New measure takes aim at billing in governor’s office

BOISE — After a hearing Tuesday in which the governor’s budget director faced pointed questions from some members of the budget-writing committee over billing other agencies, a bill was introduced Thursday to prohibit the action.

Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, introduced a bill Thursday morning in the Ways and Means Committee that prohibits the governor’s office from billing other state departments or constitutional officers.

This billing practice was the center of questions by Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, during a budget hearing Tuesday for the executive office of the governor. Tanner referenced a number of transfers from other agencies, many of which were to cover work performed by governor’s staff for work done for those agencies.

Tanner referenced a $95,000 transfer in August 2023 from the Department of Health and Welfare for governor’s office support, $55,000 from Idaho Department of Corrections in August 2023, and $50,000 in June 2024 from the Division of Financial Management. He questioned the timing, given that budget cycles begin in July. He also asked if the office’s budget would balance without the transfers.

Lori Wolff, the administrator of the Division of Financial Management and the governor’s budget chief, responded that personnel reimbursement is “not anything new.”

She gave the example of the previous governor’s budget director, Alex Adams, serving as interim head of the state Charter School Commission last year following the resignation of its executive director. She also provided the example of Gov. Brad Little’s press secretary currently serving as the interim director of the Commission for Hispanic Affairs, and the staff support provided to the Department of Agriculture last year as it tackled the invasive quagga mussel situation in the Snake River.

“This goes back to the early ’90s … and I also want to say there’s nothing being hidden,” Wolff said at the meeting, adding that the office also isn’t using the transfers to “offset budgets.”

Tanner said that he couldn’t find detailed information about what the money was exactly being billed for.

Wolff told the Idaho Press that each employee who splits time tracks it differently, but the pay that’s billed from agencies is based on the amount of time that employee spends on work for that agency. She said the process is similar to how a Department of Lands employee that usually works in administration would be paid from a wildfire account if they get called to firefighting work during the summer.

On Thursday, Scott in a brief introductory hearing said the bill to prohibit the transfers was meant to “close a loophole” and that the bill was meant to improve transparency.

“When you do transfers like that, it’s hard to track,” Scott said.

House Assistant Minority Leader Steve Berch, D-Boise, asked what the governor’s office’s input was.

Scott responded, “he’s well aware of what’s going on here” but that she did not talk to him about the bill.

Berch said he opposed introducing the bill because he thought the Legislature should be “cooperative as opposed to combative” if it’s writing legislation that affects other branches of government.

“I could see this being viewed as a hostile piece of legislation,” Berch said.

Majority Leader Jason Monks responded, “when money is moved around and hidden from us, I find that hostile.”

Little’s Press Secretary Joan Varsek told the Idaho Press in an email that the governor’s office hadn’t reviewed the bill’s language, but that the concept of it could be disruptive.

“However, generally speaking, the budget transfer process is rooted in conservative fiscal policy,” Varsek wrote. “The process allows one employee to wear multiple hats. Taxpayers expect we will get the most bang for their buck, and the budget transfer process makes sure we minimize waste and maximize employees’ productivity. Undoing the process that has been in place for nearly three decades would result in state government being less responsive and agile. It would result in fewer efficiencies and increased expenditures for the General Fund that could otherwise go to tax relief, education, and other key priorities.”

The bill will likely return to a committee for a full public hearing and vote.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.