[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6376891,"mediaKeyId","2139708-b48edec16a615a19e26635202d3a7265","parentId",2139708,"title","Idaho State Historical Society seeks operating authority for grants and staff for Old Idaho Penitentiary work; previews USS Idaho artifacts","audioSeconds",1922,"startMs",3648930,"endMs",5571910,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2139708-b48edec16a615a19e26635202d3a7265&start=3648&end=5571","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2139708-b48edec16a615a19e26635202d3a7265/thumbnail_3648930.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6376891/Idaho/Idaho-State-Historical-Society-seeks-operating-authority-for-grants-and-staff-for-Old-Idaho-Penitentiary-work-previews-USS-Idaho-artifacts","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6376891-da3c287cd96919c551ad329f88734f9b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771143482&Signature=OZ3VpFum1tVJzg2KnUYEp-58Pgosg5dahIOCyUdRX~oK9zcSAKgPRO664ii-GaHlnvobzNVepQ8sj~0irTeVWiFGmCjaJBe2di2doSFGKvRfmXKBsxdAZpn28cBnKz2iQsxXhLqfyB~95wmfRAnEcgziLNLjedl5Vuu8xy8jIWpBL1dmpv3bZXNuSk3Sc~STdHw4cuO7rpw~axVTyScfM7OKlTo3vmkwFkX9sHxALxEB15S4M5B0P~ASmq1xVDY~BVF1QlWS6hRxrTfqJsQIdWcEPfZ1kx1yE9fsAskHr2jl0qmnZSkXCJTWfLM3fbwrHqTDd5gkk3bn5Rx85-0PEQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Idaho Joint Legislative","date","2025-01-22T00:00:00Z","article","The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee heard from the Idaho State Historical Society about fiscal‑year 2026 requests to support archives consolidation, staff for the Old Idaho Penitentiary site, and spending authority to accept and expend fundraising and federal grant dollars tied to exhibits and commemorations.

Janet Gallimore, director of the Idaho State Historical Society, told the committee the agency’s responsibilities are set out in Chapter 41, Title 67 of Idaho Code and that recent activity includes consolidating collections into the State Archives building and preparing the Old Idaho Penitentiary for expanded educational programming. The society requested ongoing staff for the Old Pen (funded from the site’s miscellaneous revenue fund), a 1.0 FTE archivist‑technician for digitizing records ($62,900 ongoing), $450,000 one‑time for moving collections into a consolidated facility, and reappropriation authority for $1.65 million in general‑fund support for the America250 commemoration. The governor recommended the requests.

Gallimore explained the fundraising authority: much of the society’s non‑state revenue comes from earned revenue, grants and private fundraising processed through its foundation. The society asked for spending authorization to accept and expend grants and donations, noting that some federal and foundation awards require government accounting and audit authority before funds can be spent.

Committee members asked for results from a recent $1 million fundraising initiative and for metrics tied to Old Penn staffing and program goals. Gallimore said the society can report annual earned revenue (~$250,000) and campaign‑specific totals, and she offered to provide data showing program and revenue changes tied to recently approved positions; the society’s internal business plan targeted increasing Old Pen student visits (one goal cited: doubling to about 12,000 students).

The society brought two artifacts for committee viewing: silver service pieces (a cake tray and engraved fruit tray) associated with earlier naval vessels named USS Idaho. Gallimore said the society and partners are coordinating with the USS Idaho commission and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program to curate Idaho artifacts that will travel with the boat and return to the state for long‑term stewardship.

No formal committee action occurred. Committee members asked for follow‑up detail on fundraising results, Old Pen performance metrics and the schedule for the collections move and exhibit planning.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee Meeting January 22, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Idaho State Historical Society described requests for staffing and spending authority to support collections consolidation, Old Idaho Penitentiary operations and the America250 commemoration; the society also presented historic USS Idaho silver service artifacts to the committee.","taxTitle","Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, JOINT, Committees, Legislative, Idaho","taxId",28593,"location","Idaho","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6376895,"Department of Labor seeks $7.33M in dedicated funds to sustain unemployment operations as federal grants decline",1420,1873025,3293660,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2139708-b48edec16a615a19e26635202d3a7265&start=1873&end=3293","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2139708-b48edec16a615a19e26635202d3a7265/thumbnail_1873025.jpg","/articles/6376895/Idaho/Department-of-Labor-seeks-733M-in-dedicated-funds-to-sustain-unemployment-operations-as-federal-grants-decline","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6376895-11ef9137bb529f3135cce0b2965bd338/orig.mp4?Expires=1771143482&Signature=EsIWw3H0Xn3U5zUvGgACZQjjq-4xjPnxJkpiblyDAkvbIgL7M3MSsqQ-B8JJBwycSTPhu0-70LDhqd-He3pbVvk217wG7iueODnD7rsCdeWywCtrT9olZqhnTOOum0i3-uNfgy65NFTOo8~mBRxv7MLXfAqaQrXTuIe0OATnN6hM6CPihgx4Qd85Zb-J4iVJ2bgY2EYL6g-xKKajH7UGU16rEdubgLFYdC9sHnSgLflLSGlPtSj5lpbNBqRecvguj~IlNvbZbV49dyrS78OejIK~q1LPIo3h0LwIUsHDn8seoVG~11Fz6-6NMkHR2xxVI22PPtMze8ItduSPIKFBmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee reviewed a fiscal‑year 2026 budget request from the Idaho Department of Labor to increase dedicated spending authority by $7,330,000 for unemployment insurance (UI) operations and to authorize a cash transfer of $4,868,600 from the unemployment penalty and interest fund to the employment security fund.

Janie Rivera, director of the Idaho Department of Labor, told the committee the request is intended to sustain UI determinations, compliance and appeals work as federal pandemic grants decline. “During the pandemic, the department added over 100 people to respond to spikes in claims,” Rivera said. As federal grant funding for UI administration has fallen with lower unemployment, the department seeks additional dedicated‑fund spending authority rather than general fund support to retain core operational capacity and to have stable staffing should the economy deteriorate.

Analysts explained the cash transfer is intended to correct an accounting over‑transfer that moved more money into the unemployment penalty and interest fund than statute intended; the requested transfer would return funds to the continuously appropriated employment security fund and reduce an estimated fiscal‑year‑2026 ending balance by roughly $4 million under the agency’s projections.

Committee members pressed for more detail about staffing levels and flexible hiring authority. Rivera said the department maintains baseline staff for ongoing compliance and tax work and uses excess FTP to surge adjudicators and claims staff during recessions. She described the state UI trust fund as solvent and established by statute to smooth tax rates over multiple years; the department said the fund previously ranged from roughly $69.7 million to $202 million (the 2020 COVID spike) and that if a fund were exhausted the state could borrow federally or use bond authority.

Representative Handy and Senator Galloway asked for precise counts of base staff versus pandemic‑era hires and how much of salary savings were being reallocated; analysts and the director agreed to provide follow‑up numbers to the committee. The governor recommended the enhancements.

No formal votes took place at the hearing. The department offered to supply the committee a more detailed staffing baseline, historic staffing fluctuations during downturns, and an explanation of how federal grant amounts for UI administration are calculated.","The Department of Labor told JFAC it needs $7.33 million in dedicated spending authority to maintain unemployment insurance operations as federal pandemic grants taper; the department also requested a $4.87 million cash transfer and described the trust fund and staffing flexibility during downturns.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6376900,"JFAC hears plan to continue federal digital-access grants, questions about summer reading materials",1743,92330,1836120,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2139708-b48edec16a615a19e26635202d3a7265&start=92&end=1836","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2139708-b48edec16a615a19e26635202d3a7265/thumbnail_92330.jpg","/articles/6376900/Idaho/JFAC-hears-plan-to-continue-federal-digital-access-grants-questions-about-summer-reading-materials","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6376900-7d53fcae323fc5c036cae28212763060/orig.mp4?Expires=1771143482&Signature=l8PBcWldNQf5QnohJF0rTzhRcJ2sD11aSdr3pCQ-1tgI~rn1oT~-gn19uWqlwe5AtQ9kVZ8wRt5CIxjRPeADuUy65IrUp8o1c8EoBAIsi4A~5vTyXNcjcBCQwPPaA3O4vYvsckQpwipjKrZtX609PkNaFQIQm83mLYnBt1-c7446CdHLGwPE3EhG5jXu-7agbO0q6GDWSDPkg39lV55xqQFZblL7-zHzbyJMFMRcFVnCCMa7uGACgf~ick5rOgabgUxbn40gU762Wyk2QhxOl3Wxq38QRhoUztKGlgKKQ5Nq3b81jGaV8KewqIEQlIsdcAvpOKPSExCvJ3XfNAKyhg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on an unspecified date reviewed budget requests from the Idaho Commission for Libraries including a request to make an existing federal \"Digital Access for All Idahoans\" grant an ongoing $2.5 million item in the state base budget and a $42,400 ongoing reimbursement for libraries under the Education Opportunity Resource Act (Chapter 56, Title 33, Idaho Code).

The request matters because the digital-access grant — currently an NTIA-administered federal award authorized through IIJA and administered alongside Idaho Broadband Office activities — has funded subgrants, devices and digital navigator positions intended to reduce barriers such as affordability, device access and digital skills. State analysts told the committee the commission expects additional notices of award that can be spent through 2032 and is asking to fold $2.5 million into the base to sustain implementation.

Committee members pressed for more detail on how the federal grant monies have been spent so far and how the commission will distribute future subgrants. “I do have kind of an overview of what that digital access plan is used for and how that's supposed to be implemented,” said Brooke Dupree, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, and offered to provide a more detailed, itemized spending plan at the committee’s request. State Librarian Stephanie Bailey White (Stephanie Bailey White, state librarian and director, Idaho Commission for Libraries) described the program’s goals: hiring digital navigators, buying laptops for subgrants, and supporting community organizations’ digital‑literacy and tech‑support efforts. White said about 80% of program funds are planned to be subgranted to Idaho organizations, and the commission received 39 applications in the first round.

Several legislators expressed caution about making the federal grant ongoing in the state base. “Anytime we have federal money that sets up something and it goes for some period of time and then it stops, there seems to be an expectation … that the state will cover it,” said Chairman Groh. Senator Wintrow and other members noted that making funding ongoing can improve predictability for local recipients but also risks creating an expectation that the state must replace expiring federal funds. Committee members asked the commission for a follow‑up showing how the grant has been spent to date and a plan for the remaining award period.

The committee also discussed summer reading programs and the materials distributed as incentives. Dupree and White told members that summer reading programs have been funded in part with ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds deposited to the commission’s miscellaneous revenue fund and that the commission’s contribution to summer reading has been modest (materials, manuals and discounted paperback books). White said summer reading programs have long run through public libraries and that the commission received a $17,500 donation this year from the Scottish Rite Foundation used to supply paperback books as incentives. She said the commission’s youth services consultant follows the agency’s collection development criteria when selecting giveaway books and that libraries choose how to use the donated materials.

White said the commission supports 850 libraries statewide with about 35.5 full‑time equivalent positions in the agency and that the commission has used ARPA/IIJA‑related funds (ESSER and ARPA Capital Projects) in recent years for summer and after‑school programming and for a $3.5 million capital project in fiscal 2024. Dupree explained smaller line items in the request: a $42,400 ongoing request to reimburse eligible libraries under the Education Opportunity Resource Act (raising the base to $275,000) and a $2.5 million ongoing request tied to the Digital Access for All Idahoans grant; the governor recommended the enhancements.

Committee direction: analysts and the commission agreed to provide a detailed accounting of how digital‑access funds have been spent to date, an itemized plan for the remaining award period, and more information about how summer reading materials are chosen and distributed. No formal committee vote or decision was taken at the hearing.

The commission said it will follow up with documentation the committee requested, including an itemization of past expenditures, rubric and scoring details for subgrant awards, and a description of safeguards used when providing materials for youth programming.","The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee heard from the Idaho Commission for Libraries on requests to make a federal digital-access grant ongoing, reimbursements under the Education Opportunity Resource Act, and concerns about summer reading materials; committee members asked for detailed spending plans.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Idaho State Historical Society seeks operating authority for grants and staff for Old Idaho Penitentiary work; previews USS Idaho artifacts

Department of Labor seeks $7.33M in dedicated funds to sustain unemployment operations as federal grants decline

JFAC hears plan to continue federal digital-access grants, questions about summer reading materials