Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historical Preservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State Historical Society seeks spending authority for moving collections, cites America250 commitments; brings USS Idaho silver service to committee
Summary
The Idaho State Historical Society outlined FY2026 requests for staff to digitize archives, one-time moving costs to consolidate collections, reappropriation authority for the America250 commemoration and displayed two historic silver-service pieces tied to ships named USS Idaho.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee reviewed the Idaho State Historical Society’s FY2026 budget request, which includes requests for ongoing and one-time spending authority to support archives digitization, moving and consolidation of collection storage, staff for the Old Idaho Penitentiary, and $1.65 million in reappropriation authority tied to America250 commemoration activities.
Analyst Brooke Dupree summarized the agency’s organization and recent spending: the agency reported FTP (full-time positions) allocated as 13 for administration, 12 for archives and records center, 12 for State Historic Preservation Office, 15 for the state museum and 6 for the Old Idaho Penitentiary and other historic sites. Dupree told the committee fiscal-year 2024 included one-time infrastructure appropriations and reappropriations that caused a spending spike.
Requests and purpose: the society seeks $62,900 ongoing and 1 FTP for an archivist technician to support digitization and public access; $450,000 one-time in FY2026 to begin moving 30,000 boxes of records and roughly 50,000 three-dimensional artifacts into consolidated storage at the State Archives; and reappropriation authority tied to a $1.65 million general-fund allocation for America250 commemoration activity. Director Janet Gallimore told the committee that about $1.4 million of the America250 allocation is already obligated to projects such as a public-television documentary, curriculum development at Boise State and grants to partners, and that the agency is coordinating with an advisory council to finalize remaining uses.
Fundraising and spending authority: committee members asked why the historical society raises private funds if it is authorized in statute to preserve and provide access to state history. Director Gallimore explained the agency routinely combines general fund, earned revenue (admissions, contracts and leases), grants and private fundraising to operate. She said some privately raised or grant funds require specific spending authority and reappropriation language in the state budget so the agency can accept and spend the funds in accordance with grant and audit rules.
Artifact display: the agency displayed two silver-service pieces associated with ships named USS Idaho (a cake tray gifted to USS Idaho BB-24 in 1912 and an engraved fruit tray gifted to USS Idaho BB-42 in 1919) and described ongoing plans to curate items for the most recent USS Idaho (SSN-799). Gallimore described partnerships with Idaho Public Television and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and said the society is coordinating long-term plans to return artifacts to Idaho when ships are retired.
Committee follow-up: committee members asked for data on student visits and revenue impacts tied to staffing at the Old Idaho Penitentiary and for status details on the moving project; the society said it would supply additional metrics, including progress against a business plan for the Old Pen that aims to expand student programming from about 6,000 to 12,000 students.
No formal committee vote was recorded during the presentation; the governor recommended the enhancements reflected in the agency’s request.
