Idaho libraries ask committee to fold federal digital-access program into base to maintain services

The Idaho Commission for Libraries told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that it seeks ongoing state spending authority to sustain a federally funded digital-access program that the agency has been implementing with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) broadband funds.

Brooke Dupree, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the commission anticipates more libraries will become eligible for reimbursement under the Education Opportunity Resource Act (chapter 56, title 33, Idaho Code) and is requesting $42,400 in ongoing funding for broadband reimbursements to increase the base to $275,000. The commission is also requesting $2,500,000 ongoing to continue implementing its Digital Access for All Idahoans plan, which was funded by federal broadband awards and is being spent over multiple years, the analyst said.

The request reflects a broader federal-state funding mix that has supported the commission’s recent work. Dupree said the spike in the commission’s receipts in fiscal years 2023–24 was driven in part by elementary and secondary…