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Legislative counsel outlines Idaho's 'power of the purse,' appropriation rules and constitutional limits
Summary
Legislative legal counsel reviewed constitutional and statutory authorities governing appropriations, item veto constraints, and the legal effect of conditions on appropriations.
Elizabeth Bowen, legislative legal counsel at the Legislative Services Office, briefed the committee on the constitutional and statutory foundations of appropriation power and practical limits the legislature must respect when writing appropriation bills.
Bowen traced the legislature's spending authority to the state constitution and summarized key constraints: money can be withdrawn from the state treasury only "pursuant to an appropriation made by law" (Idaho Constitution, Article 7, Section 13). She told the committee the legislature's appropriation power is "plenary" within constitutional limits and quoted case law saying, in effect, "the legislature has absolute…
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