Week Four Is Out the Door!

Nichols for Idaho

chickens and expensive gold eggs

Here's a summary of my week in the Idaho Legislature:

It’s been a productive week! My anti-swatting bill (SB1019) passed off the Senate floor unanimously, and now it’s headed to the House. This is a big step forward in making sure we prevent dangerous false emergency calls.

I also introduced a couple of bills in the Senate Education Committee. SB1044 adds proficiency measures to our cursive writing standards, making sure our kids can read and write cursive. This is important for a number of reasons, like brain development, fine motor skills, and memorization. Here is a really interesting video that discusses why this is important.

Another bill, SB1046, aims to ensure that Idaho public schools provide human growth and development instruction for grades 5 through 12, to include a short video on fetal development during discussions of human biology, contraception, STD’s or infections. You can watch an example of what that video would be like by going here.

On the agriculture front, I introduced the Free the Chickens bill (SB1026) in the Senate Agriculture Committee. With record-high egg prices and mass culling of chickens, this bill allows property owners to have up to 4 chickens per .2 acre and prevents any deed restrictions, covenants, or similar agreements from prohibiting them. The hearing for this bill will be on Tuesday, February 4th at 8am. Public testimony will be taken in person or remotely. You can sign up by going here. You can also email the committee here.

Lastly, it’s been exciting to see some great bills on property tax relief, income tax relief, and an increase in the grocery tax credit make their way out. These bills together amount to nearly half a billion dollars in relief for Idahoans, which is huge for our state!

It’s been a week of hard work, and I’m excited to keep pushing forward on these important issues!

Sen. Tammy Nichols

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Legislative Recap:

I had the privilege of joining the Middleton chapter of Idaho’s Future Farmers of America for lunch this week along with State Treasure Julie Ellsworth, and I couldn’t be more impressed by this outstanding group of future leaders. Their ability to engage in meaningful conversations, their awareness of the critical issues facing our state, and their strong sense of purpose and ambition truly set them apart. These young men and women are not just learning about agriculture—they are developing the leadership, work ethic, and problem-solving skills that will shape Idaho’s future. With individuals like these stepping up, our state is in good hands for generations to come.

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