Idaho Libraries seek ongoing funding to sustain digital-access grant, expand subgrants

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee heard from the Idaho Commission for Libraries on plans to implement a federal "Digital Access for All Idahoans" grant and other library funding requests, including reimbursement under the Education Opportunity Resource Act.

The agency told the committee that it expects ongoing federal grant activity tied to the Digital Access for All Idahoans program and asked the committee to approve ongoing spending authority to continue implementing the program alongside the Idaho Broadband Office. State Librarian and Director Stephanie Bailey White said the commission launched subgrants and received 39 applications in the first round.

The commission and the budget analyst described several funding sources the agency has used recently. Brooke Dupree, a budget and policy analyst with the legislative services office, said Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) paid for summer reading and after-school programs in fiscal years 2023–24, and that an ARPA Capital Projects Fund award of about $3.5 million caused a spike in fiscal-year 2024 expenditures.

Why it matters: committee members asked whether federal funds that expire should be folded into the state's base budget. Chairman Grohl and several senators questioned the prudence of putting a federal grant into the base budget as an ongoing appropriation. The commission said the digital-access grant is federally funded via IIJA-related programs administered by NTIA and that the grant award window extends through February 2032, with additional notices of award possible before then. The commission asked for $2.5 million (annual spending authority described by the agency as up to $2.5 million per year) to continue implementing digital-access subgrants, buy devices and pay personnel to administer the program.

Committee discussion and follow-up direction: senators asked for a detailed accounting of how digital-access funds will be spent over the remaining grant period and requested an itemized list of what the $6,000,000 referenced in testimony would be used for. Dupree and Director Bailey White agreed to provide that information and to follow up with details about summer reading program distribution and book-selection processes.

On summer reading programs, Bailey White said the Commission provides manuals, posters and small paperback-book incentives and that libraries decide locally how to run programs. She told the committee the commission had mailed paperback books provided by a donation from the Scottish Rite Foundation and that about 107,000 children participated in summer reading last year, a 30% increase over the prior year.

Direct quotes from the hearing reflect the agency's implementation plan and timing. Bailey White said, "We've launched subgrants. Those were due just a couple weeks ago. We're ranking those. ... 80% of the funds are planned to go out through subgrants to Idaho organizations, our community colleges, school districts." On outreach, Bailey White said, "I just would welcome any member of the committee to talk to me anytime you have questions or issues. We're just down 3 blocks from the State House... I love talking about libraries and the services that we provide." Dupree and committee members committed to follow up with more detailed spending projections.

What was not decided: committee members did not vote on the requests during this hearing. The governor recommended the enhancements as presented; committee members requested additional documentation before considering whether to adopt ongoing base funding for the program.

The committee moved on after asking the agency to provide a breakdown of planned subgrant uses, details on summer reading materials, and a timeline and accounting for the federal grant funds.