H626
Ensuring a Level Playing Field
Occasionally, residents of Idaho find themselves at odds with state agencies regarding the interpretation of laws or rules. If they cannot come to an amicable agreement, these disputes usually go to court. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for courts to defer to the agency’s interpretation if there are two equally plausible ways to interpret the language.
H626 supports and defends Idaho citizens by ensuring our judicial system does not automatically defer to a state agency’s interpretation of any law or administrative rule. It also directs the courts to interpret the law or rule de novo, meaning they will conduct their own interpretation of any vague or ambiguous language and come to their own conclusion as to what the legislature intended.
Finally, if there is any doubt as to the meaning of an Idaho rule or law, the judiciary is directed to interpret the language “in favor of a reasonable interpretation that limits agency power and maximizes individual liberty.”
This same issue is being discussed right now at the federal level. The U.S. Supreme Court is deliberating over two cases that will ultimately determine if the federal court system will continue to unfairly disadvantage citizens by automatically giving deference to federal agency interpretation of federal laws or regulations. Farm Bureau strongly supports reversing this decades-old practice at the federal level.
