The Idaho budget process is the envy of many states. When I attend tax and insurance meetings nationwide, I’m frequently asked how our Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee works and how we get through so many budgets. Under Idaho’s Constitution, we must meet each year as a legislative body to pass a balanced budget. Agency budgets are reviewed in detail, voted on in committee, and debated on the floors of the House and Senate. If a budget passes, it goes to the governor for a signature. Let’s look at a budget we heard this week.
Idaho Public Television and its multiple services matter for a still-rural state like Idaho with large areas relying on its broadcast signal. The Joint Finance Committee reviewed this agency’s budget and heard a presentation from its director. I was impressed with the financial competence and services delivered.
IPTV has two functional areas: 1) a statewide emergency communication system and 2) content creation and acquisition. This budget falls under the purview of the Idaho State Board of Education. Both general fund dollars and public donations support it. Almost 70 percent of the $10.6 million budget comes from private donations and grants, with only $2.8 million from the Idaho taxpayers covering physical infrastructure like towers, transmitters and switches.
The committee discussion included a range of questions from committee members. Should we continue to contract snowcat services to reach towers in the mountains? Or does it make more financial sense for IPTV to receive approval to purchase a snowcat? Before we set this budget, the committee will see an economic analysis that helps answer these questions.
In the coming weeks, we’ll ask many more questions to help us decide how to set over 100 budgets for our state. The process takes time and working closely with other committee members to get the job done. Some of the larger budgets, including education and health and welfare, will bring together large groups that meet regularly.
While state law often directs where funds must go in these budgets, we can look at and weigh specific line items. In recent years, some of those line items included deferred maintenance that totaled almost $1 billion across the state. Other decisions, like additional funding for our state auditors, reflect current market realities. If we want to hold our state agencies accountable and make sure they’re following state law and policy, we need to ensure we can keep auditors on staff to do the job.
As an Idaho resident, you can participate in this process too. IPTV broadcasts live sessions of our daily JFAC hearings and floor sessions. You can also view cases presented before the Supreme Court and other special events, like Gov. Little’s recent inauguration. I would encourage you to watch your state government at work during the session at Idahoptv.org.
The Idaho budgeting process has worked well over many years, ensuring we meet our constitutional obligation to produce a balanced budget. In the two weeks I’ve served on the committee, I’ve seen firsthand how hard legislative services work to support our budget process. Together, I’m confident we can once again produce a budget through a process that’s made our state famous among other elected leaders.