Idaho Senate State Affairs holds bill that would shift four agency directors to gubernatorial appointment after months of public concern

The Senate State Affairs Committee on Friday considered Senate Bill 10‑78, a proposal to require gubernatorial appointment and Senate advice-and-consent for four state agency directors — the Transportation Department, Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) and the Department of Corrections — and then held the bill in committee subject to call.

Sponsor Doug O'Connorowitz, the bill's introducer, told the committee the measure seeks “uniformity in the way we handle directorships in the state,” adding the change would set four‑year terms for the affected positions. He also said he had received a late text from the chair of the parks board that raised concerns about a 1961 agreement between the Herriman family and the state; O'Connorowitz said he had reviewed the agreement and “I don't see any way of reading it that way personally,” but acknowledged the concern to the committee.

The committee heard extensive public testimony opposing the provision that would make the Fish and Game director a gubernatorial appointment. Nick Fasciano, executive director of the Idaho Wildlife Federation, warned that “taking the appointment of the Idaho Fish and Game Director out of the hands of the commission and transferring that authority to the governor ... would jeopardize Idaho's independent fishing game management system that has led to some of the best…