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idaho legislature

Idaho Budget Committee Balances 2010 Budget

By Sharon Fisher, 2-19-10

Idaho’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Commission decided this morning on a party-line vote to balance the 2010 budget, based on last week’s decision to set 2010 revenue at $2.28 billion, by cutting more than 7 percent from state budgets.

Given that it will take a few days for the bill to wend its way through the House, Senate, and to be signed by the Governor, this gives agencies just four months or so to implement the cuts—meaning the effect of the bill will be similar to a 20 percent cut at the beginning of a budget year.

Public schools, which initially were slated to be cut by $28 million, were held harmless through the use of stabilization funds and the remaining funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus package. But since the stabilization and stimulus funds were going to be used next year, that means schools face bigger cuts in fiscal 2011.

In addition, JFAC granted a number of supplemental requests, including an increase to the catastrophic health fund, which pays medical bills for indigents after the county pays the first $11,000, and an increase in corrections due to a larger prison population.

In all, the 2010 budget was cut by $188 million, and then increased by $140 million through the supplementals and holding public schools harmless, including the use of $20 million from the economic recovery fund and $33 million from the budget stabilization fund.

The whole procedure was accomplished in less than an hour with four motions: One for the recission, one for the restoration, and one each for the withdrawals from the additional funds.

In case there was any doubt, JFAC members don’t craft such complex appropriations motions on the fly at their desks during the meeting. Indeed, only written motions are allowed. Typically, the motions themselves are written by budget analysts, and the legislators decide among themselves which ones will make the motion in JFAC. In addition, on budget-setting days, JFAC has an additional 7 am meeting, during which the planned motions are passed out and discussed, in order to make sure everyone is prepared for which motions will arise and to help streamline the process during the actual meeting itself.

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