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 criminal identification.

Key requests and figures - A fentanyl-focused unit added in a prior enhancement included 10 FTP and $1,043,300; Peterson described additional enhancements tied to fentanyl-related work and an associated Millennium Fund communications request the governor recommended as a $500,000 one-time appropriation. - A requested special investigations unit to investigate criminal activity at Department of Correction facilities would add 4 FTP and $757,300 (ongoing $443,300; one-time $314,000 for vehicles and computers). - A request for a Deputy Forensic Lab Manager: 1 FTP and $118,200 ongoing. - Estimated fiscal impact of proposed DNA-collection legislation: $168,100 (based on 1,681 samples at $100 each). - HDA fund shift requested to transfer $4,995,500 and 37.48 FTP in FY2026 so patrol can “maintain current operations,” according to Peterson. - Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SACI) investigators: conversion to permanent positions was described as a net-zero transfer of $402,100 while moving funding from operating to personnel to allow post certification. - ILETS disaster recovery: $233,000 ongoing for a backup telecommunications/data recovery site. - Fleet and facility requests include 2 FTP for fleet service positions (net $63,300) to address a backlog of upfitting patrol vehicles and a supplemental request of $268,100 for a remote housing unit intended for Fairfield.

Operations, staffing and retention Committee members and the director described vacancy and retention problems, especially in northern Idaho. “We’ve seized over 65,000 fentanyl pills, over a full pound of fentanyl powder, [and] 150 pounds of methamphetamine from this specific team,” Colonel Bill Gardner said, describing outcomes of drug interdiction efforts. Gardner and financial officer Christine Otto told the panel they are losing troopers to local departments and other states because pay and market competitiveness make recruitment and retention difficult. Gardner said vacancy rates mask geographic variation: some posts, he said, operate well below authorized trooper strength.

Asked about solutions, Gardner said the agency is coordinating with the Department of Human Resources and the Division of Financial Management to propose longer-term pay and retention fixes. He said the agency has tested schedule and shift changes and implemented other non-pay measures (fitness time, different shift lengths) to improve retention.

Forensics and facilities Gardner described two lab projects: a new, larger forensic laboratory planned for Meridian to consolidate and expand the agency’s testing capacity, and renovation/space work at a Twin Falls site to handle regionally high volumes of drug identification cases. Gardner said the Meridian lab is intended to replace an outgrown facility and provide room for growth; the agency also requested a deputy lab manager to help manage the expanded operation.

Federal compliance and technology Peterson and Gardner described federal and administrative items including an SORNA (Adam Walsh Act) compliance grant request of $50,000; a $659,700 proposed reclassification of certain federal contracts to miscellaneous revenue because contracts are structured as non-federal; and a proposed Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) modernization that would move IT positions to OITS (the agency initially requested moving 20 FTP; the governor recommended moving 16 FTP with a net operating increase of $281,500).

Committee reaction and next steps Committee members pressed for more details on the OITS transfer, the Meridian lab schedule, and the federal grant histories for the sexual assault kit initiative. DFM Administrator Lori Wolf clarified the governor’s recommended Millennium Fund amount for a fentanyl public-information campaign as a one-time $500,000 operating appropriation if approved by the Millennium Fund process.

No formal committee votes on ISP budget items were recorded in the transcript; the committee heard the presentation and questioned agency staff and LSO analysts.