I just called the Idaho House of Representatives. Basically, two things, if the bill did get past and put into effect January 1st 2025, yes that still means I technically could have slid under the bar and bought over-the-counter tags December 1st 2024 for the 2025 season. However, she mentioned that the 'bill died in committee' and won't have a chance to be voted on. If it gets voted on, it would have to get reintroduced under a new bill number and basically that may not happen until 2025, with a passing date of an even later date (for example 1/1/2026). Going to call Idaho FNG to confirm. Yes, with this bill passing it would help with the hunting pressure, but my buddy has a conspiracy theory that they are doing this so non-residents are forced to basically go through outfitters, and the public land therefore is reaped by residents mainly only. Which is crazy because the western states dwarf other states in public land comparison, and elk only can be hunted in a small percentage of states...that game should be open to all to hunt imo. If you want less hunting pressure, just do even more limited tags but still keep it OTC on a resident / non resident ratio.
