Joint finance panel approves $177.4 million employee pay package including $1.55 hourly minimum and targeted raises for troopers, IT and nurses

BOISE — The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved a statewide employee compensation package Thursday that funds a minimum $1.55-per-hour increase for permanent state employees and includes targeted raises for specific groups, the committee said during its Feb. 6 meeting.

The motion, moved by Representative Miller and seconded by Senator Groves, passed after roll calls in both chambers. The committee adopted the package by a vote the Senate recorded as 8 ayes and 2 nays and the House voting unanimously, yielding a combined total reported on the floor of 18 ayes and 2 nays. The measure will be added to maintenance bills the committee previously passed and sent forward with a due-pass recommendation.

The package funds a $1.55 hourly boost for permanent employees of state agencies and institutions, with $84,411,100 identified in one line item for the $1.55 figure. It also includes: a $2,305,700 placeholder for community colleges (funded at 5% equivalent because community college FTP data are not in the legislative database); $6,042,800 for salary-schedule adjustments for employees at the minimum of their pay grade; an additional increase to preserve parity in federal military compensation for the Idaho Military Division; a 4.5% increase for classified and nonclassified IT and engineering personnel; funding for Idaho State Police troopers up to an 8% total increase; and funding for nursing and healthcare workers to receive $1.55 per hour or 3 percent, whichever is greater. The overall package totals $177,429,100 (approximately $128.35 million General Fund, $34.27 million dedicated funds, $14.81 million federal funds).

Committee staff described reporting and guardrails in the accompanying language. The package directs that employees receive pay increases between $1.05 and $1.55 per hour except in circumstances carved out in subsequent paragraphs; it bars transfers of the new funding out of personnel categories and requires agencies to revert and report unallocated funds. The Division of Human Resources and the Office of the State Controller were directed to develop a monthly report identifying pay changes and any pay actions outside the CEC window.

Why it matters: The package affects most state employees and K–12 and higher-education budgets once folded into maintenance bills, and it establishes reporting to the Legislature intended to make implementation transparent.

Debate and concerns: Several committee members praised elements of the package while raising objections they said remained unresolved. Senator Ward Engle King said the package does not address compression at higher salary levels and expressed concern the plan “is going to continue to cause us problems in the future in retaining state employees and being able to recruit them.” Senator Wintrow also said she could not support the motion for similar reasons and cited statutory direction to provide competitive salary packages. By contrast, Senator Cook and Senator Woodward said they would support the package while noting shortcomings; Cook argued the measure rewards state employees broadly.

Representative Miller, who moved the motion, told the committee the modification from earlier proposals raised the minimum from $1.00 to $1.05 and then to the $1.55 floor currently adopted, describing the motion as a compromise between cost-of-living recognition and targeted market adjustments.

Vote and next steps: Representative Miller moved the motion and Senator Groves seconded. The committee recorded the Senate vote as 8 ayes and 2 nays and the House vote as unanimous; the committee reported the motion with a due-pass recommendation to the floor. Staff said the language will appear on pages 4–5 of the packet and be added to the maintenance bills for consideration on the floor.

Implementation and oversight: The committee approved language that (1) funds the $1.55-per-hour salary schedule shift, (2) funds targeted schedule increases (IT/engineering 4.5%, ISP troopers up to 8%, nursing a $1.55 or 3% floor), (3) requires agencies to use existing resources to provide any additional increases and to report such instances to the Legislature, and (4) requires monthly reporting from the Division of Human Resources and the Office of the State Controller on pay actions.

Staff asked committee members to compile any additional requests for salary boosts outside the adopted CEC so the committee can assess cumulative impacts. The motion’s language and the committee’s reporting requirements will be folded into the maintenance bill package and move to the floor for consideration.