Bill Description: House Bill 90 requires the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to get legislative approval for any changes to a public assistance program that expands eligibility or benefits.

Rating: +2

Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

The fiscal note for House Bill 90 states there will be “no increase or decrease in revenue, or additional expenditure of funds at the state or local level of government; therefore, this legislation has no fiscal impact.”

Though this legislation does not directly impact state or local spending or revenues, it is worth noting that it could have a positive impact on spending through changing the behavior of Idaho’s agencies. As an example, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) announced a $16 million shortfall in the Idaho Child Care Program this summer. This was partially due to the agency raising reimbursement rates and reducing copayments in the program. The agency circumvented legislative accountability by making these changes through a state plan amendment or SPA — which is a direct agreement between the department and the federal government.

Closing the sub-regulatory loophole created by SPAs could reduce costs by requiring legislative oversight of any expansions of public assistance programs. Though savings are more likely under this arrangement, they are not guaranteed.

(0)

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 90 requires any expansion of benefits or eligibility in a public assistance program to be made in statute. Neither of these kinds of changes may be made in “rule, state plan, state plan amendment, agency guidance, or other documents.”

Generally, documentation like guidance, state plans, and others are more obscured from the public and legislators than provisions in statute or rule. Idaho statute and administrative rules are more easily accessible once they have the force of law, and any changes to their provisions are conducted in public. This improves transparency and accountability for Idaho’s bureaucracy.

(+1)

Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

SPAs and guidance documents are tools executive agencies routinely use to circumvent the statutory and rulemaking process established in the constitution of the state of Idaho. This was the case in the Idaho Child Care Program, as mentioned earlier.

Article III of the Idaho Constitution, Section 1 grants the Senate and House of Representatives the power to legislate. Section 29 also provides the legislative branch with the power to review administrative rules. Though not explicitly in violation of the Idaho Constitution, expanding the scope of a program through sub-regulatory documentation instead of through the proper rulemaking or legislative process is a violation in spirit. Closing this sub-regulatory loophole forces executive branch agencies to move policy changes through the legislative branch. This upholds the spirit of the Idaho Constitution.

(+1)