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Historical Society seeks spending authority for fundraising, Old Pen expansion and America 250 work; committee previews USS Idaho artifacts
Summary
The Idaho State Historical Society presented budget items that include spending authority to accept and expend fundraising and grants, staff and one-time capital for the Old Idaho Penitentiary, a $1.65 million America 250 commemoration appropriation and a plan to consolidate archival storage. The committee viewed artifacts from the USS Idaho.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee reviewed the Idaho State Historical Society’s FY2026 requests, which include spending authority for fundraising receipts, ongoing staff for the Old Idaho Penitentiary, a two-year plan to move and consolidate collections, and appropriations for the America 250 commemoration.
Analyst Brooke Dupree summarized the agency structure and recent spending: the society operates the State Archives, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the State Museum and the Old Idaho Penitentiary; its responsibilities are laid out in Chapter 41, Title 67 of Idaho Code. Dupree noted a one-time FY2022 appropriation of $5 million for infrastructure that affected recent expenditures and highlighted an appropriated $1.65 million general-fund allocation tied to America 250 commemorative activities.
Director Janet Gallimore explained why the society needs spending authority to accept and expend donations and federal grants: "This is for spending authority because we raise money a lot for projects," she told the committee, adding that private donors often prefer to give to the society’s nonprofit foundation and that federal grants require government spending authority and accounting. Gallimore said a recent NEH application for $500,000 to support Old Pen exhibits required such authority.
The society requested staff and one-time funding tied to the Old Idaho Penitentiary: ongoing positions for education and store management to increase earned revenue and student programming, a $450,000 one-time request in FY2026 to move collections into a central facility, and ongoing funds and equipment to staff and support site operations. Gallimore said the Old Pen’s business plan aims to raise earned income and double student visits over time.
Archivist and collections details: the agency described plans to catalog and digitize territorial and governor’s records and requested $62,900 and 1 FTP for an archivist technician to drive digitization and inventories. Dupree and Gallimore said the planned consolidation involves moving roughly 30,000 boxes of records and about 50,000 artifacts into upgraded storage configured to current archival standards.
The committee previewed two silver service pieces the Historical Society is stewarding that once served aboard earlier vessels named USS Idaho; Gallimore described a larger partnership with the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and Idaho Public Television that has led to a documentary and ongoing artifact curation. Gallimore said roughly $1.4 million of the agency’s $1.65 million America 250 appropriation is already obligated across partner projects.
Lawmakers asked for fundraising totals, updated metrics on Old Pen education and earned-income targets, and additional detail on how long the move and consolidation will take. Gallimore offered to provide follow-up figures and said the move is expected to cross two fiscal years and take roughly 10 months to complete once executed. No committee votes were recorded during the hearing.
