It’s one of an array of new laws now taking effect. The Idaho Legislature passed 338 bills this year that were signed into law, and while many of the highest-profile ones, including a record income tax cut, already have taken effect, 151 of those new laws take effect on July 1, the start of Idaho’s new fiscal year.

“I had been getting a lot of calls from constituents and also my own family members,” said Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, lead sponsor of the bill, who worked with hospitals, nursing homes and other interests to craft the consensus bill. It passed both houses unanimously. “The health care sector understands the best care you can have is when people feel supported by people who love them and care for them.”

Stennett knows from first-hand experience. She took over her Senate seat after her husband, longtime Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, died of brain cancer at age 54 in 2010 after a long battle against the disease, with his wife by his side. Recently, Stennett’s relatives have turned to her as the lead person on dealing with issues involving ill family members.

During legislative hearings on the bill, Idahoans told of loved ones who were largely incapacitated and couldn’t understand their doctors’ questions, or who suffered from dementia and provided inaccurate information about their conditions to caregivers. Under the new law, the designated essential caregiver doesn’t need to be a family member; some patients don’t have family members available.

Stennett noted that some patients are in comas and can’t advocate for themselves or their wishes. “If they’re not able to speak for themselves, then who’s making decisions for that patient?” she asked.

At the height of the pandemic, she said, “People were dying without family members there.”

Toni Lawson, vice president of the Idaho Hospital Association, said, “We appreciate her approach to it. And we think it will benefit everyone.”

Said Robert Vande Merwe, executive director of the Idaho Health Care Association, the trade association for Idaho’s nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other care facilities, “We support the new law.”

“Visitation is important for the mental health and quality of life of the residents of our member facilities,” he said. “We of course are very careful and do all we can to keep COVID out of our facilities, but we support a balance between infection prevention and a resident’s right to have their loved ones visit them.”

Lawson said during the height of the pandemic, Idaho hospitals struggled with federal directives forbidding visitation even as families begged to be with their dying loved ones.

“It was ever-changing,” Lawson said. “It was all new; nobody knew. … At one point, one hospital in just a few-month period revamped their visitation policy a dozen times.”

It’s much different today. “I think there may be a few hospitals that still have some limitations on the number of people that can visit at a time,” Lawson said, but she doesn’t believe any Idaho hospital forbids visitors now. “I’m 99.9% sure,” she said. “I think everyone is relaxing visitation to the point they think they can.”

Stennett said coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Everybody was doing something different.” Rules varied; some facilities required visitors to have medical power of attorney to speak for their loved one. Others took other approaches.

“I heard stories from other legislators,” said Stennett, who is retiring from the Senate this year when her term ends in December. “I just said, ‘Enough is enough. We need a clean bill.’”

Her idea was to set a consistent standard that every facility could follow. “It doesn’t need to be a family member,” Stennett said. “It is who the patient wishes, if the patient has an ability to choose.” If not, it could be a patient advocate.

“They have to comply with the facility’s protocols,” Stennett said, such as masking or specific hours when visiting is allowed. “You can’t bring the mob in, unmasked and unvaccinated, if the facility says, ‘These are our protocols.’”

She added, “Hospitals have always had protocols we’ve had to comply with. This is nothing new. You have to follow their rules, but they have to allow you in.”

Stennett said based on her experience, visits from loved ones are an essential part of a patient’s care. “Talking in the parking lot from a phone is not patient care,” she said.

Lawson said the bill’s requirements won’t require big changes at any Idaho hospitals at this point. Consistency in regulations is something Idaho hospitals support, she noted.

“We’re very appreciative that she took this up,” she said of Stennett, “and came up with what we thought was a really workable, fair piece of legislation.”

The bill, SB 1353, is one of an array of new Idaho laws taking effect. Some are just minor or technical adjustments to existing laws, like one removing a requirement to file certain court records in triplicate now that they’re filed electronically. Others are more far-reaching.

The new laws can affect Idahoans’ lives in ways large and small. “Some of them will have potentially wide-ranging effects, but people may not notice it in their everyday life unless it’s something that particularly affects them,” said Jaclyn Kettler, Boise State University political scientist.

This year’s passel of new laws is right in line numerically with recent years; last year, 364 bills were signed into law; the previous year, 341, and the year before that, 329. The high in the past 10 years was 377 in 2016; the 10-year average is 350.

While there are 151 new laws taking effect Friday, some of the other bills passed this year don’t take effect until later. Nearly 120 of the 338 successful bills were appropriation bills, setting or adjusting budgets for state agencies or programs; those expire each year, running from July 1 to July 1.

Here are some of new laws that are now taking effect:

SMOKING AGE: As of July 1, Idaho’s state minimum age for smoking or vaping now matches the federal law: 21. Congress raised the age to 21 in 2019 and President Trump signed the bill into law, but Idaho lawmakers balked at following suit for two straight years. Idaho stores are subject to the federal law and have been required to sell only to those who are at least 21 since 2019.

DOWN SYNDROME: Under the new Down Syndrome Diagnosis Information Act, prospective parents who receive a Down syndrome diagnosis will be provided with evidence-based information about the syndrome and contact information for support groups; the state Department of Health and Welfare is required to develop the information sheet and provide it to practitioners to give to expectant parents. Idahoans with Down syndrome, their families and advocacy groups backed the bill, which passed both houses unanimously. Its lead sponsor was Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise.

DUPLICATE EXEMPTIONS: Under bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, and House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, when anyone applies for a new homeowner’s exemption, the county assessor would first need to investigate whether the applicant already has an exemption in another county. The bill also eases access to that information between agencies.

WWAMI PAYBACK: Moyle was the sponsor of legislation that requires new doctors educated through the state’s cooperative medical education programs with the states of Washington and Utah to sign a contract committing to practice in Idaho for four years, or pay back the cost of their medical education.

RACIAL COVENANTS: Legislation sponsored by Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, allows Idahoans to formally file corrections to archaic racially restrictive covenants in property deeds. The bill passed both houses unanimously and had 21 co-sponsors from both parties and both houses. Though the covenants haven’t been enforceable since the 1968 Fair Housing Act outlawed them, they still exist in many Idaho property deeds.

RURAL EDUCATORS: Bipartisan legislation long pushed for by retiring Rep. Sally Toone, D-Gooding, will set up a new “Rural and Underserved Educator Incentive Program.” Qualified teachers in rural or disadvantaged Idaho schools could apply for funds toward educational loan repayment or additional degrees or certification; they’d be eligible for up to $1,500 in the first year, $2,500 the second year, $3,500 the third year and $4,500 the fourth year they continued teaching in the school. Lawmakers appropriated $775,000 in annual funding for the program.

FREE STATE IDs FOR HOMELESS IDAHOANS: Homeless individuals will now qualify for a free state identification card, good for four years, under legislation co-sponsored by Senate Transportation Chair Lori Den Hartog and House Transportation Chair Joe Palmer, both Meridian Republicans. The bill also covers one free replacement card; backers said it’ll help homeless people qualify for housing and employment. Applicants would need an attestation from a relief agency or shelter.

PRISON JOBS: Prison job-training programs that place inmates with private employers will expand from just agricultural employers to also include call centers. Inmates receive stipends for their work; a portion can be deducted for court-ordered restitution and fines, and costs of incarceration. Backers said the bill, which passed both houses unanimously and was co-sponsored by Senate State Affairs Committee Chair Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, and House Judiciary Committee Chair Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, follows similar programs that have been successful in multiple other states.

MISSING PERSON ALERT: Idaho will expand its Amber Alert system to also include an Endangered Missing Person Alert that would apply to cases that don’t strictly fit the Amber Alert guidelines – which require that a child has been abducted and is in danger. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Abby Lee, R-Fruitland, was inspired by the case of 5-year-old Michael Vaughan, who went missing in July of 2021, but there was no initial evidence of abduction. He’s still missing.

CHARTER TEACHING CREDENTIAL: Charter schools will be able to issue their own teaching certifications to teachers not otherwise credentialed, if they have a bachelor’s degree, are at least 18, pass a criminal background check, and receive mentoring and professional development from the charter school. The certificates couldn’t be transferred to any other school. Sen. Carl Crabtree, R-Grangeville, and Rep. Ryan Kerby, R-New Plymouth, co-sponsored the bill.

WORKERS COMP SETTLEMENTS: When injured workers and their employers agree to settle a claim and both are represented by attorneys, the settlements no longer will need approval from the state Industrial Commission, unless they involve minors or people deemed legally incompetent. Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, sponsor of the bill, said it will streamline the settlement process. Settlement information still would be required to be submitted the commission.

HOME BREWING: Idaho’s state law authorizing home brewing of wine or beer will expand to include mead or cider, and also to authorize display and competition for home brewers of those products. Rep. John McCrostie, D-Garden City, sponsor of the bill, said home brewers in his district requested the change in hopes of launching adjudicated competitions in Idaho. The products could be brewed only for personal consumption.

BALLOT NAME ROTATION: Candidates in races where the number of registered voters exceeds 100,000 would have their names randomly rotated on ballots, rather than in fixed order. That already happens in city, county, state and federal races, but hadn’t applied to large special district elections, like the countywide Ada County Highway District. Rep. Colin Nash, D-Boise, the bill’s sponsor, said the bill, which passed unanimously, was an example of a small but appropriate law change. “I think our job should be kind of tinkering in the margins,” he said, “with a state that is run well and the folks don’t want to see the Legislature mess it up.”