Millennium Fund committee recommendations split JFAC; youth assessment supplemental approved but FY2026 package fails in House

The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee approved a $1,291,001 FY2025 supplemental from the Idaho Millennium Income Fund for youth assessment centers but did not pass the larger FY2026 Millennium Fund funding package recommended by the Millennium Fund Committee.

Senator Bjerke (Bierke) presented the Millennium Fund Committee’s recommendations and described the group’s focus on prevention spending tied to tobacco‑settlement proceeds, including a youth assessment survey and grants for education and public health campaigns. The committee’s FY2026 recommendation included $350,000 for a youth assessment survey, $500,000 to the Idaho State Police for a fentanyl campaign, $2.0 million for a second cohort of school resource officers, $1.5 million for after‑school programs, and $2.5 million for youth assessment centers, among other items.

The FY2025 supplemental to continue youth assessment center support — $1,291,001 one time — passed on a committee vote. The item was presented with seven subsections…