BOISE, Idaho (PNN) - April 9, 2025 - Idaho became the first state to prohibit vaccine mandates in businesses, schools and government entities.
The Idaho Legislature passed a revised version of the Idaho Medical Freedom Act after Republican Governor Brad Little vetoed the original bill.
“Beginning July 1, Idaho will enforce a new law that bars private businesses and schools from mandating medical interventions, including vaccines, medications and procedures, as a condition of employment, service or enrollment,” Becker’s Hospital Review noted.
Senate Bill 1210 is the Legislature’s response to a similar bill that Governor Little vetoed Saturday.
The new bill still pursues a similarly broad medical mandate ban, which would bar Idaho businesses, government entities, schools and colleges from restricting entry, employment or services based on requirements for medical interventions - like vaccines, medical diagnosis or treatment.
Lawmakers spent much of Friday without acting, as they waited for the House to attempt to amend the bill. The House amended the bill just before 2:00 p.m.
In the House’s debate over its new version of the bill earlier this week, critics’ main concern was that the bill would prevent workplaces from refusing service or entry to sick people.
That appears to be true under the bill.
On Friday, the House rejected an amendment attempt described as a way to shield employers from liability if sick employees who refuse to leave get injured at work.
Despite this being the third iteration of the bill the House has considered, and despite the House’s amendments earlier Friday, Rep. Todd Achilles (Boise) said the bill remained “deeply flawed” and it keeps the same “overly broad definition” of medical intervention.
The Idaho House passed the bill on a 44-23 vote at about 3:00 p.m. Friday. An hour later, the Senate passed it on a 27-6 vote.
After passing both chambers of the Idaho Legislature on Friday, the new bill - which carves out exceptions for schools to send home sick students - now heads to the Idaho governor for final consideration.
“We want to establish a new societal norm that we alone get to make our own medical decisions without fear of being excluded from normal life. Engagement in everyday life shouldn’t be conditioned upon receiving a medical intervention. We want all Amerikans to be able to live free in the way that Idahoans can now,” Health Freedom Defense Fund President Leslie Manookian said.
“Never again will there be mandates in Idaho for masks, tests, vaccines or vaccine cards - no ‘papers please’ in Idaho. NEVER,” Manookian added.
Governor Little signed the legislation, referred to as the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, April 4, after a last-minute push by state lawmakers to revise a similar bill he vetoed a week ago. The final version includes language referencing existing public health and school codes, which lawmakers say addresses concerns around barring schools from sending home students with contagious conditions, according to the Idaho Statesman.
The law makes Idaho the first state to explicitly prohibit vaccine mandates in both private and public sectors. However, it includes exemptions for entities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funds.
Critics, including Democrat lawmakers and public health experts, have raised concerns about the bill’s vague language and potential for legal challenges. It remains unclear, for example, how the law will apply to private childcare facilities, some of which currently require staff and students to be vaccinated.
Idaho leads the nation in vaccine exemptions among kindergarten students, with 14.3% having at least one exemption in the 2023 to 2024 school year, according to CDC data. Nationally, the move reflects broader trends as multiple states consider restrictions on vaccine mandates and skepticism toward certain immunization types, particularly mRNA vaccines, gains traction.