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Panel fails to agree on change-in-employee-compensation; CEC motions tabled
Summary
After extended debate over flat versus merit-based pay increases, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee did not reach agreement on any of four proposed change-in-employee-compensation packages and deferred the issue for further work.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee considered four competing change-in-employee-compensation (CEC) motions on Jan. 31 but failed to adopt any of them, leaving the CEC funding question unresolved and to be revisited at a later date.
Analysts from the Legislative Services Office presented four alternative packages that differed in distribution method and totals: (1) a $1.55-per-hour flat-dollar approach (motion 1) producing a package the analyst put at about $177.43 million total; (2) a $1.55-per-hour approach with a minimum 3% guarantee for higher-paid employees (motion 2); (3) merit-based increases of up to 4% distributed on performance (motion 3); and (4) the governor's recommendation, a 5% merit distribution (motion 4). The packages included related items such as 4.5% adjustments for IT and engineering classifications, schedule adjustments to bring minimums in parity with federal military compensation, funding for Idaho State Police troopers and an allocation for public schools and the Idaho Bureau of Education Services for the Deaf and Blind.
Representative Miller moved the flat-dollar motion (motion 1), proposing $84,411,000 for the base $1.55-per-hour element plus additional line items (total cited on the record: $177,429,000). Senator Cook offered a merit-based substitute (motion 3). Representative Furness later moved a modified substitute (motion 2) that included a guaranteed 3% minimum for all state employees up to a specified salary point and additional targeted increases; Representative Furness's substitute totaled $178,040,500 as provided on the record. Senator Wintrow later offered the governor's motion (motion 4), described on the record as the governor's recommended funding level equivalent to a 5% merit increase (on the record $180,653,800 total). Specific line-item adjustments across motions included $84,669,500 for public schools and the Idaho Bureau of Education Services for the Deaf and Blind, community college placeholders (5%), and targeted funding for ISP troopers and nursing/healthcare workers.
Discussion focused on competing philosophies for compensation: supporters of merit-based increases said supervisors need the flexibility to reward performance, while proponents of flat or floor-based increases emphasized cost-of-living and support for lower-paid employees. Senator Cook and others argued merit was essential to retain high-performing staff; Representative Handy and others said uniform increases address inflation and equity for lower-paid workers.
Votes on the series of motions repeatedly failed to produce a majority. At several roll calls members voiced procedural uncertainty about joint voting thresholds; committee leadership produced a previously circulated letter describing the intended joint voting procedure. After several recorded votes — including one substitute that failed to achieve a majority in the House and subsequent roll calls on the original and substitute motions — the committee concluded it would return to the CEC issue at a future meeting. Committee staff apologized to agencies scheduled for hearings and said the CEC motions were too complex to finalize on the fly.
No CEC motion passed on Jan. 31. Staff and members agreed to reconvene the discussion; no implementation action was taken that would change pay until a motion is adopted and enacted through the usual budget process.
