Idaho Senate confirms three gubernatorial appointees; several others referred or held

BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho State Senate on Monday adopted committee reports to confirm three gubernatorial appointments and moved several other nominations to committee consideration or held them on the calendar for one legislative day.

The Senate adopted a State Affairs Committee recommendation confirming Rob Perez to the Treasurer’s Investment Advisory Board (term to expire July 1, 2028). The committee recommendation was moved and seconded and adopted by voice vote; the clerk announced the motion carried and that the secretary’s office would notify the governor of the Senate’s action.

The Senate also adopted a Health and Welfare Committee recommendation confirming Alex Adams as director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The committee report notes Adams’ prior service in state financial roles; senators during debate said the department oversees the state’s largest budget, which a senator described as “approximately a $5,000,000,000 budget.” The committee recommended confirmation and the Senate adopted the report by voice vote.

A State Affairs Committee report recommending confirmation of Thomas J. Wilford to the Idaho Endowment Fund Investment Board (term to expire April 11, 2027) was likewise adopted after committee members described Wilford’s long professional and civic experience. The motion to adopt the report carried on voice vote.

The Senate received and filed a transmittal from Governor Brad Little on the Governor’s Emergency Fund for fiscal years 2024 and 2025; the message — submitted “as required by Section 50 seven-sixteen 0 1, Idaho Code” in the governor’s letter — included balances and year-to-date expenditures and was placed on file with the secretary’s office.

Several other gubernatorial appointments were referred to committee or held for one legislative day. The State Affairs Committee reported having considered appointments including Scott Madison (Idaho Energy Resources Authority), Thomas Mello (State Building Authority), and Patricia Perkins (Treasurer’s Investment Advisory Board); those items were referred to the tenth order of business and held for one legislative day. Additional notifications from the governor about appointments — including Mike Edmondson (Office of Species Conservation), John Ford (Lake Pend Oreille Basin Commission), David Birch (offender management board), and Dale McCumber (State Building Authority) — were referred to the appropriate committees and the correspondence was filed with the Senate secretary.

At multiple points during the floor session senators asked unanimous consent to advance orders of business and to place other gubernatorial appointments (for example, Brent Baker, Mark Brinkmeyer and Kirk Nelson) on the calendar and hold them for one legislative day; those unanimous-consent requests were granted and reflected on the calendar.

The Senate’s actions on the confirmed appointments were procedural adoptions of committee reports recommending confirmation. The Senate did not record roll-call vote counts for those adoptions in the floor transcript; the presiding officer announced the motions carried after voice votes.

The Senate adjourned to reconvene at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.