A large portion of the education budget is also in limbo, with one major bill pending on the Senate floor.
JFAC's House co-chairs said Tuesday morning that the Consolidated Appropriations Committee will not finish its work on the K-12 budget until the complex school facilities and income tax bills are voted on in the Senate.
“We still have some work to do,” said Rep. Wendy Homan (R-Idaho Falls) as JFAC concluded its 20-minute morning session.
Then, at noon Tuesday, Speaker of the House Mike Moyle made a bombshell statement. He derailed a spending bill for Idaho Launch, Gov. Brad Little's grant program for high school graduates committed to continuing their education. He assigned the $70.8 million launch budget to the House Ways and Means Committee, which could hold it indefinitely.
With the 2024 session suspended, the next move is by no means clear. JFAC adjourned on Tuesday morning “in accordance with the Chairman's call.” In the legislative lexicon, this means the committee will meet again, but it's unclear when that will happen. The House Ways and Means Committee generally meets under Mr. Moyle's direction, so any launch budget will likely only pass with the blessing of the chair of the anti-launch opposition. “I parked there to get some comfortable rest. I'm going to see what happens in the next day or two,” Moyle, a Republican, said after the floor session Tuesday morning.
The 2024 session will be the 72nd,n.d. On Tuesday, several key pieces of the education puzzle remained in limbo.
- The launch budget approved by JFAC in February is not the only launch bill in flux. The Senate last week approved a bill aimed at curbing “high-demand career” courses eligible for Launch Dollars. The House has not taken this up.
- Empowering Parents, which provides $30 million in small grants to families to help cover out-of-pocket education costs, has also stalled. The Senate passed a bill Friday that would tweak the system to “empower parents,” amid speculation that some lawmakers may want to expand the program to cover the cost of private schools. It was approved.
- State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield and her colleagues score 11.thA one-hour effort to take the first steps toward overhauling Idaho's K-12 funding formula. The funding formula bill was announced on Friday.
- It's also unclear whether or how Congress will ultimately become involved in the University of Idaho's proposed $685 million acquisition of the University of Phoenix. The House passed a resolution that could delay or halt the purchase. The Senate has not acted on the proposal, and some members are considering restructuring the agreement.
Homan's comments Tuesday illustrate the interrelationship between the K-12 budget and the omnibus facility and income tax bills.
House Bill 521, the facilities and income tax package, is about to reach Little's desk. It easily passed the House of Representatives and the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee. But that committee vote took place two weeks ago, giving Senate leaders plenty of time to bring the bill to a floor vote if they wanted to.
Rather, it's possible that Senate leadership is holding up a vote on another issue: a desire to hold HB 521 “hostage” in state legislative shorthand.
If the bill passes, schools would share $1 billion to offset building bonds and levies. In addition to the tax cuts included in the bill, HB 521 also removes his August school election date, one of the few controversial “conditions attached.”
This will be a follow-up if JFAC provides additional funding for K-12 schools.
Appropriations committees have already tabled what is known as the K-12 “sustainment” budget, which will provide nearly $3.1 billion to cover ongoing costs.
The budget passed the House of Representatives on February 9th. The budget also awaits a vote in the Senate and has not been on the Senate calendar for more than two weeks.
Terms of bill trimming library committee heads to House floor
The term of office for library administrators could soon be shortened from six to four years.
Sen. Scott Herndon's bill to shorten library board terms passed the House State Affairs Committee on a party-line vote Tuesday. Herndon, a Sagle Republican, said voters should weigh in more often on library issues, including drag queen-themed library programs, COVID-19 restrictions and materials children can access in libraries. He pointed out the controversy surrounding the issue.
“Parents want to exercise their right to speak to library district trustees at public meetings and throughout the election period,” he said.
Congress changed library terms from six years to four years more than a decade ago. Herndon said he didn't know why the change was made, but then-Congressman Brent Crane (R-Nampa) said it was to address a shortage of library board candidates.
2 people expressed opposing opinions Senate Bill 1235. “This is an unnecessary intrusion into library governance controls,” Elinor Chehay said. Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Idaho. “The six-year term contributes to the continuity of public library policy, and it is a process that is working. This is a solution in search of a problem. ”
SB 1235 is scheduled to take effect next year.
The bill is currently on the floor of the House of Representatives. The Senate passed the bill 22-12, with six Republicans voting against it.
Nonprofit inventory bill pending amendments
Efforts to obtain an inventory of state-affiliated nonprofits will now be brought to the Senate floor for amendments.
House Bill 708 would outlaw the creation of new corporations by state agencies and begin a long process of reviewing existing nonprofit organizations.
Government agencies would need to dissolve these nonprofits, sever ties with these nonprofits, or remake them into independent political entities, i.e., organizations created by the legislature. .
National non-profit organizations are common. For example, universities have nonprofit organizations that manage alumni associations and foundations. And, in a high-profile example, the University of Idaho is proposing the creation of a nonprofit organization to run the University of Phoenix.
But HB 708 was not written to help or hinder specific nonprofits, one of the bill's co-sponsors said.
“This creates a clear path for all nonprofit corporations with which the state engages to do business the right way,” said Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello.
U of I maintains the Phoenix nonprofit is constitutional, but the Legislature has received several opinions to the contrary. With this in mind, Senate President Pro-Tem Chuck Winder proposed amending the bill to begin the process of taking inventory of nonprofit organizations.
“I think we need to gather information,” said Winder, a Boise Republican.
The Senate State Affairs Committee voted to send HB 708 to the Senate for amended orders.
If the Senate amends the bill and passes it, the House would have to vote again. The House passed the bill in its current form last week.
Senate passes charter facility funding stabilization bill
The Senate advanced a bill Tuesday that would set new standards for funding charter school facilities.
Currently, state funding for charter school facilities is calculated on a per-pupil basis based on the amount of bond balances and factory facilities levies held by traditional school districts. Last year, House Bill 292, the Property Tax Relief Act, inadvertently reduced facility funding for charter schools by helping school districts pay for bonds and levies.
Senate Bill 1391, introduced by Sen. Lori Den Hartog, would restore lost funding and establish a $400 per student standard.
Den Hartog, R-Meridian, said the change is not intended to increase future funding for charter school facilities. He said that from fiscal years 2021 to 2023, charter vessels received between $389 and $422 from the current formula. “400 seemed like a good spot in the middle.”
Under the bill, charterers would receive the greater of 50% of the average statewide bond and facility levy per pupil (current formula) or $400 per pupil. .
This method would determine which school districts would authorize virtual charter schools in the future. If House Bill 521, a pending bill to enhance facility funding for traditional school districts, becomes law, SB 1391 would allow de facto grantors to receive funding through HB 521. It would prohibit charter facilities from receiving funding.
The Senate also passed a preliminary version of SB 1391 (Senate Bill 1392), which removes references to HB 521 in case it does not pass the House. Senators unanimously approved both charter facility bills, which now go to the House.