Bill Description: House Bill 952 is an enhancement of $235,800 and 0.00 new full-time positions for the Office of the Secretary of the State (SoS) for fiscal year 2027. This legislation appropriates a total of $5,872,400 and 35.50 full-time positions to the agency.
Note: This legislation is a revised version of House Bill 909, which failed to pass the house floor.
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Is the continuation or growth in ongoing spending, if any, inappropriate for the changes in circumstances, scope of the agency, or current economic environment? Conversely, is the continuation or growth in ongoing spending appropriate given any change in circumstances or economic pressures?
This legislation now includes an ongoing reduction of $114,200 to the general fund in order that the SoS participate in part of the JFAC base reduction. In addition, the agency also made a cash transfer to the general fund as part of their participation in the reductions.
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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.)?
This legislation authorizes onetime spending for the SoS of $350,000, adding additional expenditures after last year’s (FY26) onetime spending of $148,000. Onetime spending is often even more volatile than ongoing spending, which is to be expected due to these onetime expenses generally being utilized for projects or capital outlay. This also calls for special scrutiny and discernment.
The onetime expenditure solely consists of resources to produce a Voter Pamphlet ($350,000 GF). This expenditure is mandated by law (Idaho Code § 34-1812C).
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