By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
The state Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee revived two budget bills on Wednesday that it shot down from the Idaho Department of Correction late last week.
The first was a supplemental request of $1 million for IDOC’s federal body-worn camera grant. Of the request, only $27,000 came from state general funds. The rest is federal grant funding to implement body-camera wearing in some IDOC locations as a pilot-program. IDOC applied for and was granted the money in the current fiscal year, meaning the department had to put the spending request in a supplemental bill. State agencies need legislative approval to spend money, even if it comes from sources other than the state’s general fund. Wednesday’s appropriation removed $100 in federal grant spending authority from Friday’s motion, meeting the committee’s requirement to change appropriations requests if a bill fails.
The second request from IDOC asked for $2.46 million in general and dedicated funds for the Pocatello Community Reentry Center, including personnel costs, general inflation and replacement items. That number is a combination of general and dedicated funds. The committee’s motion removed $100 in replacement items from dedicated funds from the initial motion that failed.
Though a majority of joint committee members had voted for the original appropriations on Friday, the motions didn’t have majority support from Senate Finance Committee members, requiring the new motions.
Both appropriations will now head to their designated floors. Neither of Wednesday’s motions prompted discussion from committee members.
The committee on Wednesday also approved the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee’s recommended general fund revenue projection for fiscal year 2026, at $6.4 billion. The revenue projection is 6.8% more than the estimated revenue for fiscal year 2025, at $5.99 billion. Setting the general fund recommendations budget historically indicates both the Senate and House will start to move forwarded on passing appropriation bills.
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.