Antoine Taylor — Antoine Taylor is introduced as the new Senate page and explains that he became a page because he enjoys hearing and discussing bills. He shares his future plans, including serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paris, France and later attending BYU-Idaho to study business management. He also answers questions about his family background, noting that his mother is from France and that he has some French language ability. The exchange ends with thanks and a welcome for him as the new page.
Mark Harris — Senator Harris seconded a series of motions during the meeting, including the motion on James Keating's appointment and motions to approve the January 26 and February 4 minutes.
Mark Harris — Seconded the motion.
Mark Harris — Asked the witness about the ice road process.
Mark Harris — Senator Harris was mentioned during the procedural handling of House Bill 587: she seconded the motion, and was later called during roll call as part of the same sequence.
Julie VanOrden — Moved to approve the February 2, 2026 minutes.
Julie VanOrden — Voted aye in the roll call.
Kevin Cook — Seconded the motion on the February 2 minutes.
Kevin Cook — Asked how the witness's name is pronounced.
Kevin Cook — Asked about Idaho oil wells and reserves beneath Idaho.
Kevin Cook — Asked how much time the witness spends in Alaska or other places each year.
Kevin Cook — Senator Kevin Cook repeatedly raised concerns about the cost difference between state firefighting and using the BLM and Forest Service, asking for more information on how those costs and budget cuts would affect fire response and staffing. Director Miller and others responded directly to Cook, and later remarks referenced agreement with Cook’s concerns about making hard decisions while maintaining safety.
Jim Guthrie — Introduced the February 4 minutes for approval.
Jim Guthrie — Voted aye in the roll call.
Jim Guthrie — Senator Guthrie questions the director about a budget that appears to zero out fire funding and asks how management philosophy will change. The director responds that they are concerned and would need to come back to the legislature, noting they will have to work with lawmakers to cover those bills in the future. Guthrie then expresses frustration that fire costs would effectively be put on credit.
Jerry Henry — Introduced himself as division administrator for drinking water protection and finance at the Department of Environmental Quality and presented the docket.
— Made the motion to approve the pending rule docket with exceptions.
Michael Linden — Named as the gubernatorial appointee who will appear virtually.
Michael Leiden / Linden — Introduced himself as a consultant for Santos Energy working on Alaska's North Slope.
Michael Leiden — Michael Leiden described his long career in Alaska’s North Slope oil and gas industry, beginning in 1978 as a roustabout after leaving college and progressing through roles with ARCO Alaska to operator, supervisor, and superintendent. He noted work starting up the Alpine facility, time spent supporting Exxon during the Exxon Valdez spill, and that he retired in February 2022 but has continued consulting. He then explained his post-retirement work building winter ice roads for the Alpine facility, which lacks gravel road access, including roughly 30 miles across the Colville River to move supplies, drilling rigs, and heavy modules. He also discussed supporting the Willow project by building ice roads along existing pipelines to avoid tundra damage and said the total ice-road network can reach about 258 miles. He closed by saying he now spends about half the year in Alaska and half at home with his grandkids, and thanked the committee, expressing that if confirmed he would work hard for the state of Idaho.
Michael Lytton — Michael Lytton said he had not actually looked at the reserves, but noted that he had toured the oil field. He then raised questions about what resources are available and whether there is any current or planned exploration activity.
Michael Lydden — Explained that he typically works a two-and-two schedule and spends about half the year in Alaska.
Todd Lakey — Raised concern about ceding legislative appropriation authority and asked for more explanation.
Todd Lakey — Asked for clarification about lost funds and the appropriation process.
Todd Lakey — Questioned whether this belongs in policy or rules and referenced JFAC's role.
Todd Lakey — Made the motion to send House Bill 587 to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation.
Todd Lakey — The speaker references Senator Cook's concerns as part of the discussion.
Todd Lakey — Likely intended reference to Senator Cook's earlier concerns; transcript says O'Connell.
Todd Lakey — Called during roll call.
Phil Hart — Not present and marked absent during the roll call.
Van Burtenshaw — Senator Burtenshaw was recorded as voting aye during the roll call, with the transcript showing two near-duplicate mentions of the same vote.
Tom Schultz — Identified as the Chief of the Forest Service and noted as having previously held the speaker's position at the Department of Lands.
Ron Taylor — Senator Taylor follows up on budget concerns affecting the fire department, asking whether cuts could lead to slower response times, fewer stops on fires that start, and reduced firefighter staffing over the summer.
Daniel Foreman — The discussion repeatedly references Senator Daniel Foreman in the context of committee concerns about budget cuts and fire response. The transcript also appears to misidentify the speaker as 'Senator Taylor,' suggesting a transcription error or name mismatch, but the underlying topic remains the same throughout.