker’s position on the original motion versus the substitute motion. Overall, the exchange focused on the bill’s fiscal impact, regulatory feasibility, and the decision to hold it in committee.
Daniel Foreman — During the roll call vote, the member is called and records a nay vote; the transcript appears to contain a duplicate or mis-transcribed name reference for the same voting response.
Ken McClure — Ken McClure, speaking for the Idaho Society of CPAs, explained that he drafted the legislation and that it would repeal a 1993 change he had previously helped create. He argued that the fifth year of education has not worked well in practice and has contributed to a manpower shortage in the profession, so the bill would return CPA licensing standards to the pre-1993 approach. He added that many other states have already made or are considering similar changes and concluded by asking the committee to approve the legislation.
Laura Lance — Laura Lance, executive director of the Idaho Society of CPAs, testified in support of the bill. She said she was proud to see the change happen during her tenure and explained that the bill would give Idaho accounting students flexible education options and pathways that fit their needs. She concluded by asking the committee to send the bill to the floor and offered to answer questions.
Ilana Rubel — Was invited to offer closing remarks on House Bill 563.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Identified as the likely second on the motion to send House Bill 563 to the floor.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Ward-Engelking raised a series of related questions about the bill’s labeling requirements, asking whether Idaho manufacturers would need separate labels for products sold in Idaho, whether the proposal would be more restrictive than FDA labeling rules, and whether it would create additional costs for manufacturers. She also asked how one could distinguish aborted fetal tissue from donated tissue, referencing Senator Lenney’s earlier comments. The sponsor responded that the bill would require labeling changes and continued addressing concerns about transparency and tissue source.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Ward Engelking questioned whether the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division has the capacity to enforce the bill, while also raising concerns about business labeling costs and the reliability of some source material. In response, she was directly challenged to verify the information and make her own judgment about the sources.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Ward Engelking thanked the witness and then raised concerns about the bill’s implications for hospitals and doctors, questioning whether providers would be required to communicate a message to patients and whether they could be held responsible, cited, charged, or fined under the bill.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Ward Engelking questioned the bill’s disclosure and labeling requirements, using a personal example to argue that consumers can read labels and asking why the burden should fall on manufacturers. He pressed for clarification on how the disclosure would appear, expressed concern about the cost and practicality of the labeling changes, and suggested the issue might be better addressed at the federal level. He then moved to hold Senate Bill 1310 in committee, explaining that the bill was not ready, stakeholders had not been heard from, and amendments should be reviewed before advancing.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Name appears in the roll call, but the vote is not captured in this excerpt.
James Woodward — Introduced as the sponsor of Senate Bill 1310; transcript likely refers to Senator Taves, though no exact member match is available.