Idaho Legislature Tough on Its Own Budget, Too

By Sharon Fisher, 2-29-08

In a demonstration that it was just as tough on itself as on any state agency, the Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted to give the Legislature a fairly bare-bones budget for support staff and equipment, rejecting requests for new employees.

However, the committee did vote to give legislators new laptops. The ones the legislators are currently using are four years old – state agencies are typically on a three-year cycle – and in the new location, House members must use their laptops to record attendance and to vote. Every day, two or three House members need to check in and vote manually because they say their computers aren’t working. JFAC vice-chair Representative Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell, said he had had to try three different machines before he could get one that worked.

JFAC has been rejecting the majority of the new programs requested by the agencies, citing concerns about declining revenues.