Idaho's Budget

For the last two weeks I participated on the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee (EORAC), which estimates what the state's budget will be each year. The committee's estimate helps guide the budget-setting process. Our committee received reports from many different stakeholders who aren't quite sure what will happen with our economy in the coming years. This committee traditionally underestimates the budget, leading to our large surplus each year while vital services go unfunded. In the end the Legislature went with a more conservative estimate.

One big barrier to getting budgets passed this year could be the House Speaker's recent proposal to change the rules for Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC), which appropriates all of our state's budgets, to require votes be separated between the House and Senate. The Legislature's current budget process has worked for decades, and the proposed change would create unnecessary barriers to critical budgets passing, allowing just five members on the 20-member committee to block budgets for any reason whatsoever. Should the proposal move forward, passing much-needed investments in education and other services will be even more of a challenge in the years to come.