Idaho is remodeling housing policies to address supply concerns

Idaho’s housing policy is getting a much-needed renovation, and some of the first demo days occurred during the session. With the approval of Senate Bill 1164 requiring a 10-day notice of completed applications, the Idaho legislature made it clear it is focused on removing unwanted obstacles to increasing the housing supply. The legislature is also working on a building plan to increase the housing supply with the Senate’s Concurrent Resolution 103, which formed a committee focused on housing policies.

Senate Bill 1164 delivered the first demolition to unwanted bureaucratic features of the construction industry. All housing plans must go through a permitting process to ensure the work meets minimum safety standards for construction. Unfortunately, in many localities across the nation, the permitting times are slow and expensive, leading to work delays and increased housing costs. SB 1164 requires local governments processing residential building permits to increase transparency of the permitting process and provide notice if an application is incomplete in a timely 10-day manner.

Removing some of the construction-industry-related red tape is a noteworthy effort and SB 1164 takes some initial steps in removing this unwanted façade. However, more steps should be taken to completely demolish the unhelpful and encumber some bureaucratic maze facing builders. Florida is an excellent example of the next steps Idaho could take to ensure that local governments have an interest in being held accountable to these laws. Florida enacted a fiscal consequence on local jurisdictions not processing permits in a timely manner, and the permitting delays were resolved in some counties within months of enactment.

This is a possible solution that the legislature’s interim committee can look at as part of Concurrent Resolution 103. The charge of the committee is to undertake and complete a study of state and local land use regulations and their impact on housing supply. The members of the 2025 Land Use and Housing Study Committee include: Sen James W. Woodward (Co-Chair), Sen. Todd M. Lakey, Sen. Alison Rabe (bill sponsor), Rep. Jordan Redman (Co-Chair), Rep. Kyle Harris, and Rep. Theodore B. Achilles.

The committee’s initiative is apparent with the first scheduled meeting announced for Wednesday, May 14, 2025. This urgency is needed because the committee has a lot to accomplish if they are to model the Montana working group that addressed similar housing affordability and regulatory concerns, as stated by bill sponsor Senator Rabe during the committee hearing.

The Montana Governor’s Housing Task Force was a multi-year effort initiated by Governor Gianforte’s executive orders No. 5-2022 and 3-2023. The final report was presented in June 2024. The taskforce was formed on July 14, 2022 and consisted of members appointed by the governor, including state and local elected officials, state agencies, state boards, councils, and commissions, housing-related professional associations, advisory groups, and researchers, among others.

The first report was submitted in October 2022 and focused on actions the legislature could consider and the governor could sign into law (Phase 1). The second report in December was focused on regulatory changes that could be adopted by state agencies and local governments (Phase 2). The executive order was extended in 2023 in order to “have the Task Force expand upon its work” and was referred to as Phase 3.

As part of Phase 3, committee members distributed various “projects” and determined what was working and what was not working. The evidence was asked to include specific case studies of successful and challenging projects. Through it all, the public was encouraged to attend and participate in the meetings. The task force met 10 times between October 2023 and June 2024, as part of phase 3. The final report consisted of 23 final recommendations.

Any remodeling will start with a plan and a demo day, and that is exactly what the Idaho legislature accomplished this year by addressing this rising concern among Idahoans (now the fourth most concerning issue). Idaho needs changes offering solutions to the ongoing housing affordability crisis by increasing supply and thereby decreasing cost. SB 1164 began the much-needed demolition and hopefully the interim committee will be able to add a solution-based plan for the rest of the process.