Bill Description: House Bill 968 would make several cash transfers from certain dedicated funds to the General Fund for FY26 if the balance were to approach zero. It would also make transfers in FY27 if the balance of the General Fund falls below $150,000,000.

Rating: 0

Does this budget incur any wasteful spending among discretionary funds, including new line items? Conversely, does this budget contain any provisions that serve to reduce spending where possible (i.e. base reductions, debt reconciliation, etc.)?

Section 1 of this bill would transfer $5,803,500 from the Permanent Building Fund to the Legislative Account and then reduces legislative transfers in FY26 by 4%.

Section 2 transfers $13,000,000 excess money from the Idaho Broadband Fund to the General Fund for FY26.

Section 3 transfers the remaining balances from the inactive School District Building Account to the General Fund for FY26.

Section 4 authorizes a possible transfer of up to $38,873,000 from the 27th payroll account to the General Fund if the General Fund falls to zero. The 27th payroll is an accrual account that pays out only when there is an extra biweekly pay period in a year. This happens once every 11 or 12 years.

Note: This represents possible borrowing from future years to pay for excess spending in FY26. If the account needs additional moneys in the future because it was tapped, this will be rated negatively.

Section 5 transfers 50% of the interest or $32,877,300 (whichever is greater) from the ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to Strategic Initiatives Fund for FY26. The other half of the interest money is transferred to the Fire Suppression Deficiency Fund.

(0)

Section 7 authorizes a 5% reduction in transfers from the legislative account for FY27.

Section 8-14 will only transfer fund balances if the cash balance of the general fund falls below $150,000,000 in FY27. The fund sources are interest transfers from the Budget Stabilization Fund, the Public Education Stabilization Fund, the Water Pollution Control Fund, the Permanent Building Fund, the Strategic Initiatives State Fund, the Strategic Initiatives Local Fund.

The last fund source is not an interest transfer, but rather a closeout of the Strategic Initiatives Grant Program Fund. 

The sum total of available money in the enumerated funds is $95,900,100. The order in which these funds will be tapped is not specified.

(0)