Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Idaho Department of Agriculture highlights quagga mussel spending, seeks pay structure for investigators
Summary
At a Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee hearing, the Idaho Department of Agriculture outlined recent spending on quagga mussel response, a request to create a career-ladder pay structure for agricultural investigators, and a one-time request for vehicle and IT replacements.
Frances Lippett, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the Department of Agriculture’s budget history and fiscal year 2026 requests to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. The department told lawmakers it received a mix of dedicated-fee revenue and recent infusions from the general fund to respond to invasive quagga mussels and other emergent needs.
The department said the Legislature provided a $5,000,000 cash transfer from the general fund into the invasive species fund during the last session and added an ongoing $1,500,000 appropriation from the general fund "primarily for staffing and building additional watercraft inspection stations," according to Lippitt. Director Chanel Tewalt told the committee the department nearly doubled statewide water sampling and watercraft inspections in 2024 and used the added resources to expand stations and staff. "We doubled the sampling statewide," Tewalt said, describing increased sampling and inspection capacity after 2023 detections on the Snake River.
Why it matters: The invasive…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
