Idaho Legislature Tackles Busy Legal Agenda

The Idaho Legislature is wrapping up its second month of policy making and it’s clear that crime legislation is a priority. There are several bills that we’re keeping our eyes on, in particular with the future impact on victims of crime.

The Idaho Legislature is wrapping up its second month of policy making and it’s clear that crime legislation is a priority. There are several bills that we’re keeping our eyes on, in particular with the future impact on victims of crime.

There are a pair of bills winding through the Statehouse that deal with criminalizing sexually explicit artificial intelligence (AI) images of real people. A second one related to AI images deals specifically with images of child pornography.

Earlier this week, the full House approved HB 575 which would make it a crime to share sexually explicit images of real people that were generated with the use of AI technology. Under the current version, a first offense would be a misdemeanor, while a second violation within five years would be elevated to a felony. This bill has been forwarded to the Senate.

The House has also approved a bill to add new language to state law related to images of child sex abuse using AI or machine learning. Like HB 575, this legislation has bipartisan support, was approved by the House, and is now up for discussion in the Senate.

Like I said, though, lawmakers are deliberating several other criminal-related bills, including:

• House Bill 387 would increase the penalty for anyone convicted of first offense domestic violence from six months to up to one year. The jail time is not mandatory, but the legislation gives judges discretion to hand down a longer sentence. The bill was approved 68-0 and has been forwarded to the Senate.
• Another bill originating in the House, HB 515, would give prosecutors latitude to seek the death penalty for cases of lewd conduct involving children under age 12. The bill’s sponsor clarified that the death penalty would be reserved for the most heinous cases, or with repeat offenders. The House passed the bill 57-11 earlier this month.
• A report by the Idaho Attorney General motivated House lawmakers to pursue a rewrite of the state’s human trafficking laws. The goal is to make Idaho’s human trafficking laws more cohesive, consistent, and structured in a way to help law enforcement connect a crime to human trafficking. It also includes protections for child and adult victims forced into commercial sexual activity.

Our interest in these bills stems from our concern for crime victims, and we’re curious to see how lawmakers in the Senate respond as the session heads into the final weeks of March. Stay tuned because we’ll provide updates in future newsletters.

Matthew Hebb, State Director, Marsy’s Law for Idaho