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JFAC allocates staff and funds to implement parental choice tax credit from House Bill 93
Summary
The committee approved funding and seven full‑time positions to implement the new parental choice tax credit established by House Bill 93, with $550,000 in ongoing personal costs and $125,000 one‑time operating expenditures drawn from the $50 million set aside for the program.
BOISE — The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee voted to provide funding and seven full‑time positions to the Idaho State Tax Commission to implement the parental choice tax credit established in House Bill 93.
Janet Jessup and Christopher Lahoset, budget analysts with the Legislative Services Office, briefed the committee that the enhancement was not in the commission's original submission because House Bill 93 passed after the agency's budget was prepared. Christopher Lahoset said the motion draws on the $50 million set aside for the program and supplies the staffing and operating resources needed to administer the credit.
Senator Cook moved a package that added seven full‑time equivalents (two of them limited‑service positions for two years), $550,000 in ongoing personnel costs and $125,000 one‑time general fund operating expenditures. Committee members said the fiscal note in the House did not reflect the final administrative costs; Senator Ward Engelking said she was “pleased to have it coming out of the $50,000,000 because I think that's appropriate since this is going to require a lot of staff time.”
Motion language adopted by unanimous consent specified the limited‑service positions’ two‑year duration and provided funding mechanics consistent with the House fiscal note. The motion recorded roll calls in both committee components and passed with a combined vote in favor.
Why it matters: The commission will use the staff to certify and administer claims under the new parental choice tax credit. The committee’s action funds the administrative implementation that the commission says is necessary now that the credit is enacted.
The committee asked for clarity about the origin of the additional staff request and accepted the work‑group recommendation to use the program’s set‑aside dollars rather than create a new general‑fund appropriation. The motion carried and will appear in the JFAC recommendation to the legislature.
