Governor’s office seeks emergency-fund restoration, America 250 funds; committee asks for spending detail

The Executive Office of the Governor appeared before the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18 to present its FY2026 requests and answer questions about recent expenditures and accounting practices.

Budget highlights and requests

Christopher LaHozet, Legislative Services Office analyst, summarized the office's FY2026 requests: $45,000 one-time general-fund IT replacement items and a $250,000 one-time general-fund request to support Idaho participation in the federal America 250 effort (the White House task force established by presidential executive order). LaHozet also cited a recommended $1,350,000 one-time cash transfer from the general fund to the governor's emergency fund to restore its cash balance to the $2 million base appropriation; the fund's cash balance was shown at roughly $650,000 after recent expenditures.

‘‘The fund has a base appropriation of $2,000,000 in spending authority,’’ LaHozet said, noting the cash balance…