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Committee approves roughly $9.87 million from Millennium Income Fund for recovery centers, youth assessment centers, children's advocacy centers, SRO training,
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Summary
The committee approved roughly $9.872 million from the Millennium Income Fund for recovery services, youth assessment centers, children's advocacy centers, a statewide drug awareness campaign and a $30,000 addition to restore SRO training coordination; members raised concerns about committee sign‑off on the substitute addition.
A Joint Millennium Fund package and a late substitute won committee approval, sending approximately $9.872 million in recommended spending from the Millennium Income Fund forward as a legislative recommendation.
Representative Mitchell moved the original Millennium Fund recommendation package, which allocated one‑time and ongoing dollars across multiple agencies. "I move for fiscal year 2027 for the agencies identified in this Millennium Fund Grama Motion an additional $9,842,200 from the Millennium Fund," the sponsor read into the record. The packet included $692,200 one‑time to the Idaho Children's Trust Fund, $1,000,000 one‑time to the Department of Juvenile Corrections for youth assessment centers, $3,000,000 one‑time for the Idaho Domestic Violence Council to support children's advocacy centers, $150,000 ongoing for a recovery center in Kamiah, and $5,000,000 one‑time for the Office of Drug Policy to conduct a statewide drug awareness media campaign.
Senator Galloway offered a substitute motion to add $30,000 one‑time to restore a statewide school resource officer (SRO) training coordinator position that had been removed in rescissions. Galloway said she had consulted several committee members and that the Millennium Fund had supported similar positions previously: "This has been done in the past... we're just backfilling that so that we can continue to have that SRO trainer and help support our schools." Some members questioned whether the full Joint Millennium Fund Committee had formally signed off; Galloway said she had spoken with the committee chair by phone and that he was not opposed but that there had not been time to reconvene the full committee.
After debate and roll call, the substitute package carried (Senate: 6 ayes, 3 nays, 1 excused; House: 5 ayes, 4 nays, 1 excused). Committee staff noted reporting and procurement language for the drug awareness campaign, and several appropriations in the package include semiannual reporting requirements to the Department of Health and Welfare or the Joint Millennium Fund Committee as specified in the packet.
Why it matters The Millennium Income Fund is a separate income stream derived from the state's endowment and the tobacco master settlement; its distributions do not come directly from the general fund. The committee’s decision directs one‑time and ongoing money to child welfare, juvenile services, victim‑support infrastructure and a statewide public‑education campaign. The added SRO training restoration was a relatively small appropriation in dollar terms but drew procedural concern from members about committee process.
Next steps The committee recorded a due‑pass recommendation for the package; recipients will be subject to the reporting requirements described in the packet and procurement steps for the media campaign will follow state procurement rules.
