State Historical Society seeks funds to consolidate archives, expand Old Idaho Penitentiary operations and support America250 commemoration

The Idaho State Historical Society presented FY26 budget requests and project updates to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee, outlining plans to consolidate collections into a single facility, expand staffing at the Old Idaho Penitentiary historic site and spend previously authorized money for the America250 commemoration.

Brooke Dupree, Legislative Services Office analyst, reviewed the agency’s organization and recent fund history. Dupree noted the agency provides records and archives services to state agencies, operates the State Museum and the Old Idaho Penitentiary, and reported FY24 spending that included a one‑time $5 million infrastructure appropriation in FY22 that was largely reappropriated into FY23.

Agency requests and rationale: The historical society requested the following FY26 items (as presented to the committee): an ongoing $103,200 package for Old Idaho Penitentiary staff (including one full‑time equivalent funded from the penitentiary’s miscellaneous revenue), a $62,900 ongoing archivist technician position to support digitization and public access, a $450,000 one‑time appropriation to cover moving and consolidation costs for hundreds of boxes and artifacts from several off‑site storage locations into the State Archives building, and smaller one‑time hardware requests. Dupree also noted the agency requested reappropriation authority for earlier general‑fund America250 support. The governor recommends the enhancements.

Director Janet Gallimore described the consolidation plan: ongoing agencies’ off‑site storage (three facilities) will be centralized at the State Archives to improve preservation, security and public access. The move will be phased: three‑dimensional collections (about 50,000 artifacts) would move first, followed by roughly 30,000 boxes of archival records; the department estimated the consolidation will cross two fiscal years and take about 10 months of moving operations.

Fundraising, spending authority and America250: Committee members asked why the historical society raises funds if the agency has statutory authority. Gallimore explained the agency’s budget is roughly half general fund and half non‑state funding (admissions, contracts, grants, donations). She said state law requires legislative spending authority for certain federal or private grants and for the agency to expend funds received in its miscellaneous revenue accounts; the appropriation and spending authority allow the society to accept and legally spend those dollars. Gallimore said the America250 appropriation (roughly $1.65 million in the FY25 package) has been largely obligated to a portfolio of projects — education, Boise State and public‑television partnerships, grants, and outreach — and she estimated about $1.4 million of the appropriation has been obligated to planned projects while some funds remain to be deployed according to project timelines and grant conditions.

Old Pen staffing and programming: The society said it implemented a business plan for the Old Idaho Penitentiary to expand educational programming and earned income. The agency added staff focused on education and revenue and described goals to increase student visits and program revenue; committee members asked for follow‑up data on early results. Gallimore said the Old Pen operates largely on earned revenue and the requested positions aim to grow educational capacity (goal cited: increase students served from about 6,000 to 12,000) and earned‑income opportunities.

Public artifacts and exhibit: The society brought two artifacts to the hearing: pieces of a silver service that served on earlier U.S.S. Idaho naval vessels. Gallimore described a partnership around the most recent USS Idaho submarine and said the society is cataloging and curating items that will travel with and later be returned from the ship to ensure preservation and public access when those artifacts return to Idaho.

Committee follow‑up: Legislators asked for more detail on fundraising returns, progress metrics for the Old Pen staffing and the consolidated move timeline and costs. Agency staff agreed to provide fund‑balance figures, fundraising totals for the referenced campaign(s), and metrics on student visits and earned‑income performance.