States findings of the Legislature and provides that individual legislative members may donate all or a portion of their compensation to the tax relief fund.
Summary
House Concurrent Resolution 4 is a statement of legislative findings about Idaho lawmakers’ compensation and a nonbinding expression of support for allowing individual legislators to donate some or all of their pay to the state Tax Relief Fund. The resolution recites the constitutional framework for setting legislative pay, notes the Citizens’ Committee on Legislative Compensation’s November 2024 decision to raise base legislative salary to $25,000 per year, and compares that increase with changes in pay for judges, constitutional officers, the lieutenant governor, and state employees. It also emphasizes that Idaho legislators receive no extra pay for interim, special, or organizational sessions and have relatively limited staff support compared with other western states.
Impact
The resolution does not amend Idaho Code or change the constitutional process for setting legislative compensation. Its practical effect is limited to expressing the Legislature’s view that members who consider themselves overcompensated may voluntarily donate all or part of their compensation to the Tax Relief Fund under section 57-811, Idaho Code. It therefore affects legislators personally and symbolically, rather than imposing new legal duties on taxpayers, agencies, or the compensation-setting committee.
Sentiment
The overall sentiment appears mixed but generally supportive of the compensation increase among the majority of the House, as reflected in the 61-7 House Third Reading vote. The resolution’s findings are framed positively toward the Citizens’ Committee’s unanimous decision and toward aligning legislative pay more closely with other state positions. At the same time, the text acknowledges that some legislators objected to the increase as too large, indicating visible internal disagreement over whether the new compensation level is appropriate.
Contention
The main point of contention is legislative pay itself: supporters argue the increase is justified by inflation, comparisons to other state salaries, and the workload of part-time legislators with limited staff support, while critics believe the increase is excessive. A secondary point of tension is the resolution’s unusual suggestion that dissatisfied legislators can donate compensation to the Tax Relief Fund, which some may view as a symbolic response rather than a substantive policy solution. Because the measure is a concurrent resolution, it is also notable that it expresses findings and encouragement rather than creating enforceable law.
A resolution to direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to only present to the Governor enrolled House bills finally passed by both houses of the One Hundred Third Legislature.
Relating to nonsubstantive additions to, revisions of, and corrections in enacted codes, to the nonsubstantive codification or disposition of various laws omitted from enacted codes, and to conforming codifications enacted by the 88th Legislature to other Acts of that legislature.