by Clark Corbin, Idaho Capital Sun
In one of the most lopsided votes of the whole year, the Idaho Senate voted 3-31 to kill a fiscal year 2026 budget for the Idaho Transportation Department.
Senate Bill 1205 would have provided an additional $236 million in next year’s budget for the Idaho Transportation Department. The budget bill would have provided funding for deferred maintenance projects, new equipment and an additional $9.6 million to begin restoring the Idaho Transportation Departments flood-damaged and asbestos-contaminated former Boise headquarters located on State Street.
However, it doesn’t appear that it was the funding levels that drew the ire of nearly every single senator on Tuesday.
Instead, Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, said so-called budget intent language included in sections nine and 10 on page four of the bill could violate a provision of the Idaho Constitution. The Idaho Constitution prohibits the Idaho Legislature from “Authorizing the laying out, opening, altering, maintaining, working on, or vacating roads, highways, streets, alleys, town plats, parks, cemeteries, or any public grounds not owned by the state.”
Senators from both parties object to budget intent language, which could affect the Ada County Highway District
Page four of Senate Bill 1205 calls for setting aside “at least $8,000,000 shall be used towards the construction of a road widening project and bridge reconstruction for congestion mitigation on a residential mobility arterial that connects a State Highway to a U.S. Highway.”
“Page four of the bill, section nine and 10, are the specific areas where I think we have some concerns and potentially are in violation of Article Three, Section 19 of our Constitution,” Den Hartog said.
Boise Dev has reported that the intent language could force the Ada County Highway District, or ACHD, to spend millions on specific projects.
Den Hartog expressed similar concerns Tuesday.
“There is only one highway district and one road in one county that is being directed to spend a certain amount of money in this budget, and for that reason, I cannot support this,” Den Hartog said.
It was not immediately clear what happens next with the Idaho Transportation Department budget, but the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee may elect to redo the budget before the Idaho Legislature adjourns its annual legislative session for the year.
Clark Corbin | Idaho Capital Sun
Clark Corbin has more than a decade of experience covering Idaho government and politics. He has covered every Idaho legislative session since 2011 gavel-to-gavel. Prior to joining the Idaho Capital Sun, he reported for the Idaho Falls Post Register and Idaho Education News. His reporting in Idaho has helped uncover a multimillion-dollar investment scam and exposed inaccurate data that school districts submitted to the state.