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JFAC accepts Millennium Fund committee report, backs one-time youth assessment aid and $2 million for school programs
Summary
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee accepted a report from the Millennium Fund Committee recommending one-time funding for youth assessment centers, $2 million for Department of Education school programs, and continued funding for Idaho Public Television and Idaho State Police programs; report acceptance was by unanimous consent.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee accepted the Millennium Fund Committee report Tuesday, including a recommendation for one-time funds to sustain youth assessment centers and a $2 million recommendation for Department of Education programs aimed at detecting and preventing vaping and supporting school resource officers.
The Millennium Fund Committee’s co-chair, Senator Van Burtonshaw, told JFAC the fund is financed by the tobacco settlement and that the committee prioritized prevention, cessation and treatment programs for people under 18. Representative Jordan Redmond, the committee’s other co-chair, told the panel the committee recommended the $2,000,000 for a second cohort of school programs — including vape detectors, school resource officers and after‑school programs — and one‑time funding for youth assessment centers for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
The committee report notes the one-time assessment center funding will be administered through the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections and directed to the state’s 12 youth assessment centers. Burtonshaw said the appropriation is intended as a bridge to allow assessment centers to become sustainable and that the committee emphasized the one-time nature of the funds.
Representative Redmond said testimony indicated several assessment centers were at risk of closing due to timing gaps in federal grants, and committee members considered that an emergency requiring immediate, one‑time support. Senator Ward Engelking and other committee members said centers presented plans to become self‑sustaining and that local fundraising and community support factored into the recommendation. Representative Price asked how the committee could be confident of long‑term sustainability; Redmond replied that the committee had clearly communicated this was the last one‑time appropriation and centers would need to find other revenue thereafter.
Other committee recommendations included additional personnel costs for Idaho Public Television tied to committee priorities and funds appropriated from opioid settlement money to the Idaho State Police for ongoing education programs. Redmond said remaining Millennium Fund money would roll forward so the committee could evaluate options for 2027.
The committee’s report was accepted by unanimous consent. The language accompanying the committee’s recommendations was accepted without objection and will be taken up in the committees’ work groups.
The report items were advisory recommendations to JFAC and the Legislature; any appropriations or policy changes will be reflected in formal budget actions taken later in the session.
