2025 Legislative Report and Scorecard

Months before the 2025 legislative session began, our team identified several key issue areas and crafted a detailed engagement plan. We met with lawmakers, stakeholders, and community partners to plan for the year ahead, and strengthened our ties to trusted reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights organizations, including Planned Parenthood and Legal Voice. 

The work paid off. Even with a narrower focus, our team applied our skills and expertise to analyze and engage over 200 bills this year—almost double our efforts in 2024. Much of our work was behind-the-scenes, a move informed by an increasingly hostile legislature and diminishing returns on more visible tactics, like testifying before committees.  

We also prioritized community-led actions, including a walkout that brought together impacted community and allies in protest of an anti-marriage equality memorial (House Joint Memorial 1). The memorial, while lacking the power of law, failed to pass the Senate. We count this—and the powerful protest that precipitated it—among our victories.  

Here are some of our notable wins from the 2025 legislative session:  

• Stopped House Joint Memorial 1, which would’ve requested the U.S. Supreme Court overturn marriage equality 
• Stopped multiple anti-voting measures, including bills that would have: 
  • Prohibited absentee ballots 
  • Remove the ability to sign an affidavit in lieu of ID 
  • Created new criminal libel crimes in relation to elections 
  • Given the Attorney General expanded power in elections 
• Stopped blatantly Christian Nationalist bills, including: 
  • Mandatory bible reading in schools 
  • 10 commandments in public schools 
  • Funding for crisis pregnancy centers 
  • Endorsing PragerU Kids curriculum in public schools 
  • Creating “religious freedom day" 
  • Requiring chaplains in schools 
• Stopped several fetal personhood bills, preserved access to Mifepristone and Misoprostol, and stopped a fetal tax credit bill 
• Worked behind the signs on amendment to the most harmful bills that passed, including the flag censorship bills and the anti-trans public facilities bill 
• Defeated name/gender change and birth certificate updates rules 
• Stopped a drag ban bill 
• Stopped expanded definition of riots and expanded punishment for assault of police  
• Won a housing study committee and defeated an anti-shelters bill 
• Stopped several censorship bills – DEI, sex education, and anti-protesting 
  • Stopped multiple anti-immigrant bills, including: 
  • School children immigration status verification 
  • “Concealing” and harboring immigrants 
  • ICE agreement 
  • E-verify 
• Passed a State Public Defender’s Office budget and a policy bill 

Looking ahead to the next legislative session in Idaho, we’re preparing for what we expect will be another wave of harmful proposals. Based on what we’ve seen in recent years, we anticipate more anti-immigrant legislation aimed at stripping away rights, limiting access to services, and creating fear and instability in our communities.  

We’re also bracing for continued attempts to restrict free speech, protest rights, and broader civil liberties—often under the guise of public safety or government control. Responding to these threats will be a core focus in the months ahead. We are committed to standing with directly impacted communities and coalition partners to push back, reshape narratives, and build power. 

That preparation starts now. We’re committed to getting ready earlier than ever before. Our legislative priorities will remain rooted in community needs, guided by harm reduction, and driven by intentional strategy. While we continue to focus on the state legislature, we’re also looking to expand our advocacy at the local and administrative levels—spaces where critical decisions about policy implementation and budgets are often made with little public input, but with real consequences for our communities. 

This summer and fall, we’ll be on the ground and in community—holding town halls, listening sessions, and legal and policy education events. These gatherings are about connection and clarity. We want folks to know what the new laws mean, how to navigate them, and where to find support. Whether it’s through resources, guidance, or direct assistance, we’re committed to making sure our communities are informed, equipped, and never facing these challenges alone. 

The ACLU of Idaho legislative scorecard documents the voting patterns of state senators and representatives during the 2025 Idaho Legislative Session. Scorecards feature a handful of the most important bills we tracked during session using our own bill tracker powered by FastDemocracy. Visit each issue area (LGBTQ+, immigrant rights, reproductive justice, etc.) to see lawmaker scorecards.

This bill tracker is an invaluable tool for political education; it enables all Idahoans to follow legislation and monitor how lawmakers are voting on legislation that impacts civil rights.

The Legislative Scorecard is a crucial accountability tool. We encourage you to use this scorecard to give your elected officials feedback on their votes during the 2025 Legislative Session. Direct communication with your elected officials is a valuable way to encourage them to protect our constitutional rights around the issues that are most important to you. These scorecards can also provide valuable information on legislators for when you head to the polls.