Rating: 0

Bill Summary:

Senate Bill 1196 appropriates $1,273,400 to the Idaho Commission for Libraries for fiscal year 2026, including $1,231,000 from the Federal Grant Fund for operating expenses and $42,400 from the General Fund for trustee and benefit payments. The bill reappropriates unspent FY 2025 ARPA funds for nonrecurring library capital projects. It prohibits the use of state-appropriated funds to support diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), or social justice ideology in any programs, clubs, or activities. Libraries receiving state funds must report by December 1, 2025, detailing any expenditures related to such programs. The bill also requires confirmation that the Commission and participating libraries comply with Idaho Code sections on materials harmful to minors and parental opt-out rights. It restricts any federal-to-state fund transfers or backfilling without legislative approval and includes an emergency clause, effective July 1, 2025.

Reason for Rating:
S1196 reflects a mixed alignment with the Idaho Republican Party Platform. On one hand, it strengthens oversight and enforces platform-aligned restrictions by banning state funding of DEI and social justice programs, increasing transparency, and requiring statutory compliance on protecting minors and parental rights. On the other hand, it continues Idaho’s reliance on federal grant funding for library operations, reappropriates ARPA dollars, and preserves a centralized public library bureaucracy without introducing reforms, decentralization, or privatization. Because it promotes platform principles in content restrictions but conflicts with them in structure and funding model, the bill earns a neutral rating.