Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0923 – FY2027 Department of Administration Appropriation
Bill Summary
House Bill 923 makes mid-cycle adjustments to the Department of Administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget. Section 1 appropriates an additional $1,229,600 across five program areas: Management Services receives $91,900 (including $1,900 from the Retained Risk Fund for operating expenditures), Public Works receives $970,500 (including $927,000 from the Administration and Accounting Services Fund), Purchasing receives $159,500, Insurance Management receives $5,700 (including $1,900 from the Industrial Special Indemnity Fund), and Document Services receives $2,000 from the General Fund.
Section 2 offsets a portion of these additions by reducing existing appropriations by $447,600 — cutting $365,000 in operating expenditures from the General Fund for Public Works and $82,600 from the Administration and Accounting Services Fund for Document Services. The net effect is a spending increase of approximately $782,000 for the department.
Section 3 authorizes one additional full-time equivalent (FTE) position for the Department of Administration for FY2027. Section 4 declares an emergency, making the act effective July 1, 2026, to align with the start of the fiscal year.
Overall Assessment
This bill increases the Department of Administration’s net budget by approximately $782,000 for fiscal year 2027, with the newly inserted line items alone adding roughly $930,800 in appropriations from the Retained Risk Fund, Administration and Accounting Services Fund, and Industrial Special Indemnity Fund. The spending increase, combined with authorization of one additional government employee, runs counter to principles of limited government and fiscal restraint. The bill’s impact is confined to internal state government operations and does not directly affect Idaho citizens, businesses, or policy areas outside of administrative overhead.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (-1)
The specific inserted language in Section 1 adds new appropriation line items totaling approximately $930,800 — including $1,900 from the Retained Risk Fund for Management Services, $927,000 from the Administration and Accounting Services Fund for Public Works, and $1,900 from the Industrial Special Indemnity Fund for Insurance Management — with no corresponding deletions. Section 3 further authorizes one additional FTE position. These changes expand the size and cost of state government without offsetting reductions, conflicting with fiscal responsibility and limited government principles.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
This bill makes internal budget adjustments to the Department of Administration and has no bearing on citizen participation, voting processes, ballot access, or public engagement with government. No provisions touch electoral or civic involvement mechanisms.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
The bill appropriates funds solely for Department of Administration operations including management services, public works, purchasing, insurance management, and document services. No education funding, curriculum policy, parental rights, or school-related provisions are included.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The bill's appropriations are limited to administrative functions of state government and contain no provisions related to agriculture, farming, ranching, water rights for agricultural use, or regulatory burdens on Idaho's agricultural sector.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
This bill makes no changes to water law, water rights, inter-basin transfers, or state versus federal authority over water management. Its scope is entirely confined to administrative department budgeting.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
Although the bill funds Public Works operations, none of the appropriated amounts relate to environmental stewardship, natural resource management, land use policy, or federal-state conflicts over resource regulation.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The bill contains no provisions addressing energy production, energy infrastructure, utility regulation, or energy independence. All appropriations are directed at internal administrative department functions.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill makes no reference to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, technology transfer, or any related federal-state partnership. Its scope is limited to the Department of Administration's operating budget.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
No provisions in this bill affect private property rights, eminent domain, regulatory takings, or due process protections for property owners. The bill is an internal government appropriations measure.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill does not address state or federal land ownership, land transfer policy, or management authority over public lands. Its Public Works appropriations relate to state building and facilities administration, not land policy.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to fish and game management, hunting and fishing access, predator control, or federal restrictions on wildlife policy. It is strictly an administrative appropriations bill.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
The bill's appropriations fund internal state government operations and do not regulate commerce, alter tax policy, affect small businesses, or change labor market conditions. The spending shifts are administrative in nature and do not directly shape Idaho's broader economic environment.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
While the bill draws from the Employee Group Insurance Fund and Retained Risk Fund, these are internal government risk management accounts used for state employee administration. The bill makes no changes to public health policy, Medicaid, private insurance markets, or welfare programs.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (0)
The bill appropriates funds for Department of Administration operations and contains no provisions touching family policy, parental rights, marriage, abortion, or child welfare. Its effects are confined to government administrative functions.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
No provisions in this bill address services, benefits, employment, or policies affecting older Idahoans. The appropriations are directed entirely at internal state administrative operations.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill makes no changes to criminal law, sentencing, law enforcement funding, gun rights, or judicial processes. Its scope is limited to administrative budget adjustments for the Department of Administration.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to national defense, border security, military operations, veterans' services, or the Idaho National Guard. All appropriations address state administrative department functions.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
The bill makes no changes to judicial selection processes, court procedures, or constitutional interpretation standards. It is an administrative appropriations measure with no connection to the judiciary.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting religious freedom, conscience protections, or government interference with religious practice. Its provisions are limited to internal state government budget adjustments.