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JFAC staff explain Idaho's decision‑unit budget model: six benchmarks, base resets, and program maintenance
Summary
Legislative staff walked new members through the state's decision‑unit budget model, explaining benchmarks from original appropriation to next year's base, program maintenance components and how executive carry forward, reappropriation and non‑cognizable funds operate.
At a Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee orientation, Jared Tetrault, deputy director and manager of budget and policy, explained how Idaho builds its budget using a decision‑unit model and six benchmarks that move an agency from last session's original appropriation to the next fiscal year's original appropriation.
Tetrault said the process begins with benchmark 1 (the current year's original appropriations), proceeds through executive and midyear adjustments (reappropriation, executive carry forward, deficiency warrants), and ends with benchmark 6 (the next year's original appropriation). He described common technical categories the committee will see in agency materials: base adjustments (remove one‑time items), program maintenance (benefit changes, contract inflation, statewide cost allocation, recommended change in employee compensation), and enhancements (agency requests for new programs or expanded services).
He explained reappropriation and executive carry forward as two mechanisms that carry authorized obligations across fiscal years: reappropriation preserves legislative authority for previously authorized projects not yet completed, while executive carry forward covers contracts and obligations that cross fiscal years and are administratively carried into the next year. Tetrault also described non‑cognizable funds (Idaho Code 67‑35‑11 referenced in the briefing) as authority the governor may use to recognize and authorize spending of one‑time non‑state funds (for example federal emergency monies) without a specific legislative appropriation, subject to statutory limits.
Tetrault illustrated the standard materials the committee will receive in the budget book: division summaries, fund analyses, comparative request/recommendation pages, and decision details. He urged members to consult the front end and the glossary and to use the agency and analyst pages posted to SharePoint when preparing for hearings.
Why it matters: the decision‑unit model creates predictable, auditable steps for adjusting agency authority and helps JFAC track which items are one‑time versus ongoing. Tetrault said treating adjustments consistently helps committee members evaluate program maintenance versus policy choices.
Follow up: Tetrault said staff will post the pages discussed to SharePoint (and later updated the file) and stood ready to provide additional detail on specific agency decision units during working group hearings. No formal votes were taken during the orientation segment.
