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JFAC fails to approve Office of Energy enhancements; Home Energy Rebates and Speed Council proposals split committee
Summary
Committee debate split on a $24.58 million federal Home Energy Rebates program request and a $481,000 general-fund candidate for a gubernatorial Speed Council. Substitute motions and multiple roll calls produced no final majority across both House and Senate panels in JFAC.
Kellen McGurkin, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (OEMR) request for FY2026. The agency sought an ongoing federal appropriation to administer the Home Energy Rebates Program (federal funds derived from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) and a separate governor's initiative to create a Speed Council to streamline permitting for large infrastructure projects.
OEMR requested an appropriation totaling about $24.58 million in federal funds to administer the Home Energy Rebates Program. McGurkin said $20,000,000 of that would be trustee and benefits for direct rebates to Idaho households, about $4.0 million to contract with a third-party implementer to provide software and eligibility verification, and approximately $502,000 for personnel (four limited-service FTPs). The analyst noted there is no state match required; federal law reallocates a state's share to participating states if a state declines the funds.
Separately, the governor's recommendation included $481,000 from the general fund and 1 FTP to stand up a Speed Council led by OEMR to coordinate permitting for major infrastructure projects, plus one-time funds for a public-facing project dashboard.
Senator Woodward moved a narrower motion to fund only the Speed Council ($481,000 GF, 1 FTP). Senator Ward Engelking offered an amended substitute to include the Home Energy Rebates program (four FTPs and $24,579,900 federal funds plus a small dedicated funds shift). Committee debate included proponents arguing the rebates would deliver direct benefits to seniors, veterans and people with disabilities and that federal funds would be redistributed to other states if Idaho declined. Opponents and some members expressed concerns about readiness, administrative costs, and whether the legislature should rely on federal program administration without stronger consensus.
The committee held several substitute and supplemental votes. An amended substitute that would have added the Home Energy Rebates program failed in the committee panel votes (combined roll-call counts reported in the transcript produced no majority across both chambers). Subsequent substitute and original motions also failed to receive the required majority in both the Senate and House panels of JFAC; committee announcements noted the motion failures and that the measures would be referred to the respective chambers for further consideration.
No final, committee-approved appropriation for the Home Energy Rebates program or the Speed Council was recorded during the hearing. The OEMR budget items and associated language will require additional work and possible separate motioning in each chamber.
