Idaho State Police present budget request focusing on fentanyl enforcement, forensic lab and staffing

Boise — Idaho State Police Director Colonel Bill Gardner and Legislative Services budget analyst Noah Peterson told the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 that the agency’s FY2026 budget focuses on fentanyl interdiction, forensic capacity and staff retention, while warning a scheduled reduction of highway-distribution funding would strain operations.

The agency requested a mix of ongoing and one-time appropriations, including funding to convert contractors to full-time employees for forensic and investigator posts, a new deputy forensic lab manager, a specialized investigations unit for Idaho Department of Correction facilities, and transfers to cover a projected shortfall from the Highway Distribution Account (HDA). “Senate Bill 1201 of 2019 ended the fund distribution from the highway distribution account to the law enforcement fund,” Noah Peterson said during his presentation, describing a multi-year phaseout that the agency says will remove HDA support by FY2026.

Why it matters: Committee members repeatedly pressed the agency about a multi-year vacancy and retention problem that is reducing patrol capacity in parts of the state. Committee members also flagged the need to sustain forensic testing and the state’s sexual assault kit investigation work — areas the agency says are producing results in…