JFAC approves $177.4 million compensation package including $1.55-per-hour minimum and targeted raises for troopers, IT and health workers

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2026 compensation package on Feb. 6 that provides at least $1.55 per hour to permanent employees of state agencies and institutions and adds targeted increases for several categories of workers.

The motion, offered by Representative Miller and seconded by Senator Groves, directs funding of $84,411,100 to provide a $1.55-per-hour increase per filled full-time equivalent position, includes $2,305,700 for community colleges, $6,042,800 for minimum salary schedule adjustments, additional funding to align Idaho Military Division pay with federal military compensation, a 4.5% increase for IT and engineering positions, funding for Idaho State Police troopers up to an 8% increase, and funding for nursing and health-care employees equal to $1.55 per hour or 3%, whichever is greater. The package also includes $84,669,500 for public schools and Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind. Committee staff presented the motion as a single package that will be added into the maintenance bills if it clears the floor.

Why it matters: Committee staff said the package represents a minimum market adjustment for all salary schedules and sets reporting and safeguards intended to limit the use of the new funding to personnel costs. The motion directs that any new funding not used for employee pay must be reverted and reported to the Legislature and requires monthly reports from the Division of Human Resources and the Office of the State Comptroller identifying pay changes that occur because of the appropriation.

Details and debate: Budget analyst Keith Bybee told the committee the motion will shift four salary schedules upward by at least $1.55 per hour and fund additional targeted adjustments. "Paragraph 3 would provide funding for additional 4.5% salary increases for both the classified and nonclassified IT and engineering state workers," Bybee said while walking members through the language. He described separate paragraphs funding troopers and nursing staff and said the package funds a minimum market adjustment for classified salary schedules.

Members spoke at length. Senator Ward Engelking and Senator Wintrow said the package does not adequately address compression and market problems for higher-paid or long-tenured employees; both said they could not support the motion. Senator Cook, Senator Woodward and others supported the package as a compromise that balances a baseline inflation adjustment with targeted pay for critical roles. "I think this motion strikes a balance between recognizing rewarding excellence and recognizing that everyone is experiencing inflation right now with the minimum amount," the committee chair said in closing.

Vote: The motion passed. The roll call recorded a total of 26 ayes and 2 nays (Senate recorded 8 ayes and 2 nays; the House recorded 18 ayes). The committee directed that the approved language be added to the program maintenance budgets.

Implementation and reporting: The adopted language includes several implementation controls: agencies may not transfer the new funding out of personnel costs; agencies using existing salary savings to provide increases above $1.55 per hour must report those uses to the Legislature; and monthly reporting by the Division of Human Resources and the Office of the State Comptroller is required so the Legislature can track pay changes and any nonstandard increases.

What’s next: The funding will appear in the committee’s maintenance-bill package when it is presented to the full Legislature. Committee staff asked executive-branch agencies to compile any additional salary requests that would be outside the adopted compensation package so the committee can review them comprehensively.

Ending: Committee members signaled they plan to continue work on long-term compensation and PERSI/pension-related retention issues in the interim and in future sessions to address concerns raised about pay compression and recruitment/retention at higher salary ranges.