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Legal counsel briefs committee on ‘‘power of the purse’’ and statutory constraints on appropriations
Summary
Legislative legal counsel Elizabeth Bowen told JFAC that the power to appropriate is plenary but constrained by the Idaho and U.S. Constitutions, item‑veto rules and specific Idaho Code provisions governing budget process, conditions on appropriations and account categories.
Elizabeth Bowen, legislative legal counsel for the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee that the legislature holds the constitutional power to appropriate money from the treasury but that power carries statutory and constitutional limits that members must respect when drafting appropriation bills.
Bowen traced the authority to the separation of powers and the Legislature's role under the Idaho Constitution, saying the power to appropriate is part of the legislature's plenary lawmaking power. She described an appropriation as “authority from the legislature expressly given in legal form to proper officers to pay from public monies a specified sum and no more for a specified purpose and no other,” citing Idaho Supreme Court precedent as the legal definition used in practice.
Key legal points she highlighted: - The Idaho Constitution (Article 7, Section 13) permits withdrawals from the treasury only pursuant to an appropriation made by law. Bowen emphasized appropriations are statutes and are therefore subject to general constitutional requirements for bills (enacting clause, single‑subject requirement and plain wording). - Item veto: Bowen noted the governor's item veto authority applies only to dollar amounts in appropriation bills, not to conditions attached to appropriations. She referenced a state Supreme Court case holding that a veto on a condition that directs how an appropriation shall be spent is not authorized. - Account categories and transfers: Bowen reviewed statutory limits on transferring money between appropriation account categories (personnel, operating, capital outlay, trustee and benefit payments), noting exceptions require board of examiners or legislative approval when transfers exceed specified thresholds.
She also summarized statutes that define JFAC's role and duties (several Idaho Code sections cited during the presentation) and described the reporting duties agencies must meet when they submit budget requests to the legislature.
Why it matters: Bowen's briefing framed the legal guardrails JFAC must follow when drafting, attaching conditions to and amending appropriation bills. Members used the briefing to confirm how conditions and limits operate in practice.
Ending: Bowen closed by inviting questions and noted that appropriation conditions are enforceable legal directions, not mere guidance, and that individual statutes and constitutional provisions cited in her remarks govern the committee's work on the budget.
