Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Budget Revenue topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Joint finance committee accepts EROC revenue assessment, recommends cautious appropriations
Summary
The Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee presented median revenue projections that are lower than the governor's recommendations and the joint finance committee accepted the committee's report by unanimous consent, urging caution on appropriations above the committee's figures.
The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee on [date not specified] accepted the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee (EROC) report recommending more conservative general fund revenue figures than Governor Little's proposals.
Senator Kevin Cook, co-chair of EROC, told the committee the panel had completed its assessment and reviewed testimony from economists and industry representatives before arriving at its median projections. "We recommend cautious in making appropriations above the committee's revenue recommendation," Cook said.
The committee's median projections differ from the governor's numbers. EROC recommended $5,990,000,000 in general fund revenues for fiscal 2025 (the committee's median versus the governor's higher figure) and $6,400,000,000 for fiscal 2026. Cook summarized the committee's role by citing the state constitution: he referenced Idaho Constitution Article VII, Section 11 requiring the state to balance appropriations and expenditures within available revenues.
Representative Jeff Ehlers, EROC co-chair, thanked committee members for their work and noted the detailed review of economic data and testimony that supported the committee's figures.
Co-chair Horman moved to accept the EROC report; Senator Woodward seconded the motion. The committee approved the report by unanimous consent with no roll-call vote recorded.
The committee record notes the EROC cautioned about economic uncertainty tied to Federal Reserve actions on inflation and potential effects from the presidential election cycle. The committee's recommendation places an explicit warning against making appropriations above its revenue figures to preserve the state's balanced-budget requirement.
The acceptance of the EROC report sets the revenue baseline JFAC staff will use during upcoming budget hearings and decisions.
Ending: The committee accepted the report and will use the committee-recommended revenue figures as the working baseline while proceeding to program maintenance and enhancement budget hearings next week.
