Idaho State Liquor Division requests IT, store and staffing funds as committee reviews revenue distributions

The Idaho State Liquor Division presented its FY2026 budget request to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, outlining requests for IT and security upgrades, retail-store replacement items and a modest increase in hourly pay for temporary store clerks.

The Liquor Division is established in Title 23 of the Idaho Code and has a statutory duty to control the distribution and sale of beverage alcohol while optimizing net revenue for the state. Kellen McGurkin, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, opened the presentation and the division’s director, Andrew Arulanandam, and senior staff answered committee questions.

The presentation said total sales for FY2024 were about $319.1 million, with reported net income of roughly $116.6 million. The division reported total statutory distributions in FY2024 of $118.3 million. That total includes a 2% surcharge on liquor sales that the division reports sends roughly $6.7 million to the court services fund; other statutory allocations and operating costs reduce available net balances before the legislature receives transfers to the general fund.

The agency described its personnel footprint and turnover. The Liquor Division’s statutory FTP cap was given as 257.25 positions,…