Idaho House education committee hears debate on bill to enforce use of earmarked education dollars

Representative Kyle Harris, District 7, told the House Committee on Education that House Bill 350 is “an accountability bill” intended to ensure money the Legislature earmarks for specific education purposes is spent for those purposes. “If we do allocate money and the State Department of Education gets that money and they send it out to teachers or math and science or special education or maintenance or anything along those lines, that money would have to be used for those purposes that we allocate that money for,” Harris said.

The bill would require funds distributed for a specified purpose to be used for that purpose, require repayment if the money is used otherwise, and give the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee authority to reduce future appropriations if funds are not returned.

Why it matters: Harris and some committee members framed the issue as one of legislative intent and accountability after multiple audits flagged problems.…