Ron Taylor — Moved that House Bill 855 be sent to the floor with a due pass recommendation.
Ron Taylor — Antoine said Senator Taylor has given him many pins, which he appreciates.
James Petsky — James Petsky continued explaining House Bill 855, which would change the residency requirement for a lifetime hunting or fishing license from six months to five years. He described how the current rule could be exploited by people who move to Idaho briefly to obtain cheaper resident hunting privileges, and said the bill would prevent that abuse by ensuring non-residents do not pay less after taking advantage of the system. He also emphasized that the proposal is meant to fix the issue going forward without unfairly affecting people who already purchased licenses under the existing framework.
Phil Hart — Phil Hart questioned the witness about how the department would verify five years of Idaho residency for lifetime licenses, whether there are separate resident and non-resident lifetime licenses, what benefit a non-resident would have in keeping such a license after moving out of state, and whether the issue could be addressed by removing the license or using a grandfather clause to avoid creating different classes of license holders.
Ellery Tucker Williams — Ellery Tucker Williams, the legislative and community engagement coordinator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, testified in support of House Bill 855 on behalf of the Fish and Game Commission. She explained that lifetime hunting and fishing license holders must activate their certificate every year, and that residency is verified during that annual activation process. She also clarified that a person must be a resident to purchase a lifetime license, with residency requirements tied to the original purchase and annual activation. Williams further described the benefit for non-residents who hold a lifetime license: although they still pay non-resident prices, they can purchase tags more like residents rather than going through the regular non-resident draw.
Mark Harris — Raised concern about whether the proposal creates different classes of Idahoans and asked whether there are other ways to address the issue.
Mark Harris — Addressed Representative Petsky with a follow-up question and concern about alternative approaches.
Mark Harris — Introduced House Concurrent Resolution 34 and described it as protecting Idaho's water future under the Bear River Compact.
Mark Harris — Closed his presentation and invited Paul Arrington to answer questions.
Mark Harris — Referenced as the sponsor who had explained the study timeline.
Paul Arrington — Paul Arrington of the Idaho Water Users Association explained the policy importance of understanding and managing water supplies across Idaho basins, then clarified questions about costs by stating that any expenses discussed would be limited to preparing the study itself, not to later project approvals or funding.
Julie VanOrden — Senator Julie VanOrden seconded motions during the meeting, including the motion on HCR 34 and the motion to approve the minutes, and was also asked to help with the minutes.
Doug Okuniewicz — Not present for the minutes item.
Antoine — Antoine is called to the podium and praised by the committee, then shares his plans to finish school, serve a mission in Paris, attend BYU to study business management, and eventually own a business. He says he was pleasantly surprised by how interesting the committee’s work was, especially water, fishing, and game issues, and that he enjoyed watching floor debates and sees the experience as a beginning of public service. He agrees to help find applicants for the page program, answers a question about his family and siblings, and suggests his brother Victor and possibly his younger sister might be interested in paging. The committee then thanks him for his service, gives him a gift—a flag flown over the Capitol—and a pin, and Antoine expresses gratitude and appreciation.
Adam — Antoine's older brother, who had previously served as a page.
Victor — Victor, Antoine's younger brother, is mentioned as someone who may want to be a page.
Seabell — Antoine's younger sister.
Antoine's brother — The committee said they enjoyed Antoine's brother and noted he is home from his mission.
Kevin Cook — Asked whether the resolution would cost money and referenced the statement of purpose.
Kevin Cook — Asked for an estimate of spending associated with the resolution.
Kevin Cook — Moved to send HCR 34 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.
Kevin Cook — Challenged Antoine to recruit two or three people for the page program and send them back next year.
Ron Taylor — Seconded the motion on Senate Bill 1396.
Kevin Cook — Made the motion to send Senate Bill 1396 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.
Kevin Cook — Seconded the motion on House Bill 855.