The Idaho Spending Index serves to provide a fiscally conservative perspective on state budgeting while providing an unbiased measurement of how Idaho lawmakers apply these values to their voting behavior on appropriations bills. Each bill is analyzed within the context of the metrics below. They receive one (+1) point for each metric that is satisfied by freedom-focused policymaking and lose one (-1) point for each instance in which the inverse is true. The sum of these points composes the score for the bill.
Analyst: Niklas Kleinworth
Rating: 0
Bill Description: Senate Bill 1407 appropriates $665,500 and 4.00 full-time positions to the State Independent Living Council for fiscal year 2025.
Does this budget enact powers and activities that extend beyond the proper role of government? Conversely, does this budget fulfill the proper role of government?
The express purpose of the State Independent Living Council is to “provide Idahoans across disabilities and age a greater voice in obtaining services that are consumer-responsive, cost effective, and community-based.” Idaho is required to have this agency to receive federal funds under Title VII of the Federal Rehabilitation Act. The duties of this agency are directed by the Federal Rehabilitation Act.
It is apparent that the agency’s purpose is to administer federal law and to help the state meet federal stipulations for receiving funding. It is not the proper role of state governments to implement and enforce federal regulations on their behalf.
(-1)
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.)?
ANALYST NOTE: Senate Bill 1407 appropriates $10,000 for one line item to support the costs of an annual audit. The vendor that the agency used in years past is no longer available, requiring the agency to solicit new bids, which have come in at more than double the old cost.
(0)
Is the maintenance budget inappropriate for the needs of the state, the size of the agency, or the inflationary environment of the economy? Conversely, is the maintenance budget appropriate given the needs of the state and economic pressures?
This legislation confirms the maintenance budget for the State Independent Living Council of $648,700. This is a 9.1% reduction from the 2022 fiscal year base appropriation. This was largely due to a one-time $58,800 reduction in federal funding in the 2022 fiscal year. The Legislative Fiscal Report notes this line item was to “align the budget with historical use.”
(+1)
