Rating: -1

Bill description: This Fiscal Year 2020 supplemental request is to fund a Security Operations Division Administrator position in the Department of Administration. Support for this position was outlined in an October 4, 2019 letter from the Senate and House leadership to the Idaho Department of Administration director, Bryan Mooney. However, supplemental appropriations are to be restricted to emergency requests, per an August 19, 2019, guidance memo from Zach Hauge, Gov. Brad Little’s chief of staff.

This position was filled before the Idaho Legislature took action. In the October 2019 letter signed by legislative leadership, the following was noted: “We cannot commit JFAC or our respective chambers to support this request - the Legislature will act upon the request as it deems appropriate.”

Nowhere in the letter to Mooney was this request to fund this position identified as an emergency. Pages 6-10 of the FY21 Legislative Budget Book states that the position is requested at 100% of salary policy, “as the agency anticipates difficulty hiring.” This also makes little sense, because the position has already been filled.