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Legislative Millennium Fund committee seeks one‑time aid for youth assessment centers
Summary
The Joint Millennium Fund Committee recommended one‑time Millennium Fund appropriations to support youth assessment centers, fund youth prevention programs and preserve savings for future use, the committee co‑chairs told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Feb. 28.
Senator Van Burtonshaw, co‑chair of the joint legislative Millennium Fund Committee, told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Feb. 28 that the Millennium Fund’s revenues “are from the tobacco settlement in 02/2007.”
The committee recommended several targeted uses of Millennium Fund dollars, including one‑time supplemental aid to 12 youth assessment centers administered through the Department of Juvenile Corrections, continued funding for Idaho Public Television personnel related to committee recommendations, and $2 million for Department of Education programs aimed at vape detection, school resource officers and after‑school prevention programming.
Representative Jordan Redmond, a newly appointed Millennium Fund member, said the committee intends the youth‑assessment funding to be one time and to push local providers toward sustainability: “we made sure that it was very clear that that was a 1 time basis … we want to make sure that they can start being sustainable on their own.”
Committee members said testimony indicated some assessment centers would close without emergency funding. In response to questions about urgency, Rep. Redmond told JFAC that several centers reported potential closure due to gaps caused by the timing of federal grants, and that the committee judged a six‑month, one‑time appropriation necessary to keep services operating while local sustainability plans are developed.
The committee also included an opioid‑settlement appropriation to the Idaho State Police for continued education programs from those settlement funds, and recommended allowing any remaining Millennium Fund balance to roll forward, saying members wanted time to refine priorities for 2027 rather than spend the full fund this year.
Votes and next steps: The committee’s report was accepted by unanimous consent; the committee chair said the House and Senate work groups will take up formal agreement language and next actions. The one‑time assessment center funds are proposed to flow through the Department of Juvenile Corrections for distribution to the 12 centers.
