Industry Update

Listening Session for Business Associates
December 20th, 10am MST
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Meeting ID: 424 746 0425
+13462487799

The Idaho State legislative season is fast approaching! This meeting is an informal discussion on your concerns, let's collaborate and see if we can take action.

Thank you!

The 2021 IOGA Annual Meeting is in the books! 
Thank you to Governor Little and Congressman Simpson for addressing the membership, and thank you to all our speakers who made our sessions valuable. 

Thank you to all our members who tuned in, if you missed a session, you can find session recordings on our Membership Portal (called the Info Hub). Call or send an email if you need help accessing the Info Hub. 

Take this short survey and let us know what you thought of the Annual Meeting. 

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Thank you to our registered Exhibitors!

CBI Insurance (801)745-1221
Leavitt Recreation Insurance (605)423-4362

The Thaw fundraiser is coming up, help spread the word!
Thank you to all our members who have already donated trips, and thank you to our members who gave additional cash donations this year to support the organization! 
If you would like to donate a trip or merchandise to this year's virtual auction, fill out THIS FORM and email to [email protected].  

Lobby Day: Feb. 23rd. Volunteers Needed! This unique event leaves a strong impression on our state legislators. Help out by donating wild game for the event!

Zeke West: Zeke passed away last Saturday, there will be a memorial and potluck in his honor Dec. 17th in Kooskia. Read More

IOGA Board Meeting: Dec. 16th, 9am MST, open to members. At the Dec. 3rd Meeting, the Board motioned to move forward with outfitter liability legislation. 

Hunt Sector / Allocation: IOGA now has an Allocation Committee. Thank you to members who are volunteering their time to help with this complex issue. 
Outfitters, Record your non-allocated tags with Fish & Game using the Idaho Outfitters Use Verification Form. Due by end of day Dec. 20th. 
Congressman Simpson co-sponsors Chronic Wasting Disease Research

Safari Club: IOGA will be attending the Safari Club International Conference in Las Vegas, and the Dallas Safari Club Conference. Will you be there? Let us know!

America Outdoors: The AO Conference was last week in Las Vegas. Aaron and Lauren represented IOGA, it was great to see some many Idaho outfitters in attendance. There were some standout Keynote speakers, informational sessions, and industry collaboration. Thank you to AO for hosting the event, and for all the work to support outfitting!

Ride Idaho: The Ride-Idaho.org website is up and running! If you are a member who offers Mountain Biking, Trail Rides, Pack Trips, ATV/4x4, Sleigh & Wagon Rides, Snowmobiling, or Cross Country Skiing get listed on the website as part of your membership! Fill out THIS FORM to get listed

Read & Watch

ID-55: Construction paused for winter, 2 lanes are open, construction resumes mid-March 2022. For more information visit: itdprojects.org/id55smithsferry

Fish & Game Sets 2022-2024 Fishing Seasons
Changes to Steelhead Season
Impact of Covid-19 on Outdoor Industry
BLM Solicits Public Comment on Hunting Permit Application
Lewiston Tribune: Salmon, Elwha River vs. Snake River
Idaho faces Legal Action over Wolf Laws
Salt Lake Tribune: Federal Minimum Wage, Outfitting/ Guiding
Simpson details Snake River dam removal concept
Montana: Grizzly Bear plans that could allow hunting
Changes to River Otter Trapping

Outfitting Businesses for Sale:

Heart X selling Horse Creek Operating Business Read More
Spring Cove Outfitters offers due by Jan. 10th, 2022 Read More

Legislative Update

Redistricting:

Idaho’s bipartisan redistricting commission: Commissioners voted unanimously (6-0) to approve map L03 setting the boundaries of all 35 of Idaho’s legislative districts and voted 4-2 (with two of three Democrats dissenting) to approve C03 that establishes the lines for Idaho’s two congressional districts.

You can view both maps by visiting this site: https://sgsanalytics. com/id/districtvis/. (Click on the L03 button and the “legislators” button to see where incumbents reside within the new districts).

As anticipated, much has changed. The makeup of the 2023 legislature will look completely different. There are expected to be mass retirements and some of these new districts will require incumbents to run against each other.

Some of the more interesting changes are as follows:

Legislative District 9: Senate Assistant Majority Leader Abby Lee has been placed in the same district as six-term Sen. Jim Rice (Chairman of the powerful Local Government and Taxation Committee). The new district also includes seven-term Rep. Judy Boyle, four-term Rep. Ryan Kerby and three-term Rep. Scott Syme.

Legislative District 10: The change in this district pits 24-year veteran and House Majority Leader, Mike Moyle against second-term Rep. Tammy Nichols and first-term Rep. Bruce Skaug. Prior to this map, Rep. Moyle’s district was concentrated in Ada County. The new map gives him only a sliver of the northwest section of Ada, picks up part of Canyon County and runs north through Gem County.

Legislative District 22: The new boundaries of this district collect four Republican house incumbents: Assistant Majority Leader Jason Monks, former House Caucus Chairman John Vander Woude, Rep. Steve Harris (Chairman of the powerful Revenue and Taxation Committee) and first-term Rep. Greg Ferch.

Legislative District 35: In another Republican match up, third-term Rep. Randy Armstrong, second-term Rep. Kevin Andrus, second-term Rep. Chad Christiansen, and seventh-term Rep. Marcus Gibbs (though it is widely rumored that he will retire).

These types of maps nearly always face legal challenges. If the maps survive legal challenges, the districts will be set for the next 10 years – until the next US Census is taken.

Challenges to Redistricting:

An eastern Idaho man filed a challenge against Idaho’s new legislative redistricting plan last week with the Idaho Supreme Court, bringing the total number of redistricting challenges to three. Chubbuck resident Spencer Stucki filed the complaint alleging that counties, districts, and voters across the state were not given equal consideration in the new maps of boundaries that redistricting commissioners adopted. Stucki also alleges the commissioners ignored publicly submitted maps, such as his own, that split an additional eastern Idaho county to adjust population deviations between Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Idaho was the second-fastest-growing state in the country over the previous 10 years, according to the 2020 census. But that growth was lopsided and divided, which is why the political districts needed to be thrown out and redrawn. “All submitted plans with a nine-county split were dismissed in spite of overwhelming testimony in favor of them,” Stucki wrote in his challenge.  Last month, state superintendent of public instruction candidate Branden Durst and Ada County filed challenges asking the Idaho Supreme Court to throw out the redistricting commission’s legislative map. Those challenges were very different from Stucki’s because they allege too many counties were split whereas Stucki asked to split an additional county. Durst and Ada County commissioners challenge the plan by arguing the state’s counties were divided too many times unnecessarily. Ada County commissioners also specifically disagree with the way Ada County was divided up and how portions of the county were combined with other areas.  The Idaho Supreme Court previously agreed to consolidate Durst and Ada County’s complaints and hear oral arguments on those complaints in January. Briefs from both those two challengers and the redistricting commission are due to the Idaho Supreme Court this month. If the redistricting maps survive legal challenges, they will be put in place starting with the 2022 primary elections scheduled for May 17 and remain in place for 10 years. Idaho’s next redistricting commission convenes in 2031, following the 2030 census.

Idaho Revenue Report

October begins the second quarter in Idaho’s fiscal year, and the state’s general fund revenues continue to exceed the forecast. Income and sales tax collections are ahead by $64.1 million. Total general fund collections were $415.1 million, $64.3 million, 18.3% beyond forecast. Fiscal year to date, total general fund collections are 14.4% ahead of forecast. Individual filing brought in $154.5 million. Of the $45.0 million excess, a full $25.4 is due to this past month alone.  This was the largest collections for the month of October in state history with $65.2 million in collections. The next largest October collections was in 2019 and was $40.5 million.

Gov. Little said he is pursuing legislation that will freeze the base for Idaho employers calculating unemployment taxes, which Little said would result in a tax savings of $64 million for businesses over two years. Businesses pay this tax, and it is collected by the Idaho Department of Labor and placed in a trust fund to be used to pay out benefits for the unemployed, and for other purposes.