House Appropriations Committee inserts federal‑funds trigger language into budget draft, raises rainy‑day unreserve to 10%

BOISE, Idaho — At a March 24, 2025 meeting of the House Appropriations Committee, Legislative Counsel staff presented statutory draft language the committee placed into its budget draft to clarify how state officials must respond if federal funding falls short and to increase the amount of rainy‑day funds that may be unreserved.

Brynn Haire, director and chief counsel for Legislative Counsel, told the committee the draft edits amend the statute that governs interim budget adjustments to add language reflecting current practice: if anticipated funding sources drop, the Secretary of Administration must prepare an expenditure‑reduction and transfer plan for the Joint Fiscal Committee to consider. The draft makes explicit a 1% trigger — now defined as a 1% or greater reduction in total federal funds anticipated for the fiscal year — that requires the Secretary to prepare that plan, and a separate 5% threshold that requires notification to the Joint Fiscal Committee.

Why it matters: the changes spell out the mechanics the administration would follow when federal funds decline midyear and make clearer when committees and the E‑Board would be alerted. Committee members discussed the size of the potential funding gap and the limits of authority the E‑Board has to respond without calling the Legislature back into session.

Under the draft language described in the hearing, the Joint Fiscal Committee would consider any plan the Secretary of Administration submits and could recommend that the E‑Board use reserve funds, revert unexpended funds, abolish spending authority or make transfers or reductions to preserve legislative priorities. Haire said the draft also cross‑references existing subsection E of the statute, which sets out timelines for the Joint Fiscal Committee’s review.

A committee member summarized the practical scale of the thresholds: he said a 1% drop in federal funding across state government is about $32,000,000. The same member noted the committee’s current authority to unreserve and transfer rainy‑day funds was described in the draft as a 10% cap on the General Fund transportation fund balance reserve — roughly $10,000,000 on a $98,000,000 balance — leaving a difference between the 1% trigger example and the amount the E‑Board could immediately deploy.

The committee also reviewed language that raises the cap on amounts the General Assembly can unreserve and appropriate or transfer from the rainy‑day reserve from 5% to 10%, a change intended to align the Assembly’s authority with the E‑Board’s unreserve authority described elsewhere in the draft.

No formal roll call vote on the draft language is recorded in the transcript. Committee leadership said the language has been incorporated into the budget draft that will appear in the larger bill, and staff from the Joint Fiscal Office will be available to answer questions as the bill is finalized.

The committee scheduled a check‑in at 4:30 p.m. the same day to determine whether additional time is needed to complete work on the budget language. Staff members Grady and Aaron of the Joint Fiscal Office were noted as present to assist with technical questions and final language.