Idaho Department of Labor seeks $7.33 million in dedicated spending authority to maintain unemployment operations

The Idaho Department of Labor asked the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on July 1 for additional spending authority — $7,330,000 — from dedicated funds to preserve unemployment insurance operations as federal grant support declines.

Brooke Dupree, budget and policy analyst, outlined the department’s funding picture and said the department is requesting $7,330,000 in its dedicated unemployment fund to offset a reduction in federal grant funding tied to low unemployment numbers. “This is in their dedicated fund for unemployment insurance and is to offset an amount in their federal funds due to low unemployment numbers,” Dupree said.

Janie Rivera, director of the Idaho Department of Labor, told the committee the request is not for general funds. “This is an increase in dedicated fund spending authority request, not general,” Rivera said. She explained that the department expanded staff by more than 100 positions during the COVID‑19 spike in claims and that federal pandemic grants have declined as unemployment fell. The department needs stable spending authority to keep core adjudication, call‑center and appeals work staffed so it can respond quickly if a recession increases claims.

Key program details - Rivera said the unemployment trust fund is “about a billion dollar trust fund” and is continuously appropriated; benefit payments have ranged in recent years from about $69.7 million to $202 million in the high‑claim COVID year. If the trust fund were to be exhausted, the state can borrow from the federal government or issue bonds — historically, states have used both options in deep downturns. - The department will not seek general fund support for claim payments, Rivera said; tax rate calculations and trust‑fund rules in Idaho code determine employer contributions and solvency measures. - Dupree explained a cash transfer the agency proposed: $4,868,600 would transfer from the unemployment penalty and interest fund back into the employment security fund to correct prior overcounts and align statutory limits; this transfer would lower the projected unrestricted ending balance by about $4 million.

Staffing and operations - The department’s filled‑FTP percentage historically is near 73%; Rivera said the agency intentionally budgets for extra FTP so it can rapidly hire during spikes. The $7.33 million request does not include new FTP, Rivera said; the department intends to use existing authorized positions and to shift spending from federal grant accounts to dedicated funds as federal support declines. - Rivera said the department will provide more detailed staffing and expenditure numbers to the committee on request, including historical staffing levels and the amounts used for personnel after pandemic hiring.

Benefit rules and indexing - Rivera explained the statutory structure for benefit duration and amounts. Idaho’s duration is indexed: at low unemployment, the duration minimum is 20 weeks (down to a statutory low), and at higher unemployment it rises; the committee was told current maximum duration is 21 weeks at a 3.7% unemployment rate. Weekly benefit amounts are set in statute with a maximum cap; the agency’s average weekly benefit was reported at roughly $434.

Oversight questions and next steps - Committee members asked for follow‑up figures showing how salary savings and federal grants have been spent, and for the department to provide more precise staffing counts and scenarios for recession demand. Rivera and the analyst agreed to supply those details.

Context: The request arrived amid a broader presentation of the department’s consolidated fund analysis and recent appropriations history, including one‑time federal pandemic funding and base realignments enacted in prior years.