BOISE, ID – An Idaho state senator on Wednesday introduced a proposal to amend the state constitution to protect public lands acquired by the state from the federal government.
Sen. Ben Adams, R-Nampa, first announced his proposal in August, well ahead of the 2026 legislative session that began this month, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. He unveiled the draft text of the amendment later that month.
Idaho legislator unveils text of proposed constitutional amendment to protect public lands from sale
Adams told the Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday that since unveiling his proposal, he’s had conversations with residents and industry leaders all over the state.
“I wanted feedback. I wanted a lot of feedback, because it deals with a very personal matter for every Idahoan, and that is our public land here in Idaho,” Adams said.
He said he slightly changed the text from his August proposal, but “the intent did not change.”
What would the constitutional amendment do?
If approved by the Legislature, the proposed constitutional amendment would go to voters on the November ballot. It would ask if the Article IX of the state constitution should be changed to say that new land acquired by the state from the federal government could not be sold, and would be managed in way that “avoids permanent impairment to the land, ensures the development and utilization of the land and its resources, preserves valid existing rights, and is in accordance with state law.”
Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate to go on the ballot. Once the question is on the ballot and goes to the voters, it would require a simple majority to pass.
The amendment would not apply to the state’s 2.5 million acres of endowment land, which can be sold.
Under the amendment, land acquired or purchased from the federal government would be held in a trust in perpetuity. Revenue derived from the lands would go into a fund, which would be used first to pay for operating and maintaining such lands, then to compensate counties for lands within their boundaries that are in the trust and not generating property tax revenue. The revenue would also then be used to improve public use and access, and to support public K-12 school facilities.
Senate Minority Leader James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, said Wednesday he would vote to introduce the bill, but when it came back for a public hearing, he’d like information about how much it would cost for the state to manage lands acquired by the federal government.
State management of Idaho federal lands has been a discussion
Nearly two-third of Idaho’s land mass, or more than 34 million acres, is federally owned and managed. Some Idaho officials have suggested that the state should take over ownership or management of these lands. U.S. Congressman Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, sent a letter to state and local officials in December to explore local control of federal lands, the Sun reported.
However, fellow Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson in May co-sponsored federal legislation that would prohibit the sale or transfer of large swaths of public federal lands, the Idaho Press reported. Simpson told the Idaho Press that while there have been talks regarding Idaho taking over federal lands for years, the price tag had made it unrealistic, and it would come with a loss of federal money used to offset lost property taxes in jurisdictions with large areas of federal land.
The Senate State Affairs Committee Wednesday unanimously voted to introduce the joint resolution, which clears the way for it to return to the committee for a public hearing at a later date.
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