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Secretary of State seeks ongoing voter guide funding, IT subscriptions and one‑time DMV upgrade fee
Summary
Secretary of State Phil McGrane asked for ongoing funding to print and mail an Idaho voter guide, continued software subscription funding for campaign finance and lobbyist systems, and a one‑time federal DMV upgrade fee, while noting progress on election system projects funded by prior one‑time appropriations.
Secretary of State Phil McGrane and Legislative Services Office analyst Christopher Lahoset presented several fiscal requests to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee, including ongoing funding for a mailed voter guide and continued support for election and business systems built using prior one‑time investments.
Lahoset said the office seeks $400,000 ongoing from the general fund for design, printing and distribution of an Idaho voter guide — $300,000 estimated for mailing and $100,000 for printing — to be sent to all households for primary and general elections. Lahoset corrected a typographical note in the budget book: the voter guide is not currently in base funding and would create a new base appropriation if approved.
Other requests included one‑time double‑fill personnel funding to allow the deputy business director to train alongside the incumbent prior to retirement (no FTP increase), ongoing funding for software subscriptions tied to campaign finance and lobbyist reporting, $20,000 ongoing for IT training, recurring funding for the Idaho Blue Book and Constitution publications (postage noted as a driver), and one‑time funds to replace IT equipment.
McGrane told the committee the office has invested prior one‑time funds ($10 million appropriated previously for an election system upgrade) to roll out new systems for campaign finance, lobbyist reporting and the Vote Idaho voter‑information site. He noted about $2.9 million of the $10 million had been spent to date and that bids for a new election management system were in evaluation with remaining balances in the multi‑million dollar range. McGrane said the Vote Idaho site and the campaign finance upgrade were widely used in the last election and that counties report they welcome the county tools provided.
On a separate software item, committee members asked about a one‑time $26,000 purchase for access to a motor‑vehicle/DMV data system. McGrane said the $26,000 was a one‑time federal upgrade fee for an intergovernmental system; the office will continue to pay an ongoing subscription (approximately $1,100 quarterly) for access thereafter.
The committee discussed postage inflation — the USPS first‑class increase from 60¢ to 73¢ since 2022 — and how it affects recurring publication costs. No formal votes were taken during the hearing.
