Bill Description: House Bill 730 would require state agencies to provide more information to the Legislature about their reliance on federal funding. 

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Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?

House Bill 730 would amend Section 67-1917, Idaho Code, which deals with annual reports required from state agencies that receive federal funds. The bill would direct such reports to be provided to the legislative services office instead of the division of financial management.

Additionally, the bill would expand the existing requirement to "delineate the federal funds received for the preceding fiscal year" to include the "preceding three fiscal years." It also would require that the funds be "tied out to the audited schedule of expenditures of federal awards for the years in which such schedules are available."

Agencies would be required to report if "federal funds are capped or open-ended" and also report any "state matching amount incurred or anticipated for the reported years."

Finally, the bill says, "If an agency receives notice of a reduction in federal funding from a specific federal grant of ten percent (10%) or more from the previous year's funding, it shall develop a plan to either reduce or eliminate the services provided through the grant or to continue the services without a shift to state resources." Most of this language is already in code, but it only applies if a grant is reduced by 50% or more. 

Taken together, these provisions should provide a degree of increased transparency regarding the state's reliance on federal funds. They give the Legislature a more accurate picture of how that reliance could be mitigated. 

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