Ricks v. State of Idaho Contractors Bd.
Ricks v. State of Idaho Contractors Bd.
Opinion
George Q. Ricks appeals from the district court's judgment dismissing his complaint. He argues the district court erred in dismissing his claims as a matter of law. The district court's judgment is affirmed.
I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
As alleged in Ricks' complaint, in 2014, Ricks filed an application for individual contractor registration with the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licenses (IBOL). The application required Ricks to provide various pieces of information, including his social security number. Ricks did not provide his social security number on his application because of his religious belief that social security numbers are "a form of the mark, and in substance (essence) the number of the 2-horned beast written of in the Holy Bible." A few days after Ricks filed his application, IBOL requested his social security number in order to process his application. Instead of providing his social security number, Ricks sent IBOL an affidavit describing his religious objection. A month later, Ricks received notice from IBOL that his application for contractor registration was denied because he failed to provide his social security number.
It is not clear what actions Ricks took after his application was denied because the record on appeal does not contain any documents that detail the extent, if any, of administrative review Ricks initiated after his application was denied. However, Ricks' complaint and appellate brief allege he filed a petition for review, received a "Certificate of Agency Record on Appeal," and an attorney for the State of Idaho Contractor's Board (ICB) filed a motion to dismiss Ricks' petition. None of these documents are included in the appellate record. Almost two years after this alleged administrative action, Ricks filed a complaint with the district court listing ICB, IBOL, and Lawrence Wasden, the Idaho Attorney General, as defendants. Because Ricks failed to sign the complaint, he filed an amended complaint with his signature. The amended complaint claimed that 42 United States Code § 666(a)(13),
The State filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint under Idaho Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), arguing that
II.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
As an appellate court, we will affirm a trial court's grant of an I.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) motion where the record demonstrates that there are no genuine issues of material fact and the case can be decided as a matter of law.
Coghlan v. Beta Theta Pi Fraternity
,
The interpretation of a statute is an issue of law over which we exercise free review.
Aguilar v. Coonrod
,
*6
Kelso & Irwin, P.A. v. State Ins. Fund
,
III.
ANALYSIS
Ricks argues the district court erred by granting the State's motions to dismiss. Ricks argues the merits of several of the claims made in his complaint, namely: (1)
Before reaching these arguments, we address the matter of administrative exhaustion. Although neither party raised the issue of administrative exhaustion on appeal, this Court may raise it sua sponte. "[T]he exhaustion doctrine implicates subject matter jurisdiction because a district court does not acquire subject matter jurisdiction until all the administrative remedies have been exhausted."
Fuchs v. State, Dep't of Idaho State Police, Bureau of Alcohol Beverage Control
,
"As a general rule, a party must exhaust administrative remedies before resorting to the courts to challenge the validity of administrative acts."
Lochsa Falls, L.L.C. v. State
,
The issues Ricks brings before this Court are subject to IDAPA's administrative exhaustion requirement.
This subject matter bar applies not only to the review of IBOL's denial of Ricks' contractor's license application, but also to the review of his claims that the denial violates his constitutional rights under the United States and Idaho Constitutions. Even constitutional issues arising from an administrative action must "be exhausted before a district court has jurisdiction to decide constitutional issues," unless an exception to exhaustion
*7
applies.
7
Lochsa Falls
,
A. Statutes at Issue
We begin our analysis with a description of the statutes at issue in this case. Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The Act, a cooperative endeavor with the states,
8
aimed, among other things, to improve child support enforcement effectiveness by collecting information from the states for the Federal Parent Locator Service, a database established to track down parents with child support obligations.
See
Lewis v. State, Dep't of Transp.
,
The Idaho Legislature chose to participate in the cooperative endeavor in 1998 by passing I.C. § 73-122 to bring Idaho into compliance with
(1) The social security number of an applicant shall be recorded on any application for a professional, occupational or recreational license.
(2) The requirement that an applicant provide a social security number shall apply only to applicants who have been assigned a social security number.
(3) An applicant who has not been assigned a social security number shall:
(a) Present written verification from the social security administration that the applicant has not been assigned a social security number; and
(b) Submit a birth certificate, passport or other documentary evidence issued by an entity other than a state or the United States; and
(c) Submit such proof as the department may require that the applicant is lawfully present in the United States.
In 2005, the Idaho Legislature passed the Idaho Contractor Registration Act because "[t]he state of Idaho has no way of stopping unscrupulous or dishonest building contractors from continuing to practice in this state. There is nothing in current law that would prohibit a contractor-even if known to be a 'bad actor'-from acting as a building contractor." H.B. 163, 58th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2005) (Statement of Purpose). One section of the Act requires "[a]n applicant for registration as a contractor [to] submit an application under oath upon a form to be prescribed by the board and which shall include the following information pertaining to the applicant: ... Social security number." I.C. § 54-5210. ICB and IBOL administer both I.C. § 54-5210 and I.C. § 73-122 by requiring social security numbers to be listed on a contractor's application for licensure. I.C. § 54-5207.
B. Ricks' Free Exercise Rights
Ricks' argument that requiring him to provide his social security number on his contractor's license application amounts to a violation of his free exercise of religion is based in four separate sources of law: the First *8 Amendment to the United States Constitution; Article 1, Section 4 of the Idaho Constitution ; RFRA; and FERPA. Each operates independently of one another. We address each of these in turn below.
1.
Ricks argues that this Court should proceed to the merits of his FERPA argument and consider FERPA's multi-part test, despite the State's argument that FERPA, in its entirety, is preempted by
In 2000, in reaction to the United States Supreme Court's decision in
City of Boerne v. Flores
, which held Congress had exceeded its authority by extending RFRA to the states,
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.
(3) Government may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is both:
(a) Essential to further a compelling governmental interest;
(b) The least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.
I.C. § 73-402.
In
Lewis
, this Court reviewed a similar FERPA claim. Lewis attempted to renew his driver's license, but refused to provide his social security number on the renewal application because he considered the number to be "the precursor to, or actually is, the biblical 'mark of the beast.' "
Lewis
,
This Court did not reach the merits of the applicant's FERPA argument, instead holding FERPA was preempted by
Lewis
bears obvious resemblance with Ricks' case. The only relevant difference between the two is the type of license at issue. However, because the
Lewis
Court did not identify why FERPA was directly contrary to
"In determining whether state law is preempted, we begin with a presumption of no preemption."
Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare v. McCormick
,
Here, it cannot be said that Congress has occupied the field of child support enforcement, especially since
this Court must determine that the law "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." Essentially, this Court must find that a state law is directly contrary to the congressional intent behind a federal statute before state law will be preempted.
McCormick
,
The objective of statutory interpretation is to derive the intent of the legislative body that adopted the act. Statutory interpretation begins with the literal language of the statute. Provisions should not be read in isolation, but must be interpreted in the context of the entire document. The statute should be considered as a whole, and words should be given their plain, usual, and ordinary meanings. It should be noted that the Court must give effect to all the words and provisions of the statute so that none will be void, superfluous, or redundant. When the statutory language is unambiguous, the clearly expressed intent of the legislative body must be given effect, and the Court need not consider rules of statutory construction.
McCormick
,
*10
We first turn to the literal language of
at the state's discretion, the applicant's social security number need not be recorded on the licensing document, but still must be recorded in a department file. The provision does not affect the requirement of recording the applicant's social security number on the application or indicate the applicant cannot be required to provide the number to the department.
Lewis
,
The plain text of FERPA, I.C. § 73-402, does not directly conflict with the plain text of
Ultimately, Congress passed
For the purpose of enforcing the support obligations owed by noncustodial parents to their children and the spouse (or former spouse) with whom such children are living, locating noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, obtaining child and spousal support, and assuring that assistance in obtaining support will be available under this part to all children ... for whom such assistance is requested.
Concerning FERPA, the Idaho Legislature set forth its rationale for adopting the statute in 2000:
The purpose of this legislation is to reestablish a test which courts must use to determine whether a person's religious belief should be accommodated when a government action or regulation restricts his or her religious practice. The test, known as the "compelling interest test," requires the government to prove with evidence that its regulation is (1) essential to achieve a compelling governmental interest and (2) it is the least restrictive means of achieving the government's compelling interest.
Prior to 1990 the U.S. Supreme Court used the above test-the "compelling test"-when deciding religious claims. However, in a 1990 decision ( Employment Div. of Oregon v. Smith [494 U.S. 872 ,110 S.Ct. 1595 ,108 L.Ed.2d 876 (1990) ] ) the Court tipped the scales of justice in favor of government regulation by throwing out the compelling interest test, which had shielded our religious freedom from onerous government regulation for more than 30 years. The Smith decision reduced the standard of review in religious freedom cases to a "reasonableness standard." While all other fundamental rights (freedom of speech, press, assembly, etc.) remain protected by the stringent "compelling interest test," the Court singled out religious freedom by reducing its protection to the weak "reasonableness test."
A widely recognized principle of law is that states are free to protect an individual's right with a much higher standard than the U.S. Constitution itself affords. Thus, in light of this principle in conjunction with the [ City of Boerne ,521 U.S. 507 ,117 S.Ct. 2157 ,138 L.Ed.2d 624 (1997) ]
*11 decision, states are free to enact their own RFRA's thereby choosing to apply the higher "compelling interest test" standard in their own religious freedoms cases.
S.B. 1394, 55th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2000) (Statement of Purpose).
The stated purposes and objectives behind
2. RFRA is inapplicable to this case because Ricks does not list any federal defendants
In response to the standard for interpreting the First Amendment announced by the United States Supreme Court in
Smith
, Congress passed RFRA, essentially restoring and codifying the Court's First Amendment jurisprudence predating
Smith
. 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb. RFRA applies to all federal law unless a federal law explicitly states otherwise. 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-3 (declared unconstitutional as applied to the states in
City of Boerne
,
It provides individuals with a claim or defense that they should be exempt from federal laws that burden their exercise of religion. However, such exemptions are only granted if courts determine the individuals pass RFRA's multi-part test:
(a) In general
Government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Exception
*12 Government may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person-
(1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and
(2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.
42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1.
In order to assert a RFRA claim or defense, an individual's lawsuit must include federal government defendants, defined under the statute to include "a branch, department, agency, instrumentality, and official (or other person acting under color of law) of the United States." 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-2. Here, Ricks' complaint does not list any federal government defendant charged with administering
3. Ricks' First Amendment rights are not violated by requiring him to list his social security number on a building contractor application
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." U.S. CONST. amend. I. Generally applicable and neutral laws that incidentally burden the exercise of an individual's religion do not offend the First Amendment.
See
Employment Div., Dep't of Human Res. of Oregon v. Smith
,
Here, Ricks has presented no evidence that
4. Article I, Section 4 of the Idaho Constitution is not violated by the incidental burden of using a social security number on a building contractor application
Article 1, Section 4 of the Idaho Constitution provides similar protections to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It reads:
The exercise and enjoyment of religious faith and worship shall forever be guaranteed; and no person shall be denied any civil or political right, privilege, or capacity on account of his religious opinions.... No person shall be required to attend or support any ministry or place of worship, religious sect or denomination, or pay tithes against his consent; nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship.
Idaho Const. art. I, § 4. This guarantee of religious liberty has been interpreted to provide more protection than the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Osteraas v. Osteraas
,
C. Ricks' Contract Rights Are Not Violated
Ricks argues that conditioning licensure upon the provision of a social security number violates his right to contract. "[T]he right to make contracts is embraced in the conception of liberty as guaranteed by the [Fourteenth Amendment to the] Constitution."
Chicago, B. & Q.R. Co. v. McGuire
,
The requirement that a social security number be listed on an application for an Idaho contractor license does qualify Ricks' right to contract. But because that requirement pursues legitimate state objectives, it does not violate Ricks' contract rights, nor does it amount to a due process violation. Thus, the district court did not err in dismissing Ricks' contract rights claim.
Relatedly, Ricks argues that
IV.
CONCLUSION
It is unclear whether Ricks has shown that he exhausted all administrative remedies available to him prior to seeking judicial review. To the extent this Court has subject matter jurisdiction to review Ricks' appeal, the merits of his claims also fail. Ricks' FERPA claim is preempted by
Chief Judge GRATTON and Judge LORELLO concur.
Neither a transcript of the hearing nor the order granting the State's motion to dismiss are contained in the record.
It is unclear from the record whether the district court dismissed other claims from Ricks' complaint during this hearing or in the district court's related order, specifically Ricks' right to contract, Privacy Act of 1974, separation of powers,
The State's second motion to dismiss is not in the record.
The State's fourth motion to dismiss and motion for reconsideration is not in the record.
The order granting the State's motion to reconsider the district court's written order is not in the record.
Although the State argues against perceived equal protection violations and unconstitutionality in its brief, likely because these arguments were raised below, the Court does not interpret Ricks' brief to contain such arguments. Thus, the Court does not address them here.
We note another exception to the administrative exhaustion rule: "where an agency is charged with implementing a statute, declaratory judgment in the district court is permissible to determine the applicability of agency rules. I.C. § 67-5278. This is so regardless of the availability of agency remedies."
Doe v. State
,
See
Idaho Dep't of Health & Welfare v. McCormick
,
We clarify that we are not examining whether
Even if the Court were to address the merits of Ricks' FERPA claim, it would fail. The parties do not contest that Ricks' refusal to provide his social security number on his contractor's license application is motivated by a sincerely-held religious belief. But whether the conditioning of government benefits, like licensure, upon the provision of a social security number is a substantial burden upon the free exercise of religion is a question on which other courts have split.
See
Leahy v. D.C.
,
Westlaw flags
Employment Div. of Oregon v. Smith
,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.