Joint Finance Committee approves $177.43 million CEC package including $1.55 hourly floor for state employees

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal 2026 change-in-employee-compensation package totaling $177,429,100 on Thursday, directing salary increases that include a $1.55-per-hour minimum for permanent state employees and targeted adjustments for specific employee groups.

The package, moved by Representative Miller and seconded by Senator Groves, funds $84,411,100 to provide $1.55 per hour per permanent state employee, $2,305,700 for community colleges, $6,042,800 for salary-schedule adjustments for employees at the minimum of pay grades, and $84,669,500 for public schools and the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind. The motion specifies further targeted funding: a 4.5% increase for classified and nonclassified IT and engineering workers, up to an 8% increase for Idaho State Police troopers, and a provision that nursing and healthcare workers receive $1.55 per hour or 3%, whichever is greater. Representative Miller read the motion on the floor: "I move fiscal year 2026 to provide $84,411,100 for a dollar 55 per hour per employee of state agencies and institutions. Include $2,305,700…