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JFAC debate stalls $2.5 million "Digital Access for All Idahoans" grant amid DEI dispute; motion fails
Summary
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee debated but did not approve a $2.5 million federal "Digital Access for All Idahoans" grant for libraries after members disputed whether the funding supports DEI priorities; staff identified the federal source as the Digital Equity Act.
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee spent more than an hour on March 7 debating funding for the Idaho Commission for Libraries, including a $2.5 million federal grant called the Digital Access for All Idahoans program. Committee members clashed over whether the grant involves diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) priorities and whether the state should accept the funds.
Brooke Dupree, a Legislative Services Office budget and policy analyst, presented the Commission for Libraries’ budget. Senator Steven Cook moved the committee’s original request: add $42,400 from the general fund for broadband reimbursement, $40,000 from federal funds for subgrants to local libraries, and $2,500,000 in federal funds for the Digital Access for All Idahoans grant — a total package of $2,582,400.
Senator Brian Carlson offered a substitute motion to trim the package to $82,400 (removing the $2.5 million digital grant). Carlson said the $2.5…
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