Government and civic life
💵 Idaho's State Budget: How JFAC, Holdbacks and Revenue Forecasts Really Work
Where Idaho's state money comes from, how the budget moves from agency requests to the governor to JFAC to the floor, how revenue forecasts are made, what holdbacks and the balanced budget rule mean, how reserves and tax cuts change the picture, how to read an appropriation bill, how state dollars reach counties, cities and schools, and how to track, report on and testify about the budget.
- 1Where Idaho's Money Comes FromThe three kinds of state money, why the $5.6 billion General Fund is only part of a $14.4 billion budget, where General Fund revenue comes from, and how to read the revenue table without getting lost.26 min
- 2The Budget Calendar: From Agency Requests to Sine DieThe statutory dates and the real FY2027 and FY2028 cycles: agency requests on September 1, the Governor's January budget, JFAC budget setting, sine die, July 1, and the supplementals and holdbacks that follow.27 min
- 3Who Does What: Governor, DFM, LSO, JFAC and the Officers Who Hold the MoneyThe roles in Idaho's budget: the Governor and DFM, the Legislative Services Office, the 20-member JFAC and its maintenance and enhancement bills, germane committees, the Board of Examiners, the State Controller and the State Treasurer.27 min
- 4Revenue Forecasts: Who Makes Them and How to Read the Monthly ReportHow the Division of Financial Management and the legislative EORAC committee forecast Idaho General Fund revenue, why JFAC adopts one number, and how to read the monthly General Fund Revenue Report with real September 2026 figures.26 min
- 5Holdbacks, Deficits and the Balanced Budget RuleWhat the Idaho Constitution requires, how the governor's holdback power under Idaho Code 67-3512A works, the 2025-26 holdbacks and cuts step by step, the 2008, 2009 and 2020 precedents, who is exempt, and where the legal limits and disputes lie.28 min
- 6Rainy Day Funds, Reserves and TransfersWhat Idaho's Budget Stabilization Fund, Public Education Stabilization Fund and other reserves are, how the 15 percent cap and year-end transfers work, and how cash transfers helped balance FY2026, with dated balances.26 min
- 7Tax Cuts and Budget TradeoffsA dated record of Idaho's flat income tax rate cuts, the food tax credit, the parental choice credit and the 2026 federal conformity bill H559, what each fiscal note says it costs, and how to weigh the arguments on every side.27 min
- 8Reading an Appropriation Bill and the Legislative Budget BookA line-by-line walk through two real FY2027 appropriation bills, H.B. 866 and H.B. 952, and the matching Legislative Budget Book and Legislative Fiscal Report pages for the Secretary of State, with the arithmetic that ties them together.30 min
- 9Following the Money Home: Revenue Sharing, Schools, Medicaid and Local BudgetsHow a state sales tax dollar reaches cities, counties, special districts and schools under Idaho Code 63-3638, how the K-12 support unit formula and the Medicaid match work, and what a holdback or cut in Boise means in a local budget, with worked arithmetic and two diagrams.28 min
- 10Tracking, Reporting and Testifying on the State BudgetHow to follow the Idaho budget year by year, watch JFAC and find the documents behind a number, write a budget story that holds up, and speak to the Legislature, with a list of common numbers mistakes, a table of verified figures and two diagrams.30 min