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Legal counsel briefs JFAC on the legislature27s appropriation powers and rules for restrictions on spending
Summary
Legislative legal counsel Elizabeth Bowen reviewed constitutional and statutory limits on appropriation power, explaining the legislature27s exclusive authority to appropriate, the balanced‑budget requirement, item veto rules and how conditions attached to appropriations operate as law.
Elizabeth Bowen, legislative legal counsel with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee that the legislature27s power to appropriate — sometimes called the "power of the purse" — traces to constitutional authority and long‑standing case law.
Bowen summarized the key legal limits and requirements that shape appropriation bills. She said appropriations must comply with the Idaho Constitution (including the balanced‑budget clause) and with statutory drafting requirements, and she emphasized that conditions attached to appropriations…
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