David Cannon — As chair, David Cannon managed the end of the hearing: he moved the committee into public testimony, later invited sponsor closing remarks, was repeatedly addressed during the ensuing exchange, then put the motion to send House Bill 897 to the floor with a due pass recommendation to a vote. He announced the motion carried, confirmed Representative Bruce would carry the bill on the floor, and concluded the meeting by adjourning the committee.
Vito Barbieri — Representative Vito Barbieri engaged in a continuous line of questioning about how the bill would protect ratepayers if a data center connects to the grid. He asked about reimbursement timing for utilities, whether transmission build-out costs would be fully covered, whether any delays could cause temporary rate increases for ratepayers, and whether payments from the data center to the utility would be made as a lump sum or spread over time. The exchange concluded after the sponsor’s responses and Barbieri thanked him.
Jerald Raymond — Senator Den Hartog is thanked by name; this appears to be a mis-transcription of Lori Den Hartog, not a listed member.
Jerald Raymond — Representative Raymond asked the sponsor about a letter of opposition from TerraVolt and clarified that his concern was specifically the power plant portion of the proposed data center. He then followed up with a question about whether a closed-loop cooling system would be subject to the tax incentive, and after receiving the sponsor's response, indicated he had no further questions.
Lane Thornton — Lane Thornton, a fourth-generation farmer from Kuna, Idaho, introduced himself and explained his family’s long farming history in the area. He said he supports parts of the bill related to water and power because his farm relies on electrically powered wells and pivots, and rising electricity costs would burden farmers. He also raised concerns about how data centers would use water and whether it would remain safe and usable afterward. Thornton concluded that the bill addresses his main concerns and expressed support for it. In follow-up discussion, he confirmed that his farm has water rights dating back to the 1960s and said he believed earlier water rights would have priority.
Charlie Shepherd — Representative Charlie Shepherd was called on by the chair and then questioned the witness about whether the witness’s pivots are tied to water rights, and whether senior water rights could be used through the water-right process to shut off or limit excessive water use.
Courtney Dawson — Courtney Dawson was introduced as the next witness and then testified on behalf of the Idaho Rural Water Association in support of the bill’s water-protection measures.
Jason Monks — Representative Jason Monks moved to send House Bill 897 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.