Brooke Green — The question is being answered in response to Representative Green's inquiry about opioid settlement dollars.
Brooke Green — Her earlier question is referenced by Representative Bruce.
Ben Adams — Possible transcription error for 'Senator Burton Shaw'; no exact match is certain.
Ben Adams — Possible transcription error for 'Senator Burton Shaw'; the speaker is being asked to reply.
Jordan Redman — Possible transcription error for 'Representative Redmond'; no exact match is certain.
Jordan Redman — Representative Harris/Harrison asked follow-up questions about whether the department truly needs to replace vehicles or continue spending on them, given pending legislation that may reduce the need for those vehicles and possible maintenance-related considerations.
Ms. Lippett — Was invited to come forward and present.
Ms. Lippett — Ms. Lippett concludes her prepared remarks and then responds to Senator Cook’s questions about the division’s budget. She asks for clarification on the slide being referenced, restates the question about rising personnel costs, and explains the exemption that the committee had already approved in the program maintenance budget. She notes the exemption has been requested since the division’s inception, was not used last year, and may not be used this year, but remains available. She then distinguishes the individual boards’ and commissions’ accounts from the division’s budgeted programs, explains that those programs contain many boards and commissions, and says the division reports balance issues and fee-adjustment needs in an annual report. She further explains that the exemption was originally created because of uncertainty about how administrative costs would be allocated across licensing bureaus, and that it now largely remains as a holdover because the budgeted programs are well established.
Francis Lippett — Identified herself as a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office.
Francis Lippett — Introduced herself as a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office and began the state lottery presentation.
Francis Lippett — Concluded her presentation and offered to answer questions.
Francis Lippitt — Presented the agency overview and identified the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses as the first agency under review.
Heather Scott — Representative Bruce followed up on earlier comments attributed to Representative Green, and the discussion continued as a brief back-and-forth referencing the same prior question or point.
Russ Barron — Russ Barron introduced himself as the administrator of the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, also known as DOPL.
Colby Reddish — Introduced as deputy administrator and chief legal counsel.
Amy Lorenzo — Introduced as chief of the Building Construction and Real Estate Bureau.
Dr. Nikki Chopsky — Introduced as chief of the Health Professions Bureau.
John Price — Introduced as chief of Occupational Licenses.
Ryan Bernard — Introduced as Legislative Affairs Chief.
Wendy Gutierrez — Introduced as the financial officer.
Administrator Barron — Senator Cook addresses Administrator Barron regarding the budget, and Barron responds that the personnel cost difference is largely due to actual versus expected spending, including salary savings and benefit/insurance costs.
Administrator — Responded that the agency is using a two-pronged approach to bring some balances down and others up.
Jim Guthrie — Senator Cook repeatedly pressed for an explanation of why the Legislature should not restructure cash across independent boards, asking for the best argument against moving balances between boards and inviting any counterargument in favor of doing so. The discussion stayed focused on the variance issue and whether fee holidays and current trends would justify or oppose such a reallocation.
Bruce Skaug — The chair asked whether Representative Bruce's question had been answered.
Phil Hart — Senator Hart asked how DOPL polices licensed professionals who practice outside their area of expertise or act incompetently. The response explained that DOPL primarily operates based on complaints, indicating that enforcement and investigation are complaint-driven.
Andrew Arulenandum — Identified as the lottery director who would present next.
Andrew Rulenandum — Introduced himself as director of the Idaho State Lottery and identified staff present.
Gabby Perez — Identified as the community engagement manager.
Tristan Thompson — Identified as a newly hired social media manager.
David Workman — Identified as the public information officer.
Ben Clother — Identified as the chief financial officer and noted as a former LSO auditor.
Director Andrew — Addressed by the senator in questioning.
Idaho State Lottery director — The Idaho State Lottery director explained that lottery detectives investigate crimes related to the lottery and assist law enforcement. He also noted that the addition of a second detective occurred years ago, not within the last 15 months, and offered to check on related crime trends.
Kevin Cook — Is called on again for another question.
Kevin Cook — Asks why the 10% transfer limitation exemption should be removed and what the division could not do under the limitation.
Kevin Cook — Follows up on the five-year rolling average and asks whether that is why the 10% transfer limitation is being removed.
Kevin Cook — Asks whether removing the 10% transfer limitation would allow movement among different funds for licensees.
Kevin Cook — Asked why personnel costs increased while operating expenditures dropped and FTPs stayed steady.
Kevin Cook — The question was directed to him.
Kevin Cook — Asked about progress on the rolling five-year average and what adjustments were being made.
Kevin Cook — Asked how many boards are outside the target range.
Kevin Cook — Continued the discussion and acknowledged the explanation.
Carl Bjerke — Called during roll call; response not captured clearly.
Christy Zito — Called during roll call; response not captured clearly.
Cindy Carlson — Responded 'Here' during roll call.
Glenneda Zuiderveld — Glenneda Zuiderveld was called during roll call and subsequently listed as present, though the initial response was not clearly captured.
Codi Galloway — Codi Galloway is called during roll call and then recorded as present.
Janie Ward-Engelking — During roll call, Janie Ward-Engelking was called and then recorded as present.
Melissa Wintrow — Listed as present.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Wintrow is identified as the speaker and comments that the committee should address the crisis while keeping a prevention mindset to reduce costs down the road. She is then thanked for the comment and invited to respond, followed by another brief acknowledgment.