Having a Say: Testimony, Rule and Waiver Comment, and One Bill Traced

The Idaho Medicaid changes in this course came from people who signed up to speak, wrote letters, filed comments, or did none of those things and left the field to others. The work requirement bill, House Bill 913, took less than a month to pass. The two committee meetings that decided its fate ran 39 minutes in the House and 79 minutes in the Senate, and each handled other bills too. A resident who knew the calendar could have been in either room. This lesson covers the tools in order of how often you will use them: reading a bill's path, testifying, commenting on a rule and commenting on a waiver. This is general information, not legal advice, and procedures can change, so confirm each step on the linked pages. Related courses go deeper: Testifying and Public Comment, Laws and Rules and the Idaho Constitution lesson on the people's reserved power.

Three doors and their windows

Who decides, where, and for how long you can comment

Door	Who decides	Where the public speaks	Window
Bill	House and Senate, then the governor	Committee hearings; written testimony; legislators	From first hearing notice to the vote. Hearings are scheduled by the chair; agendas post online
Administrative rule	The agency (such as DHW), then legislative review	Written comment; oral presentation on substantive rules if requested	At least 21 days after bulletin publication (Idaho Code 67-5222)
Section 1115 waiver	State submits; CMS approves	State notice with at least two public hearings; then federal comment	State: at least 30 days; federal: 30 days (42 CFR 431.408, 431.416)
State plan amendment or 1915 waiver	State submits; CMS approves	Per state and federal notice rules; see Lesson 4	Varies; read the notice

Idaho also limits what DHW can do without the Legislature. Idaho Code 56-2201, added by House Bill 345 in 2025 (session law chapter 118) to replace a 2024 section, bars DHW from pursuing a state plan change or a section 1115 or 1915 waiver that extends coverage to more people or groups, or raises state costs, unless the Legislature first approves it in statute, and it requires the department to brief the Medicaid legislative review panel (Idaho Code 56-274) and seek its input when designing waivers. That puts the first stop for many expansions of coverage back in a committee room. The federal community engagement requirement is separate: it cannot be waived by a section 1115 waiver, per the federal law described in Lesson 6.

A bill traced: House Bill 913 (2026)

The Legislature's bill page for H0913 and the committee minutes give a complete record. Here is the path with each step tied to its source.

Date (2026)	Chamber	Action
March 17	House	Introduced, read the first time, sent to JRA for printing, then referred to Health and Welfare
March 20	House	Committee hearing at 9:00 a.m., Room EW20; reported out Do Pass
March 23	House	Rules suspended and bill read in full; passed 59-9-2 (two absent)
March 24	Senate	Received from the House, read the first time, referred to Health and Welfare
March 26	Senate	Committee hearing at 2:00 p.m., Room WW54; the committee voted to send it to the floor
March 27	Senate	Reported out of committee Do Pass (as listed on the bill page)
March 31	Senate	Read the third time; passed 28-6-1 (one absent and excused)
April 1 and 2	Both	Enrolled, signed by the Speaker and President, delivered to the governor April 2 at 10:38 a.m.
April 10	Governor	Signed; Session Law chapter 334; effective April 10, 2026

What the record shows

• Who is the sponsor. The bill page lists the Ways and Means Committee as sponsor, with Rep. John Vander Woude as House floor sponsor and Sen. Julie VanOrden as Senate floor sponsor. The statement of purpose lists Rep. Vander Woude as the contact. The draft carries tracking number RS33740.
• The House committee. Rep. Vander Woude chairs the House Health and Welfare Committee. At the March 20 hearing he turned the gavel over to Vice Chairman Erickson and presented the bill himself. The minutes record that the bill gave DHW time to notify and redetermine people before December 31, 2026, and that he said a 30-day appeals process applies to any denied redetermination. The committee approved it by voice vote, and Reps. Rubel and Egbert asked to be recorded as voting no. The minutes list no public testimony.
• The House floor. The House passed it 59-9-2 on March 23. The Capital Sun reported the nine no votes were eight Democrats and Rep. Grayson Stone, who was substituting for Rep. Don Hall. (A later Capital Sun article gave different counts of Republicans and Democrats; the official tally on the Legislature's page is 59-9-2.)
• The Senate committee. Chair VanOrden convened the Senate Health and Welfare Committee at 2:01 p.m. on March 26 and took H 935, a denturitry bill, first. On H 913, Mark Hand (a social worker), Brian Whitlock of the Idaho Hospital Association and Niklas Kleinworth of the Paragon Health Institute spoke in favor, and Hillarie Matlock of Idaho Voices for Children spoke against. Whitlock and Matlock both asked the committee to consider a one-month lookback rather than three. Sen. Melissa Wintrow moved to send the bill to the 14th Order of Business for amendment; the motion failed for lack of a second. The committee sent the bill to the floor by voice vote, with Sen. Wintrow recorded as voting no. The committee adjourned at 3:20 p.m.
• The result. The bill passed without the lookback change. Idaho uses a three-month lookback, the maximum federal law allows. KFF Health News reported in April 2026 that Indiana was the first state to choose the three-month lookback and Idaho followed.

Two lessons follow. First, testimony in a committee is a record, even when it does not change the vote. The Whitlock and Matlock comments on the lookback are in the Senate minutes, and Idaho's rule is the three-month lookback they questioned. Second, the amendment path existed and failed for lack of a second, which tells you that amending a bill in Idaho is a matter of lining up a legislator's motion and a second before the committee votes. A public witness cannot make the motion. A witness can, in advance, ask a member of the committee to offer a specific amendment.

Reading the bill text itself

The printed bill is short enough to read in full. Section 1 amends Idaho Code 56-267. Subsection (6), new in this bill, requires DHW to implement the community engagement requirements of 42 U.S.C. 1396a(xx) no later than December 31, 2026. After implementation, no person may be enrolled under the section unless the person demonstrates compliance for the three consecutive months immediately before the month of application, and DHW must disenroll any current enrollee who cannot show compliance. Section 2 contains an emergency clause that puts the act into effect on passage and approval. The introduced text pairs the opening words of subsection (1), "Notwithstanding any provision of law or federal waiver to the contrary," with new words, "Except as provided by subsection (6)"; open the PDF and read the strike-through and underline to see which is old and which is new. Statute tracks changes this way so that readers can see them. The statement of purpose and fiscal note say the bill has "no new fiscal impact outside" the funds DHW requested from JFAC, and carry the proponent disclaimer discussed in Lesson 9.

Testifying in the 2027 session

The calendar and the committees

Idaho Code 67-404 sets the regular session to convene at noon on the Monday on or nearest January 9. January 9, 2027 is a Saturday, and the nearest Monday is January 11, 2027. Expect the first weeks to be organizing, the governor's State of the State address and budget hearings, with substantive committee hearings on bills building from late January through March. In the 2026 session the Legislature adjourned sine die on April 2. Standing committee names for 2027 depend on assignments made after the November 2026 election, so confirm the exact committee and chair on the Legislature's committee pages. As of October 2026 the committees that handled Medicaid in 2026 were the House Health and Welfare Committee, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and JFAC.

How registration works

The Legislative Services Office (LSO) publishes a Public Remote Testimony Registration Guide (dated February 1, 2025) and a page titled Testifying Before Legislative Committees. The key points as of October 2026 follow.

Method	What you do	Requirement
In person	Register to testify and appear at the hearing room; give a copy of written testimony to the committee secretary	None beyond the committee's rules
By phone	Register and give the phone number you will call from	Idaho resident with a physical address in Idaho
By Zoom	Make a Zoom account first; use the same email address on your Zoom account and on the registration form	Idaho resident with a physical address in Idaho
For or against, no testimony	Register your position without speaking or writing	Registration form
Written testimony only	Register as written only, or email your testimony to the committee secretary	Committee secretary email is on the committee page

Registration asks for your first and last name, email and physical address, the organization you represent if any, how you will testify, and whether you are for or against the bill. If you want to speak on more than one bill, register separately for each. The LSO says written testimony is optional and recommends entering it at registration because the committee will have your words if technical problems occur or the chair cannot reach every witness. The chair may limit the time allotted to each person and to the whole topic, and registering does not guarantee that you will be called. The LSO states that remote testimony receives the same weight as in-person testimony and that the chair will make reasonable efforts to give in-person and remote witnesses equal opportunities to testify. Help is available at RemoteTestimonyHelp@lso.idaho.gov or (208) 332-1292; the LSO main number in the guide is 208-334-2475. The committee protocols prohibit demonstrations, applause, clapping and signs.

Commenting on an administrative rule

What Idaho Code 67-5222 gives you

Under Idaho Code 67-5222, before adopting a rule an agency must give interested people a reasonable chance to submit data, views and arguments orally or in writing, and must accept comments for at least 21 days after the notice of proposed rulemaking is published in the Idaho Administrative Bulletin. For substantive rules, the agency must also provide an oral presentation if 25 persons, a political subdivision or an agency request it in writing within 14 days of the bulletin publication date or within 14 days before the comment period ends, whichever is later. No oral presentation is required when the agency has no discretion over the substance because the rule only complies with a controlling court decision or a statute or federal rule amended after the agency rule was adopted. Agencies must allow oral presentations by video conference or telephone, and from July 1, 2026 must post a video or audio recording of any oral presentation or public hearing on a rule within 15 days and keep it for at least three years.

Where to find rules

The Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator runs adminrules.idaho.gov. The site offers an Index of Active Rulemaking, a Cumulative Index back to 1993, Townhall Idaho for scheduled meetings and hearings, summaries of legal notices, and the monthly Idaho Administrative Bulletin with a mailing list. Pending and temporary rules appear in the Legislative Review Books. DHW's Medicaid rules sit in IDAPA 16.03.xx; Lesson 4 and Idaho Administrative Rules in the Laws and Rules course explain how they fit with statute and the state plan. In 2025 House Bill 345 declared null and void, effective July 1, 2025, the Medicaid rules in IDAPA 16.03.09, 16.03.10, 16.03.17 and 16.03.18, so check the bulletin for the current list rather than assuming an older rule stands.

Commenting on a waiver

A section 1115 demonstration lets a state try something outside the standard Medicaid rules. Under 42 CFR 431.408, before submitting a new demonstration or an extension, the state must provide at least a 30-day public notice and comment period, post the application and the comment instructions on a prominent state agency web page, publish an abbreviated notice, and hold at least two public hearings on separate dates and in separate locations at least 20 days before submission. At least one hearing must use telephone or web conferencing for statewide access unless the state documents another adequate chance to comment. If a demonstration directly affects Tribes, Indian health programs or urban Indian health organizations, the state must consult with them before submission. After the state submits, 42 CFR 431.416 requires CMS to solicit public comment for 30 days once it notifies the state that the application is complete, and CMS will not issue a final decision until at least 45 days after posting the receipt notice.

Situation	Clock	Authority
Proposed Idaho rule published	Comments accepted for at least 21 days	Idaho Code 67-5222
Request an oral presentation on a substantive rule	25 persons, or a political subdivision or agency; in writing within the later of 14 days after publication or 14 days before comments end	Idaho Code 67-5222
State plans a section 1115 application	30-day comment period; two hearings at least 20 days before submission	42 CFR 431.408
CMS has a complete application	30-day federal comment; no final decision for 45 days after notice	42 CFR 431.416
Bill delivered to governor	Five days, Sundays excepted; ten after adjournment	Idaho Constitution Art. IV, sec. 10
CMS interim final rule on work requirements	Comments were due July 31, 2026 (closed)	91 FR 33348

The interim final rule shows how the federal door works. CMS published it on June 3, 2026, made it effective July 31, 2026, and accepted comments until July 31, 2026. Because it is an interim final rule, it took effect while comments were still open, and CMS can change it afterward. The comment period for that rule has closed, but the final rule, any correction notices (one published June 29, 2026) and later guidance can be tracked on federalregister.gov and regulations.gov.

The calendar ahead

Date	What happens	What you can do
Before December 1, 2026	DHW meets with potential bidders on public information; then the managed care blackout begins	Email design comments to MedicaidManagedCare@dhw.idaho.gov (see Lesson 7)
December 31, 2026	Statutory deadline for DHW to implement the work requirements under Idaho Code 56-267(6)	Check your Idalink account and your mail
January 1, 2027	Work requirements begin for expansion enrollees; reviews start for coverage periods ending on or after that date	Learn the appeal steps in Lesson 8
January 11, 2027	The Legislature convenes	Watch the Health and Welfare committee agendas and the JFAC schedule
Later in 2027	The managed care RFP is expected to post	Read the scoring criteria that HB 889 requires the state to publish

You can also reach your own legislators. The Legislature's site offers a tool to find who represents you (Who's My Legislator) and contact pages for members. A phone call or email from a constituent with a specific question before a hearing is often more useful to a member than a mass mailing. If you are a candidate or officeholder, the County Commissioner authority material in the Elected Officials course and the Local Government course show how county decisions connect to the state programs, including the Catastrophic Health Care Cost Program that counties help pay for.

Where to start this week

Pick one door and take the first step. If you care about work requirements, register for the Medicaid design updates and the Legislature's committee agendas, and write your two-sentence ask. If you care about managed care, send your design comment to DHW before December 1, 2026. If you care about rules, subscribe to the Idaho Administrative Bulletin at adminrules.idaho.gov. On Monday, January 11, 2027, check the House and Senate Health and Welfare committee pages for the first agendas, and register to testify the day a Medicaid bill appears. Then read From Bill to Law and Testimony and Comments to deepen the process knowledge, and the Idaho Constitution lesson on how a bill must be written to see why bills are printed the way they are.