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Department of Administration seeks general fund support as governor’s housing stipend nears depletion
Summary
The Department of Administration told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee it requests a general-fund appropriation to shore up the Governor’s housing stipend fund, which, without new money, would be exhausted in August 2026.
The Department of Administration asked Idaho’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Monday for $60,600 from the general fund to replenish the Governor’s housing committee fund and continue the monthly housing stipend paid to the governor.
Frances Lippitt, a budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the committee the governor’s housing fund “provides a monthly housing stipend to the governor currently set at 4,551,” and that the fund “has no consistent source of revenue.” Lippitt said the department had requested a smaller $30,000 appropriation for FY2025 that the Legislature did not fund and is now requesting $60,600 for FY2026. “Without an appropriation, the fund will be fully depleted by August 2026,” she said.
Why it matters: The fund is continuously appropriated to the Department of Administration, and the agency is responsible for the governor’s housing committee and the housing stipend. Committee members flagged that continuing to fund the stipend from the Department of Administration’s appropriation may be functionally inconsistent with the stipend’s role as compensation and asked whether responsibility should instead sit with the Executive Office of the Governor.
Director Steve Bailey of the Department of Administration described the history of the governor’s housing program and the committee. He said the Governor’s Housing Committee meets annually and has discussed revisiting construction of a governor’s mansion, but “we haven’t really gained any traction on those discussions.” Bailey said there remains property allocated for a mansion (which he identified generally as a site on Horizon Avenue) currently in a revocable easement with the City of Boise. He told the committee the committee’s prior position was to “continue with the stipend until more substantive discussions could take place, around the mansion.”
Committee follow-up and records request: Several members asked staff to supply the committee with a written history of the governor housing program, statutes, and previous committee reports. Representative Petzke asked the Department of Administration to provide the committee copies of the governor’s housing committee report and the legislative history the department referenced. Lippitt confirmed she will provide the requested materials to the committee.
Context and constraints: Lippitt told lawmakers the governor’s housing committee and the fund are established in statute and cited the agency’s statutory authority to manage state facilities in “Title 67, Chapter 57, Idaho Code.” The analyst said the committee’s membership is set by statute and that the fund is continuously appropriated to the Department of Administration to provide the stipend and maintain any governor’s residence.
No vote was taken on the request during the hearing. The committee asked staff to provide the paperwork on statutory authority and the governor’s housing committee history to inform future decisions.
