Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: S1416 – FY2027 Species, Minerals & Energy Office Consolidation
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 1416 creates a new consolidated Office of Species, Minerals, and Energy Coordination for fiscal year 2027, appropriating a total of $46,107,400 from multiple funding sources including the General Fund, Federal Grant Fund, Renewable Energy Resources Fund, and others. The bill authorizes 23 full-time equivalent positions for this new consolidated office.
Simultaneously, the bill reduces appropriations to the two predecessor agencies being merged: the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources loses $12,781,300 in appropriations and 11 authorized FTE positions (Section 3 and 5), while the Office of Species Conservation loses $19,966,300 in appropriations and 16 authorized FTE positions (Sections 4 and 6). The Federal Grant Fund line items for all three offices are the only new language added to Idaho law.
The bill is declared an emergency measure, taking effect July 1, 2026, to align with the start of the state fiscal year. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee retains oversight authority, requiring prompt notification of any position increases beyond the 23 FTE cap authorized for the new consolidated office.
Overall Assessment
This bill consolidates two state agencies — the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Office of Species Conservation — into a single Office of Species, Minerals, and Energy Coordination, reducing the combined authorized workforce by 27 positions. The practical changes to Idaho law are limited to inserting Federal Grant Fund appropriation figures for the three affected offices, making this primarily a technical budget and reorganization measure. State employees in the two predecessor offices face position reductions, while the consolidated structure may streamline administrative functions across species and energy coordination work.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (1)
The bill consolidates two separate state offices into one, reducing the total authorized full-time equivalent positions across the affected agencies. Section 5 cuts 11 FTE positions from the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources and Section 6 cuts 16 FTE positions from the Office of Species Conservation, while the new consolidated office is capped at 23 FTE positions — a net reduction in authorized government staffing. This structural consolidation reduces administrative overhead and shrinks the footprint of state government in this policy area.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
The bill makes appropriations and adjusts agency structure for natural resource and energy coordination offices. It contains no provisions affecting elections, public comment processes, citizen participation in government, or political representation.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
The bill funds species, minerals, and energy coordination offices and has no connection to education policy, school funding, curriculum, or parental rights in education. Nothing in the bill's provisions touches the education domain.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The bill makes no changes to agricultural policy, farm programs, water rights for agricultural use, or rural land management. While species conservation work can intersect with agricultural land use, the bill's changes are limited to Federal Grant Fund line items and FTE authorizations with no agricultural policy content.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
The bill contains no provisions addressing water rights, water appropriation, inter-basin transfers, irrigation, or any other water policy matter. The offices funded deal with species and energy coordination, not water administration.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
Although the bill funds offices whose work touches natural resources and species conservation, the only changes made to Idaho law are the insertion of Federal Grant Fund dollar figures in Sections 1, 3, and 4. No policy changes are made to environmental regulation, resource management practices, state versus federal authority over natural resources, or conservation standards.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The bill appropriates funds to an office with 'Energy Coordination' in its name and draws from the Renewable Energy Resources Fund and Petroleum Price Violation Fund, but the only new language added to law consists of Federal Grant Fund appropriation figures. No energy policy, energy independence measures, or regulatory changes are enacted by this bill.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill makes no reference to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear energy research, technology development, or any programs associated with the INL. The appropriations are directed to state coordination offices unrelated to the INL mission.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting private property rights, regulatory takings, eminent domain, or land use restrictions on private landowners. It is a budget and agency reorganization measure only.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill does not address ownership, management, or transfer of state or federal lands. While the Federal Grant Fund is a funding source for the appropriations, no provisions in the bill alter the relationship between state and federal land management authority.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (0)
The bill reduces funding and positions for the Office of Species Conservation in Sections 4 and 6, but enacts no changes to wildlife management policy, hunting and fishing regulations, predator control programs, or fish and game statutes. The changes are purely fiscal and organizational, not policy-driven alterations to how wildlife is managed in Idaho.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
The bill is an internal government appropriation and agency consolidation measure. It does not address commerce, small business regulation, labor law, taxation, transportation infrastructure, or other economic policy areas that directly affect Idaho's private sector economy.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
The bill funds species, minerals, and energy coordination offices and has no connection to healthcare, health insurance, public health programs, welfare benefits, or any health and welfare policy. Nothing in its provisions affects this domain.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to family policy, marriage, parental rights, abortion, child welfare, or any other topic within this metric's scope. It is a government reorganization and appropriations bill with no family policy content.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
The bill makes no provisions affecting older Idahoans, retirement programs, senior services, or age-related employment policies. Its scope is limited to natural resource and energy office funding and structure.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to criminal justice, law enforcement, gun rights, sentencing, drug policy, or any other law and order topic. It is an appropriations and agency reorganization measure only.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill makes no reference to national defense, military affairs, border security, veterans' programs, or immigration enforcement. Its provisions are confined to state natural resource and energy office funding.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to judicial selection, judicial elections, constitutional interpretation, or the Idaho court system. It is entirely an executive branch budget and reorganization measure.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting religious freedom, conscience protections, government interference with religious exercise, or any related topic. Its scope is limited to appropriations for natural resource and energy coordination offices.