Melissa Wintrow — Senator Wintrow asks whether the $1.3 million deficiency warrants line includes fire deficiency.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Wintrow asks whether the deficiency warrants line includes fire deficiency.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Wintrow recalls debate over prepaying for fires and asks how much is set aside for the next fire season.
Melissa Wintrow — Mr. Bybee says he will get back to Senator Wintrow with the fire-prepayment number and current balance.
Melissa Wintrow — Asked about the Medicaid amount without the 4% holdbacks.
Melissa Wintrow — Asked what the Medicaid number would be without the 4% holdbacks.
Melissa Wintrow — Asked about the difference between intent language and law and expressed discomfort with the lack of clarity.
Melissa Wintrow — Continued questioning the distinction between intent language and law.
Melissa Wintrow — Asked how the committee tracks performance and effectiveness for statewide cost allocation services.
Melissa Wintrow — Was addressed in the response about theory versus practice in performance-based budgeting.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Wintrow engaged in a continuous discussion about fiscal flexibility and reserve funds. She first acknowledged the explanation of stabilization fund policy and noted that legislatures should avoid tying their hands because emergencies are unpredictable. She then asked whether the committee could direct reserve funds toward budget requests in bills, receiving the response that all options were on the table. Later, she thanked Mr. Bybee for his presentation, praised the governor’s creative effort to minimize harm, expressed concern about impacts to public defense and mental health programs, and suggested using a temporary bridge strategy until revenues improve with population growth.
Melissa Wintrow — Melissa Wintrow calls on Ms. Lippett to continue the presentation, with the request repeated as the presentation proceeds.
Melissa Wintrow — Melissa Wintrow thanks Ms. Lippet for the presentation, then Ms. Lippet says she and Mr. McGurkin can work on providing the requested information. The discussion continues with a follow-up question about how the current 80-20 employee cost-sharing split was established and whether scenario charts exist for other cost-sharing ratios.
Josh Tanner — Called during roll call as 'Representative Tanner.'
Josh Tanner — Addressed in the exchange as 'Tanner' when the speaker was being called on.
Josh Tanner — Addressed as 'Chair Tanner' when recognized to speak.
Carl Bjerke — Called during roll call as 'Burkey' (questionable).
Glenneda Zuiderveld — Called during roll call as 'Ziderveld' (questionable).
Janie Ward-Engelking — Called during roll call as 'Ward Engel King' (questionable).
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Ward Engelking asked for data on whether bills establishing mandatory minimums have contributed to growth in corrections, and Mr. Bybee responded by suggesting a follow-up with the committee on the question.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Janie Ward-Engelking questions how school district health care funding is distributed, asking whether the state knows how many district employees are not covered by the per-unit funding approach. She expresses concern that districts may be disadvantaged because funding is not sent out per employee, leaving them in a financial hole.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Ward-Engelking recalled earlier work on the insurance issue and explained that the insurance option likely benefited smaller districts, while larger districts often remained self-insured because they could manage coverage themselves and obtain better rates. She then invited the co-chair to add anything, referenced additional questions for Ms. Lippett, and concluded the discussion by thanking participants for their attendance.
Dustin Manwaring — Called during roll call.
Brandon Mitchell — Called during roll call.
Elaine Price — Called during roll call.
Elaine Price — Representative Elaine Price was recognized and asked where the interest funds previously went, questioning whether the agency had budgeted for and used those funds before they were being moved into the general fund.
Elaine Price — Representative Price questioned the state's fiscal position, first asking whether it supports the state's triple-A credit rating and then following up by asking whether statute or policy specifies when stabilization funds should be used.
Chris Bruce — Called during roll call.
Chris Bruce — Representative Bruce asked how the state selects its insurance companies, whether it has a contract with the carrier, and how rates are negotiated. He followed up by asking whether the state could cap annual increases, walk away from the current carrier, or negotiate with another provider, expressing concern about the sustainability of continued cost increases and wanting to review the contract further.
Jason Monks — The chair thanks Mr. Bybee and invites questions; the speaker also notes head nods from the two new members.
Kevin Cook — Addressed by Mr. Bybee in response to the question.
Kevin Cook — Senator Cook asked whether separate legislation is needed for each interest transfer back to the general fund, and Mr. Bybee responded that it could be handled through a policy bill.
Dori Healey — Superintendent Critchfield is referenced as someone who will present next week on the public schools budget. The name is not in the expected member list, so no member ID is assigned.
Doug Okuniewicz — Explained that the Budget Stabilization Fund cap is based on prior-year general fund revenues and is set at 15%.
Doug Okuniewicz — Explained why the committee is projected to exceed the cap and referenced last year's fund balance percentage.
Doug Okuniewicz — Explained that the change could be made through a policy bill or through intent language directing interest earnings elsewhere for 2027.
Doug Okuniewicz — Explained that directing interest earnings to a different fund would require setting aside Idaho Code through JFAC or similar legislation.
Doug Okuniewicz — Confirmed that a policy bill is one option for changing the law.
Doug Okuniewicz — Explained that session law can override existing law for a specified period or ongoing basis.
Doug Okuniewicz — Introduced the maintenance budgets discussion and noted the committee will appropriate them on February 6th.
Doug Okuniewicz — Explained that statewide cost allocation offsets general fund costs and noted the controller's budget increase for Luma.
Doug Okuniewicz — Explained that the delta reflects a return to the historic 10% minimum threshold for budgeting state health insurance premiums.
Doug Okuniewicz — Mr. Bybee is addressed in a brief, continuous exchange in which the speaker thanks him for his presentation, says he did well, and notes that time was spent giving him a brief overview.
Francis Lippett — Will give a later presentation on health insurance changes.
Francis — Referenced as the person who will explain the health insurance budgeting details later.
Joe Palmer — Senator Cook raises a question about contract inflation, asking whether the higher contract amounts are built into existing contracts or whether the contracts were rebid to account for inflation. The chair and respondent then address Cook directly while the question is being answered.
Jim Guthrie — During this brief exchange, Senator Cook is identified as having a question, specifically in the context of discussing budget details. The other mention appears to be an erroneous or empty reference and does not add separate substantive content.
Noah Peterson — Noah Peterson identifies himself as a budget and policy analyst for the Legislative Services Office and begins answering Senator Hart's question.
Janet Jessup — Janet Jessup was invited to identify herself, then introduced herself as a principal budget analyst with Legislative Services and began outlining the budget process. She explained that the presentation would move from a broad, high-level overview to a more detailed agency-by-agency discussion, including fire suppression deficiency funds, and then described the budget hearing process and the legislative budget book, noting its availability online and in SharePoint.
Morgan Poloni — Morgan Poloni is invited to come forward and identify themselves for the record, then states their name and identifies themselves as a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, beginning their presentation.