Committee reviews Department of Administration budget; governor’s housing fund faces depletion

Frances Lippitt, a budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the Department of Administration’s appropriation covers five budgeted programs and is drawn largely from dedicated funds paid by other agencies, with roughly 10% from the general fund.

Lippitt said the department provides services including facility design and construction, statewide procurement for purchases over $10,000, employee benefits administration, and property and casualty insurance for state entities. She said two-thirds of the department’s appropriation is funded by the Administration and Accounting Services Fund and that the division of public works accounts for roughly three-quarters of department expenditures.

The committee spent extended time on the governor’s housing fund. Lippitt said the governor’s housing committee and the fund are established in Section 67-455, Idaho Code, and that the fund currently pays a monthly housing stipend of $4,551 to the governor.

“The department requested a $30,000 appropriation from the general fund to begin to restore this fund’s balance,” Lippitt said, noting that the legislature did not fund that earlier request. She later told the committee that the department had presented both a $60,600 and a $660,600 request for fiscal year 2026 in different places in the presentation; members pressed the administration for a clarified single figure and supporting detail. Lippitt warned, “Without an appropriation, the fund will be fully depleted by August 2026.”

Steve Bailey, director of the Department of Administration, told the committee the Governor’s Housing Committee meets periodically to consider whether to continue the monthly stipend or revisit building a governor’s residence. “The position of the committee at that time was just continue with the stipend until more substantive discussions could take place around the mansion,” Bailey said. He told members there remains property that had been set aside for a mansion and that that property is currently in a revocable easement with the city of Boise.

On staffing and workload, Lippitt and Bailey described the department as authorized for 334 full-time equivalent positions and noted recent hiring and vacancy statistics; the department has filled about 92% of its authorization over five years. Lippitt described several ongoing- and one-time enhancement requests in the department’s FY2026 submission, including positions requested for group insurance customer support, a property values analyst for risk management, and project managers for the division of public works.

Committee members asked for additional fund detail and clarifications. Representative Tanner requested an itemization of the department’s continuously appropriated funds and directed staff to provide details on the retained risk account and other off‑budget components. Lippitt agreed to supply the requested breakout.

The presentation also described service and capital functions the department manages, including maintenance of the Capitol Mall and the Chinden Campus, centralized postal and copy services, and statewide procurement contracts. Lippitt said the office has recently used direct investments of surplus general fund revenues to address capital projects and deferred maintenance.

The department’s director and analysts offered to provide the committee additional documentation requested during the hearing, including the governor’s housing committee report and a fund-by-fund breakdown of continuous appropriations and direct investments for the department’s dedicated funds.

The committee did not take formal action on the Department of Administration budget during this hearing.