James Ruchti — Senator James Ruchti asks Keith Bybee for a quick definition of 'structural balance,' and Bybee begins responding to that question.
James Ruchti — Asked for clarification after the presentation and referenced possible budget options.
James Ruchti — James Ruchti is invited to ask a question and then asks whether the graph could be extended backward by 10 years to capture the Great Recession.
James Ruchti — Named as the senator being addressed with a question about structural imbalance.
James Ruchti — Asks whether removing $4 billion from income tax revenue over five years caused the structural imbalance.
James Ruchti — The chair appears to address him in the question about structural imbalance.
James Ruchti — Asks whether removing $4 billion from income tax revenue over five years caused the structural imbalance.
James Ruchti — Moves to approve the minutes of January 27, 2026.
James Ruchti — Seconded the motion on Erica Malman's appointment.
James Ruchti — Senator James Ruchti moves to approve the docket, is identified as the mover of the motion, and then states that he will vote no on the item due to his opposition to the fee increase.
Jim Guthrie — Senator Guthrie criticized the committee for ignoring part of the budget equation and failing to take ownership of the effects of tax cuts and revenue assumptions. He continued pressing the point that the body should acknowledge responsibility for the budget situation, and another senator then echoed and endorsed Guthrie’s remarks.
Jim Guthrie — Asked whether there is a threshold at which reserves begin to affect the state's bond rating.
Jim Guthrie — Asked Representative Weber why the appointment was not sent for confirmation last year.
Todd Lakey — Senator Lakey asked whether there is a benchmark or standard metric for determining how much additional per-capita spending should translate into added service costs. The witness responded that he was unaware of such a metric. Senator Lakey then followed up by asking what the purple line would look like at the end if Medicaid expansion were removed, continuing the discussion of how to interpret the spending trend.
Todd Lakey — Moves to send Erica Malman's gubernatorial appointment to the Idaho Personnel Commission.
Todd Lakey — His motion to advance Erica Malman's appointment is restated by the chair.
Todd Lakey — Mentioned as serving on the board with John Weber.
Todd Lakey — Asked what happens if a board cannot pay its expenses.
Todd Lakey — Moved to approve Rule Docket 24-211-2501.
Todd Lakey — Asks questions about the board's membership and who pays the dues.
Todd Lakey — Asks who belongs to the Idaho liquefied petroleum gas group and who typically pays the dues.
Todd Lakey — Asks for the dollar amount of the negative 8% balance and how it happened.
Todd Lakey — Asks whether the licensing system is more expensive or whether the issue is consolidation.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Ward-Engelking asked for clarification on how the $40 million catastrophic fund would look in real, inflation-adjusted dollars, and then followed up by asking whether the county indigent fund had also been eliminated because of Medicaid expansion.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Moves to send Brett Thomas's appointment to the Senate with a recommendation for confirmation.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Her motion to advance Brett Thomas's appointment is restated by the chair.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Identified as seconding the motion on Dr. Karen Cabell's appointment.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Identified as the second on the motion.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Senator Janie Ward-Engelking seconded the motion.
Daniel Foreman — His point is cited that the budget is structurally not balanced.
Daniel Foreman — The chair thanks Chairman and Mr. Bybee for their work and attendance.
Daniel Foreman — Addressed as Chairman Foreman.
Daniel Foreman — Addressed by the witness when asking if he had a question.
Daniel Foreman — Asked whether he had a question, then declined to ask one.
Daniel Foreman — Identified as the second to the motion.
Brett Thomas — Brett Thomas’s gubernatorial appointment to the Idaho Health Insurance Exchange Board is taken up, moved forward, and approved for transmission to the Senate with a recommendation for confirmation.
Tammy Nichols — Seconded the motion on Brett Thomas's appointment.
Tammy Nichols — Identified as seconding the motion on Dr. Karen Cabell's appointment.
Tammy Nichols — Senator Tammy Nichols questioned why the board had not met the cash-balance amount required by statute, and the later mention simply refers back to her prior question about the board’s financial position.
Erica Malman — The committee discusses Erica Malman’s gubernatorial appointment to the Idaho Personnel Commission and indicates that the appointment will be sent to the Senate with a recommendation for confirmation.
Treg Bernt — Treg Bernt asked Bobby Cuyo what his favorite fifth- and sixth-grade basketball team was, then followed up by saying he had coached Cuyo in fifth and sixth grade and that their team only lost two games over two years, crediting Cuyo’s strong play.
Treg Bernt — Asks a question about the fee increases and whether they will level out.
Treg Bernt — Asks whether the fee increases will level out or continue significantly.
Treg Bernt — Asks whether fees will be raised again next year.
Treg Bernt — Makes the motion to approve the docket.
Brian Lenney — The chair said Vice Chair Lenney would take the committee through the rules dockets.
Brian Lenney — Named in the transcript as the senator asking about rejected applicants.
Brian Lenney — Asked for statistics on rejected applicants and disciplinary actions since consolidation under DOPL.
Brian Lenney — Addressed by the witness as 'Chairman Lenney' while discussing complaint statistics.
Brian Lenney — Clarified that he was looking for specific disciplinary actions rather than complaint totals.