Bill Analyses and Ratings

Bill Summary

House Bill 922 makes supplemental appropriations and reductions to Idaho’s public universities and colleges for fiscal year 2027. Section 1 adds $2,420,200 in new appropriations drawn primarily from endowment income funds: Idaho State University receives $260,100 in personnel funding from the Normal School Endowment Income Fund, and the University of Idaho receives $680,400 in operating expenditures from the University Endowment Income Fund. Additional General Fund appropriations go to Boise State University ($139,400), Idaho State University ($97,800 General Fund plus $113,000 from the Charitable Institutions Endowment Income Fund), Lewis-Clark State College ($355,800 from the Normal School Endowment Income Fund), and the University of Idaho ($273,300 General Fund plus $120,000 and $380,400 from agricultural and scientific endowment funds).

Section 2 simultaneously reduces General Fund operating expenditures by a total of $752,900 across all four institutions: Boise State University loses $295,300, Idaho State University loses $186,300, Lewis-Clark State College loses $61,100, and the University of Idaho loses $210,200. The net effect is to shift a portion of university funding away from the General Fund and toward dedicated endowment income funds, reducing direct taxpayer exposure while maintaining overall institutional funding levels. Section 3 declares an emergency, making the act effective July 1, 2026, the start of the fiscal year.

Overall Assessment

House Bill 922 is a technical appropriations adjustment that restructures FY2027 higher education funding for Idaho’s public universities by replacing $752,900 in General Fund operating expenditures with appropriations drawn from dedicated endowment income funds. The bill’s primary effect is a modest shift in funding composition rather than a meaningful change in total institutional support, but it still directs General Fund dollars to higher education and increases total appropriations to universities by over $2.4 million when endowment funds are included.

The bill scores negatively on two metrics. It raises concerns under the Responsibility in Government metric because it restructures appropriations in a way that obscures the true cost of higher education funding by shifting dollars between fund sources, reducing transparency in how taxpayer resources support public universities. It also conflicts with the Education metric’s explicit opposition to taxpayer funding for programs beyond high school, as the bill maintains and directs General Fund spending to universities while also increasing total higher education appropriations through state-administered endowment funds. All other metrics are unaffected by this narrowly focused higher education appropriations bill.