BOISE, ID – Idaho Department of Lands officials are considering proposing a bill during the 2026 legislative session that would increase the fire protection surcharge for lots with residential structures on forest lands to pay for fire protection programs.
Idaho Department of Lands Deputy Director Bill Haagenson briefed Gov. Brad Little and members of the Idaho Board of Land Commissioners on the proposed bill during a meeting Tuesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Under current state law, the owners of forest lands with residential structures pay a $40 annual surcharge for fire protection, which has not increased since 2009. The new proposal would allow the state to increase the surcharge, not to exceed $100 for each improved lot or parcel to offset the cost of fire preparedness.
Haagenson told Little and the Land Board that the current $40 annual surcharge is not enough to support the state’s fire protection program, particularly as Idaho continues to grow and more homes are built in areas where human development and forest lands meet.
“The proposal is to change the improved particle surcharge from $40 to up to $100 and that change is needed to ensure funding for the future of healthy wildfire protection,” Haggenson said.
About 67,000 parcels of land in forests in Idaho are subject to the surcharge, Haagenson said. If the state raised the surcharge to $100, that would generate about $4 million more per year in funding for wildfires, state officials said.
Little and Land Board members voted to approve the proposal, with the potential for Idaho Department of Lands officials to make further revisions or withdraw it entirely. That means the department can move forward with the proposal but may change it or decide not to bring it forward.
For the change to take effect, the proposal would need to be introduced as a bill during an upcoming session of the Idaho Legislature, receive a majority of votes in both the Idaho Senate and Idaho House of Representatives and be signed into law by the governor.
The 2026 legislative session is scheduled to begin Jan. 12 in Boise.
This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.