This bill amends Idaho law to clarify how school districts must use state funds designated for school facilities, requiring money to be spent on construction, renovation, maintenance, and security rather than athletic facilities. It establishes a nine-member Model School Facility Council to develop a standardized plan for school building design and construction that districts must follow when using these funds. The council will be appointed by state officials and must submit its plan to the legislature by July 2027, while districts must annually report on how they spend the allocated money.
This bill updates how money collected from Idaho's liquor sales is distributed to various state funds and local governments. It adjusts the percentages of funds allocated to counties, cities, and specific programs like law enforcement, substance abuse treatment, and education over a multi-year period starting in fiscal year 2018. The changes gradually shift more funding toward local governments while maintaining set amounts for state agencies and court-related services. The bill also corrects a code reference error and establishes minimum funding levels to protect historical distribution amounts from 1981.
This bill allows fire protection and ambulance service districts in Idaho to use citizen initiative petitions to raise or lower their property tax budgets, giving residents a direct vote on these financial decisions. It establishes specific procedures for these initiatives, including requiring signatures from at least 20% of qualified voters in the district and setting deadlines for petition submission and verification. The bill also updates existing budget limit rules for these districts, allowing them to calculate budget requests differently than other taxing entities, particularly regarding growth factors and annexed property values.
This bill allocates $235,800 in state funds to the Office of the Secretary of State for fiscal year 2027, covering personnel costs and operating expenses. The money comes from the General Fund and is designated for use between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027. The legislation includes an emergency clause to allow immediate implementation of the funding on the specified date. This appropriation directly supports the operational budget of the Secretary of State's office without changing existing laws or responsibilities.
This bill directs $5 million from the Idaho High Needs Student Fund to the Public Schools Educational Support Program's Division of Student Support for fiscal year 2027 to help fund student support services. It also transfers $1 million from the Idaho Career Ready Students Program Fund and $4 million from the Driver Training Account into the Idaho High Needs Student Fund to provide the necessary money for this appropriation. The legislation clarifies the funding source for these expenditures and sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, with an emergency declaration to ensure immediate implementation.
This bill modifies Idaho's tax exemptions for data center operations, extending a sales tax exemption for data center equipment and revising property tax rules for capital investments. It requires businesses to invest at least $250 million in data center facilities and create 30 new full-time jobs within specific timeframes to qualify for the exemptions. The legislation also introduces new requirements for companies starting construction on or after April 1, 2026, including electricity rate agreements and water consumption planning with local providers. Businesses that fail to meet these investment and job creation requirements must pay the taxes that would have otherwise been owed.
This bill provides an additional $63,000 in state funding to the Idaho State Police for their Forensic Services Program during fiscal year 2027. The money is designated for operating expenses and will be drawn from the state's General Fund. The legislation includes an emergency declaration to ensure the funding takes effect immediately on July 1, 2026. This appropriation directly supports the forensic analysis work conducted by Idaho State Police personnel.
This bill allows Idaho school districts and public charter schools that meet specific performance and financial standards to gain more control over how they spend state education funds. To qualify, districts must rank in the top 20% for test scores or exceed state averages by significant margins, maintain strong graduation rates, and demonstrate three years of clean financial audits. Participating schools gain flexibility to allocate money for salaries, programs, and other expenses as they see fit, while being exempt from many state reporting requirements. The law includes safeguards that allow the state to revoke this flexibility if schools fail to meet academic benchmarks for two consecutive years or have serious financial audit issues. A report on the program's impact will be submitted to the legislature in 2029.
This bill allocates $390,000 from the General Fund to Idaho's Department of Water Resources for fiscal year 2027 to support personnel, planning, and two specific stream adjudication projects in Northern Idaho and the Bear River Basin. It also transfers $716,000 from the Revolving Development Fund to the Aquifer Planning and Management Fund to finance aquifer monitoring, measurement, and modeling activities. The legislation reappropriates unspent American Rescue Plan funds for nonrecurring water infrastructure projects and allows general stream adjudication funding to count toward filing fees for certain water right claims. Finally, the bill declares an emergency and sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.
This bill reduces the state funding for Idaho's Digital Learning Academy by $13.5 million for fiscal year 2027 and adjusts related financial transfers between state funds. The legislation requires the academy to limit course offerings and deny new enrollments if necessary to maintain a positive cash balance, while prohibiting withdrawals from the Public Education Stabilization Fund for this program. Additionally, the bill mandates that the academy verify compliance with state nondiscrimination standards for diversity, equity, and inclusion courses and submit a compliance report by December 2026. The law also requires detailed reporting on course costs, enrollment data, and budget information to the Legislative Services Office by August 2026 to improve transparency in how state funds are used.
