House Bill 247 is the annual maintenance appropriation for Idaho’s Legislative Branch for fiscal year 2026. It provides funding for the Legislative Services Office and the Office of Performance Evaluations for the period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, with a grand total appropriation of $13,016,400. The bill breaks out funding by program and expense class, including personnel costs and operating expenditures, and specifies the funding sources used for each office.
The bill also gives the Legislative Services Office and the Office of Performance Evaluations flexibility in managing their appropriations by exempting them from certain expense class transfer limitations in Idaho Code. This allows unlimited transfers between expense classes within the appropriated amounts, while still prohibiting transfers between funds unless expressly approved by the Legislature. In addition, it reappropriates any unexpended and unencumbered ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund balances from fiscal year 2025 for nonrecurring expenditures in fiscal year 2026, subject to confirmation by the State Controller.
In practical terms, the bill affects state budget law and legislative branch operations rather than creating or changing public-facing regulatory programs. It authorizes spending from the General Fund and several dedicated funds, including the Technology Infrastructure Stabilization Fund, Miscellaneous Revenue Fund, Legislative Capitol Facilities Fund, Professional Services Fund, and any eligible ARPA reappropriations. The bill also includes an emergency clause, making it effective on July 1, 2025.
The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable and routine, consistent with a standard appropriations measure. It passed the House Third Reading 65-1 and the Senate Third Reading 33-0, indicating broad bipartisan support. Because the bill is a maintenance appropriation for internal legislative operations, there is little evidence of major controversy in the available record.
Any contention appears limited and procedural rather than substantive. The only notable area of discretion is the flexibility granted for transfers between expense classes and the reappropriation of ARPA funds, but the bill preserves legislative control by requiring express approval for transfers between funds. No committee debate or recorded opposition is available in the provided materials, suggesting the measure was largely noncontroversial.
H0247 amends state spending authority for the Legislative Branch for fiscal year 2026 by appropriating funds to the Legislative Services Office and the Office of Performance Evaluations and by authorizing reappropriation of certain ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund balances. It temporarily overrides Idaho’s expense class transfer limits for these offices, while maintaining restrictions on moving money between funds without legislative approval. The bill primarily affects budget administration, legislative support services, and performance evaluation operations, rather than substantive policy areas.
The bill appears to have been viewed as a routine, necessary appropriations measure with broad support. It passed both chambers overwhelmingly, with only one dissenting vote in the House and unanimous approval in the Senate. The absence of committee transcript discussion suggests there was little public or legislative controversy surrounding the measure.
There is no recorded substantive opposition in the provided materials. The only potentially sensitive issues are the exemption from expense class transfer limitations and the reappropriation of ARPA funds, but these provisions are standard budget-management tools and are constrained by requirements that funds not be transferred between accounts without express legislative approval. Any disagreement, if present, appears to have been minimal and procedural rather than ideological.