Bulletin: ID2025001

Dear Associates:

The following are summaries of some of the bills passed during the 2025 legislative session that are of interest to the title industry:

House Bill 150 (HB150) – Effective 07/01/2025

The purpose of this act is to allow a married person to sell or encumber property they own individually as their sole and separate property without requiring their spouse to consent to the sale or encumbrance. The current version of I.C. Sec. 55-1007 states that the homestead of a married person cannot be conveyed or encumbered unless the instrument of conveyance or encumbrance is executed by both spouses.

The new language of I.C. Sec 55-1007 is as follows:

55-1007. CONVEYANCE OR ENCUMBRANCE BY A MARRIED COUPLE. The homestead of a married person shall not be conveyed or encumbered by a spouse without the consent of the other spouse. Either spouse may execute a power of attorney authorizing the other spouse to convey or encumber the homestead on behalf of the principal. Consent shall be evidenced by:

(1) Each spouse executing and acknowledging the instrument by which the homestead is conveyed or encumbered; or

(2) A deed from one spouse to the other spouse establishing the homestead property as the sole and separate property of the grantee spouse.

Please use caution, as this statute only applies to the homestead interest of the non-vested spouse; it does not remove any potential community property interest of the non-vested spouse subsequently acquired by deed or community contribution as set forth in Suter v. Suter, 97 Idaho 461.

House Bill 354 (HB354) – Effective 01/01/2026

This bill revised provisions regarding the burden of proof on appeal from the taxpayer to the County Assessor if the increase in value exceeds 10% of the value of the previous year. It also revised provisions regarding the homestead exemption by removing the April 15th homeowner’s exemption deadline for existing homes. It does this by directing all 44 counties and the State Tax Commission to implement the homeowner’s exemption in a uniform manner by prorating based on the property’s eligibility status during the year (levy rates multiplied by the value of the home, either with or without the homeowner’s exemption, multiplied by the days of ownership, divided by 365 days or 366 days).

House Bill 356 (HB356) – Effective 07/01/2025

The purpose of this act is to protect military installations and state assets by prohibiting foreign adversaries from purchasing land near military bases or from purchasing agricultural land, forest land, water rights, mining claims, or mineral rights. This bill added “forest land” to the existing restriction on “agricultural land, water rights and mining claims.” Under this legislation, the foreign adversary that owns any of these agricultural lands, mining claims, or mineral rights must sell within 180 days of notice. If they do not sell, the land or mining claims, or mineral rights will be sold by judicial foreclosure. Also, no foreign adversary may purchase or lease any property within certain geographic boundaries to establish secure military operations areas. There are many unknowns as to how this bill will work together with SB1149 below.

Senate Bill 1082 (SB1082) – Effective 07/01/2025

This legislation amends Idaho Code § 43-706 to clarify that liens for irrigation assessments have a first priority on the property assessed. This amendment will align § 43-706 with § 42-906, § 42-2201, and § 42-5240, which all place water delivery liens in a first priority position, being ‘superior to the lien of any mortgage or deed of trust, whether prior in time or not’. This means that an irrigation assessment lien survives the foreclosure of any mortgage or deed of trust.

Senate Bill 1149 (SB1149) – Effective 04/01/2025 

Modifies Section 55-103 of Idaho Code by adding a new subsection (4). Currently, Idaho Code Section § 55-103 prohibits a foreign government or foreign state-controlled enterprise from owning agricultural land, forest land, water rights, mining claims, or mineral rights in the State of Idaho. However, the current statute does not provide a framework for what happens if a foreign government or a foreign state-controlled enterprise does own a prohibited property right. This bill creates a framework for the divestiture of the foreign government's ownership by allowing the Attorney General to petition an Idaho Court for a receivership, allowing the State to seize and sell the foreign government's prohibited property rights. There are many unknowns as to how this bill will work together with HB 356 above.

If you have any questions relating to this or other bulletins, please contact a Stewart Title Guaranty Company underwriter.

For on-line viewing of this and other bulletins, please log onto www.vuwriter.com.