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Committee funds Idaho State Historical Society moves, staff and transfers remaining America250 appropriations
Summary
The committee approved staffing and one-time moving funds for the Idaho State Historical Society, transferred the remaining America250 appropriation into a commemoration fund, and sent a trailer bill to set up oversight.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on March 24 approved additional funding for the Idaho State Historical Society to staff the Old Idaho Penitentiary site, move state collections into climate-controlled storage, and purchase IT equipment. The committee also acted to transfer the remaining balance of previously appropriated America250 funds to a dedicated commemorations fund.
Committee action: the committee approved an FY2026 maintenance motion that added two full-time positions and multiple one-time costs for the Historical Society. The motion called for $506,900 from the general fund, $174,300 from dedicated funds, and $62,900 from federal funds — a total additional appropriation of $744,100 and three new full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions. That motion passed with a combined committee vote of 14 ayes, 6 nays.
Agency requests and items: Legislative staff described the request as including $141,000 for two staff positions at the Old Idaho Penitentiary (a store manager and an education specialist), $62,900 for a limited-service archivist technician to create a public online registry of archival holdings, $450,000 (one time) to move state collections and archives into centralized, climate-controlled storage (part of a two-year effort), and $90,200 for IT hardware as recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services.
The committee also considered a supplemental related to House Bill 357 establishing the America250 Commemoration Fund. Staff reported $1,650,000 had been appropriated earlier; $128,725 had been expended and a remaining balance of $821,200 was moved out of the general fund into the America250 Commemoration Fund under a trailer bill motion. That transfer, and the trailer-bill language to provide re-appropriation authority, passed unanimously (20 ayes, 0 nays.)
Representative Tanner questioned whether moving costs had been funded previously with the building appropriation; legislative staff and the agency director indicated earlier funding covered the building but not moving costs.
Next steps: the appropriation and trailer-bill language will provide the Historical Society resources to complete collection moves and to administer America250 funds under the newly created commemoration council.
