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Lesson 6 of 9 · about 16 minutes

Idaho Sunshine Law Reports

You'll be able to

  • Name the Idaho reporting deadlines for election and nonelection years and the 48-hour notices
  • Say what an Idaho candidate or PAC report must show and what it leaves out
  • Find reports on the Secretary of State's Sunshine portal
  • Describe recent changes to the law and the penalties for late or false reports

Idaho's campaign finance law began as a citizen initiative in 1974, which is why the history line under almost every section starts with "Init. Measure 1974, No. 1." It lives in Title 67, Chapter 66 of the Idaho Code. People call it the Sunshine Law. Cite it by section number, because that is what lets anyone you talk to check you.

Who files

  • Candidates, through a political treasurer they appoint (67-6603, 67-6604).
  • Political committees (PACs, party committees above the threshold, ballot measure committees), through their treasurers.
  • Anyone making independent expenditures over $100 for or against a single candidate, committee or measure (67-6611).
  • Anyone paying for electioneering communications over $100 (67-6628).

Reports go to the Secretary of State and are filed online by midnight on the due date, unless the filer has a waiver under 67-6623. County clerks also have duties under the chapter, including inspection and examination of statements.

When reports are due

FilerReportDeadlineStatute
Candidates and committeesMonthly report, election yearBy the 10th of the month after the month covered67-6607(1)
Candidates and committeesAnnual report, nonelection yearBy January 10 of the following year67-6607
Candidates and committees48-hour noticeWithin 48 hours of receiving any contribution of $1,000 or more, at any time67-6607(3)
Independent spendersStatementAt least 7 days before the primary and general, and 30 days after each67-6611
Independent spenders48-hour reportWithin 48 hours of spending $1,000 or more after the 16th day before an election67-6611
Electioneering communicationsStatementOn the 67-6611 schedule above $100; within 48 hours once costs reach $1,00067-6628

Filing continues until the account has no money left and no debt. A candidate who lost in May and still owes the sign printer is still a filer in December.

What a candidate or PAC report shows

ItemWhat the law requires
Contributions from donors totaling more than $50Full name, complete address and amount. Measured by the donor's aggregate, so three $20 gifts from one person ($60) must be itemized.
Contributions of $50 or lessMay be reported as one total.
Candidate's own moneyCounts as a contribution and must be listed.
In-kind contributionsListed twice: once as a contribution, once as an expenditure, at fair market value.
Expenditures and encumbrances of $25 or morePayee name and address, amount, date and purpose. Receipts kept (not filed) for a year.
Expenditures under $25May be reported as one total.
LoansLoans are contributions under the 67-6602 definition. A candidate lending more than $1,000 of personal money must move it into the campaign account (67-6604).

What is missing matters as much. Idaho reports do not require a contributor's employer or occupation. Federal reports do. So if twelve employees of the invented Coyote Gravel Co. each give $500 on the same day, an Idaho report shows twelve names and twelve home addresses. Nothing on the form ties them to Coyote Gravel. You make that connection with other records (business filings, the company's own website, a phone call), and you say how you made it when you bring it up.

Finding reports: the Sunshine portal

The Secretary of State's public search site, titled "Sunshine: Idaho Campaign Finance," is at sunshine.sos.idaho.gov. As of October 2026 its search menus are organized as:

  • Candidates and PACs, filterable by committee type, treasurer, contest, office, party and stage.
  • Donors and donations, by donor and donation type.
  • Vendors and spending, by vendor, spending type and spending code.
  • Reports, the filed documents themselves.
  • Activity, filterable by date range (1, 7 or 30 days), activity type (donations, spending, filing) and dollar amount.

The election years in its menus start at 2019, and the site says its database updates every four hours. For anything older, ask the Secretary of State's office where the archive lives. Always open the filed report itself before quoting a number from a search result. Search tables can lag a correction or an amended report.

Search results are an index. The filed report is the record. Quote the record, and note the report period and filing date.

Recent changes

The chapter is amended often. The ones to know as of October 2026:

YearChange
2019A broad revision that amended many sections at once, including 67-6604 (treasurers), 67-6607 (reports) and 67-6625A (late fees). The history line of a section will tell you if it was part of it.
2021Ban on foreign national contributions, independent expenditures and electioneering communications (67-6610D). Amendments to contribution limits and independent expenditure reporting.
2024House Bill 664 added rules for synthetic media in electioneering communications (67-6628A). Senate Bill 1251 removed the exemption that kept federal PACs from counting as Idaho political committees.
2025House Bill 398 moved lobbying rules out of Chapter 66 into Title 74, Chapter 7, effective July 1, 2025. A larger rewrite (House Bill 442, following an earlier House Bill 399) that would have moved campaign finance to a new Title 74, Chapter 3, with more frequent reports, new limits and a new fine structure, was introduced but did not pass; Title 74, Chapter 3 is still marked reserved.
2026House Bill 930, signed April 10, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, revised political treasurer duties in 67-6604. The section now says campaign funds must be segregated from and not commingled with any other account.

When an older article says "Idaho's 2025 campaign finance overhaul," check which bill it means. Lobbying changed. The core campaign reporting chapter did not move.

Enforcement and penalties

  • Late filing fee (67-6625A): $50 per day, starting 48 hours after the deadline, running until the report is filed. No cap is stated. The Secretary of State or county clerk must notify the filer within 24 hours of the missed deadline.
  • Civil fine (67-6625): up to $250 for an individual and up to $2,500 for any other person, proved by a preponderance of the evidence.
  • Misdemeanor: knowing and willful violations, and any violation of 67-6605, can bring up to six months in jail, a fine, or both.
  • Felony: knowing foreign money violations above $1,000 in 12 months, or a second offense within 10 years (67-6610D).
  • Who prosecutes: the attorney general or the county prosecuting attorney. Actions must start within two years of the violation.

Worked example: a late report

An invented PAC's September report is due by midnight October 10. The treasurer files on October 16.

  • Fees begin 48 hours after the deadline: midnight October 12.
  • From then until filing on October 16 is about four days.
  • 4 days x $50 = about $200, on the plain reading of the statute.

The Secretary of State's office makes the official calculation, so the accurate phrasing is "faces late fees that the statute sets at $50 a day," and the office can tell you the amount actually assessed. A six-day-late report from a volunteer treasurer is a minor lapse. A pattern of reports filed after the election they covered is a real problem.

Common mix-ups

  • Claim: Idaho reports show where donors work. What the evidence shows: They show name, address and amount for donors over $50. Employer is not required.
  • Claim: Idaho moved its campaign finance law to Title 74 in 2025. What the evidence shows: Lobbying moved to Title 74, Chapter 7. Campaign finance is still in Title 67, Chapter 66.
  • Claim: 48-hour notices only apply right before the election. What the evidence shows: For candidates and committees, the $1,000 notice applies at any time. For independent spenders, the 48-hour rule applies in the last 16 days.

Reporting angle

  • Set a calendar: the 10th of each month in an election year, plus a daily look at the portal's 1-day activity filter in the last month for 48-hour notices.
  • Ask the Secretary of State's office for late-fee assessments, complaints received and referrals made to prosecutors, by year.
  • Watch for amended reports. Compare the original and amended versions line by line. What changed is often the story.
  • Use the OSINT Monitor to keep an eye on public pages you check repeatedly, such as a committee's site or the Secretary of State's news page.

Research angle

Check yourself

1. In an election year, when are Idaho candidate and PAC reports due under Idaho Code 67-6607?

2. An Idaho candidate receives a $1,000 contribution in February of an election year. What extra filing does 67-6607 require?

3. Above what aggregate amount must an Idaho report list a contributor's full name and address?

4. What late fee does Idaho Code 67-6625A set for a late campaign finance report?

5. Which 2026 change did House Bill 930 make to Idaho campaign finance law?

6. An Idaho report shows a contributor's name and address. What does Idaho law NOT require it to show?

Terms in this lesson

Sunshine Law
The common name for Idaho's campaign finance and disclosure law, created by citizen initiative in 1974 and now in Title 67, Chapter 66 of the Idaho Code.
Political treasurer
The person a candidate or committee appoints to keep the account, keep records and file reports.
48-hour notice
A short report due within 48 hours of receiving a contribution of $1,000 or more, or of certain large late spending.
Itemized contribution
A gift listed individually with the donor's name, address and amount, required in Idaho when a donor's total exceeds $50.
Encumbrance
A spending commitment the campaign has made but not yet paid, which Idaho reports must include.

Full glossary

Sources