Committee advances bill requiring districted city councils from Caldwell to Coeur d'Alene

BOISE — Eleven cities from across the state would shift from constituents voting for each of their city council members to only the council members in their district under a new bill advanced by the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday. 

House Bill 720, authored by Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d’Alene, revises House Bill 413, which passed in 2020 and required cities with populations over 100,000 to divide themselves into districts for city council elections. While the previous bill affected some of the largest cities in Idaho, including Boise, Nampa and Meridian, Alfieri's bill would apply to all cities with a population greater than 25,000.