Joint finance reviews Department of Administration budget; governor's housing fund flagged as at risk

BOISE, Idaho — Lawmakers on the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Monday reviewed the Department of Administration's fiscal 2026 budget and heard staff warn that the governor's housing fund will be exhausted if the Legislature does not act.

For the record, Frances Lippett, budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the committee the governor's housing committee recommends an ongoing appropriation to restore the fund and that "without an appropriation, the fund will be fully depleted by August 2026." The committee has recommended previous, smaller appropriations but did not fund them last year, Lippett said.

Why it matters: the governor's housing committee and the fund are authorized by law and used to support a housing stipend or to acquire and maintain a governor's residence. Committee members pressed department staff about the long history of decisions on a formal mansion site and whether the funding request might be more appropriately placed in the executive office's budget.

Director Steve Bailey, who leads the Department of Administration, told the committee the governor's housing committee meets about once a year and that discussion of a formal mansion has resumed at a conceptual level but…