By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved a new budget bill Wednesday for court operations after the Senate killed the last one, HB 716, in a 15-20 vote.
This new budget reduces the amount allocated to court administrative support by $314,000 after the Senate took issue with the proposed pay for positions in the original budget request.
The court’s initial budget request was for five employees, including a human resources specialist, an accounts payable clerk, a financial specialist, and a technical writer/document manager. Each position was budgeted with a $91,800 salary and $33,300 in benefits. The courts also requested a human resources manager, budgeted at $120,200 in salary and $39,100 in benefits.
JFAC still granted the judiciary the five employees, but with lower salaries than initially requested.
Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, and Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, were the only JFAC members to vote against the new budget.
The new budget bill must still be reviewed and approved by the House and the Senate.
JFAC still needs to address the budgets for the Idaho Transportation Department and the Department of Administration, both of which were returned to the committee on Tuesday but were not on the agenda Wednesday.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.