Senator Lennyintroduces RS32014 to align bureau chiefs with division standards in Department of Health and Welfare; committee orders print

Senator Brian Lenny introduced RS32014, a proposal to change organizational accountability within the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW). The committee voted to send the draft to print.

Lenny said DHW is the state's largest agency with "somewhere hovering around 3,000 employees and a $6,000,000,000 budget," organized by divisions and bureaus. He told the committee that there are dozens of bureau chiefs who oversee hundreds of employees and millions in budget authority, and that some bureaus are larger than entire state agencies. As an example he cited a bureau he called "benefit field operations" with "418 FTPs" compared with the Idaho Department of Agriculture's 249.

RS32014 would "align bureau staffing with division standards to ensure accountability in the Department of Health and Welfare," Lenny said, and he framed the measure as an accountability step for taxpayer dollars. The sponsor said the change is intended to apply division-level staffing standards to bureau chiefs who currently serve at the director's pleasure without the same accountability scrutiny.

Senator Keiser moved to send RS32014 to print; Senator Seiderfeld seconded. The committee approved the print motion on a voice vote and will address the bill in a formal hearing at a later date.

Details at a glance: Sponsor: Senator Brian Lenny. Subject: alignment of DHW bureau chiefs with division standards and accountability for bureau staffing and budgets. Action: RS32014 ordered printed for bill drafting and formal hearing.