Joint committee approves multiple supplemental and FY2027 requests for Idaho Department of Correction

The joint appropriations committee on Wednesday approved a package of supplemental and FY2027 budget requests for the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC), voting to move multiple line items forward with do-pass or due-pass recommendations.

Noah Peterson, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the first supplemental would spend down the remaining balance in the Hepatitis C Fund. “There was a $12,000,000 transfer from the general fund to the Hepatitis C Fund back in 2022 pursuant to the settlement agreement,” Peterson said; the committee approved $424,300 one-time to allow IDOC to spend down the remaining balance. Representative Mitchell moved the motion; Senator Carlson seconded it. The Senate vote was recorded as 9 ayes, 1 nay; the House vote was 10–0 in favor.

The panel also approved a $14,140,500 one-time addition from the general fund for county and out-of-state placement to cover housing costs when IDOC beds are unavailable. Peterson said the supplemental reflected updated population projections and would cover shortfalls for the rest of FY2026; the motion passed and will carry a due-pass recommendation.

A separate supplemental of $3,237,900 one-time from the general fund for the Medical Services Division — intended to cover forecasted utilization and higher medical costs for inmates — was approved after a motion from Representative Manuel. Peterson noted that population forecasts and utilization estimates drove the request.

The committee considered several FY2027 replacement-item requests as well. Management services’ request included chairs, laptops and ballistic vests, and an OITS-recommended hardware package; the committee approved $542,700 from dedicated funds for those items. The State Prisons Division won approval for a $2,155,100 dedicated-fund package for replacement items (showers, HVAC maintenance, kitchen appliances, locks, radios, body armor and other equipment).

Committee members also approved adjustments for county and out-of-state placements beginning in FY2027: a motion to add $22,893,200 from the general fund for population-forecast adjustments passed on recorded votes and will be carried forward.

Several votes included brief floor remarks about oversight and cost-savings. When Senator Galloway moved language directing IDOC to initiate a request for information (an RFI) rather than a request for proposal, she said she had studied the prison system and found that outsourced housing sometimes costs less per inmate; she urged exploring “more efficient or more effective ways to operate our community reentry centers.” Senator Winthrop objected to the unanimous-consent request and warned that any study or contract would require staff time, funding and built-in accountability.

All of the motions described above were recorded with roll-call tallies in both the Senate and House committee panels; motions that passed will be carried forward with the committee’s recommendation. The committee adjourned with plans to continue budget work in working groups.