S 1253

                    LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
 Sixty-eighth Legislature  Second Regular Session - 2026
                                 IN THE SENATE
                             SENATE BILL NO. 1253
                       BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
1AN ACT
2  RELATING TO RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION; AMENDING TITLE 56, IDAHO CODE, BY
3      THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 25, TITLE 56, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH
4      THE IDAHO RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION FUND AND TO ESTABLISH THE RURAL
5      HEALTH TRANSFORMATION COMMITTEE; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
6  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
7SECTION 1. That Title 56, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended
8  by the addition thereto of a NEW CHAPTER, to be known and designated as Chap-
9  ter 25, Title 56, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
10CHAPTER 25
11IDAHO RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM
12      56-2501. IDAHO RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION FUND. (1) There is hereby
13 created and established in the state treasury the Idaho rural health trans-
14 formation fund. The fund shall consist of moneys received by the state of
15 Idaho from the federal rural health transformation program grant and such
16 other moneys that may be provided by legislative appropriation. Moneys in
17 the fund shall be used solely for federally approved rural health transfor-
18 mation program purposes, subject to appropriation by the legislature upon
19 recommendation from the rural health transformation committee as estab-
20 lished in section 56-2502, Idaho Code.
21      (2) The Idaho rural health transformation fund shall be subject to an-
22 nual public reporting of all receipts and expenditures.
23      56-2502. RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION COMMITTEE. (1) There is hereby
24 created the rural health transformation committee, hereafter referred to
25 as the committee. The committee shall consist of six (6) members to be ap-
26 pointed as follows: two (2) members of the senate shall be appointed by the
27 president pro tempore of the senate, one (1) of whom shall be cochair of
28 the committee; two (2) members of the house of representatives shall be ap-
29 pointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one (1) of whom shall
30 be cochair of the committee; and two (2) nonvoting members shall be selected
31 by the governor. At least three (3) of the legislative members shall be
32 appointed from a legislative district without a population center of twenty
33 thousand (20,000) or more persons. The term of a legislative member of the
34 committee shall coincide with the term of election to the legislature. A
35 vacancy during the term of a member of the committee shall be filled by the
36 appointing authority of that member, and members may be reappointed to a
37 subsequent term.
38      (2) The committee shall have the following powers and duties:
39      (a) To establish rules for governance and operation of committee pro-
40      ceedings;
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1(b) To establish any additional requirements for funding subawards,
2which shall include application scoring rubrics, no later than March
315, 2026, for the first award year and by September 30 for the four (4)
4remaining award years;
5(c) To establish an expedited award review process with the department
6of health and welfare for funding subawards. The award review process
7shall align with federally approved timelines as outlined in Idaho's
8rural health transformation plan;
9(d) To receive no less than quarterly updates on progress toward funded
10      projects, expenditures, and outcomes from the department of health and
11      welfare;
12      (e) To evaluate the potential and actual success of programs funded
13      with moneys from the Idaho rural health transformation fund;
14      (f) To retain oversight of moneys in the Idaho rural health transforma-
15      tion fund;
16      (g) To require a sustainability plan for any initiative funded by Idaho
17      rural health transformation moneys; and
18      (h) To make any recommendations to the legislature on the use of funds,
19      as long as recommendations are within the parameters of the federally
20      approved Idaho plan.
21      (3) The committee shall remain active until all moneys in the Idaho ru-
22 ral transformation fund have been appropriated and expended.
23     SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby
24 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
25 passage and approval.