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Substance abuse budget seeks fund swaps after federal guidance; department asks to reassign funding sources to comply with SAMHSA limits
Summary
The division of substance abuse treatment and prevention described recent federal grants, opioid settlement receipts and a proposed fund-source swap to meet a federal administrative-cost cap on a block grant while preserving staffing and program payments.
Alex Williamson, Legislative Services Office analyst, summarized the Division of Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention’s budget and told the committee the program spent about $22.7 million in fiscal year 2024, with 76.4% of that going to trustee and benefit payments.
Williamson reported that the division received an $8.3 million one-time COVID-relief appropriation in FY2022, an $8 million state opioid response grant in FY2023 that was made ongoing in FY2024, and other ongoing Millennium Fund appropriations for community-based recovery centers and tobacco compliance work.
For fiscal year 2026 the division seeks technical changes and a fund-source swap tied to federal guidance. Williamson said the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) placed Idaho on a corrective action plan because administrative spending exceeded a 5% cap for the substance use block grant. To return to federal compliance without losing staff capacity, the division is asking to move $533,900 from liquor-control (dedicated) funds to cover personnel costs and to move $673,900 from personnel costs to trustee and benefit payments on the federal fund side. The net effect is intended to keep staffing while meeting the federal cap on administrative spending.
Senator Cook asked whether the proposed moves were simply a bookkeeping fix to avoid the federal penalty; Williamson and Director Adams said the department sought to preserve program capacity while complying with federal rules and noted the department is restricted from making some transfers without legislative approval.
Committee members asked for updates on opioid settlement-funded projects, including Boise State University's collegiate recovery program; Director Adams said Boise State had established a collegiate recovery program and reported seven social events with roughly 375 student participants, and he offered to provide a written mid-year update to the committee.
