Boise, ID Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Boise City Code section 7-3A-1, known as the Galloway Law and enacted by Ordinance 24-25 on June 24, 2025, is codified in Title 7, Chapter 3, Article A (Obstructions). It states that it shall be unlawful for any person to publicly camp or sleep on any public property, public building grounds, or public roads or rights-of-way. The article carves out specific exceptions: a sidewalk cafe operating under a City Clerk permit or a license under title 3, chapters 3 or 4; overnight camping for recreational or educational purposes on property designated for that use; authorized temporary events or activities; and authorized overnight parking at Idaho rest areas or at private businesses that allow it under their own rules.

The ban also doesn't reach state endowment lands, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation lands, or Idaho Department of Fish and Game lands, and it exempts drivers of commercial vehicles as defined in Idaho Code section 49-123(2)(d). Section 7-3A-2 defines public camping or sleeping broadly as lodging or residing in a temporary outdoor habitation used as a dwelling, lodging or living space, including sitting, lying or sleeping for a prolonged amount of time, and it can be evidenced by a tent or other temporary shelter, a motor vehicle under Idaho Code section 39-6501, or a recreational vehicle under Idaho Code section 49-119, or by the presence of bedding, pillows, cooking appliances, heat sources, stored belongings or food, or digging or earth-breaking at the site.

Section 7-3A-3 sets the penalty: a violation of the article is an infraction, punishable by the civil infraction penalty amount the Boise City Council has set on the current City Clerk fee schedule, rather than a criminal misdemeanor charge.