Joint committee approves FY2027 Health and Human Services maintenance budget after substitute motion fails

A joint meeting of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees approved the FY2027 maintenance budget for Health and Human Services after rejecting a substitute motion that would have changed the scale of reductions tied to House Bill 863.

Alex Williamson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the packet covered budgets for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the State Independent Living Council and outlined three actions before the committee: the FY2027 maintenance budget, adoption of standard language, and a proposed new reporting requirement for Health and Welfare.

Senator Zetterfeld moved the committee's primary maintenance motion, listing benefit, contract-inflation and statewide allocation figures and reductions for the fiscal impact of House Bill 863; Representative Bruce was recorded as second. A substitute motion that proposed different reductions and totals was put forward and debated.

During debate, one lawmaker warned of the impact on residential habilitation providers if cuts were too deep. "If you cut it 10%, you're gonna have them go belly up and the state's gonna be left handling those kids," a committee member said, urging caution. Another member said the program had grown rapidly (citing an increase from 97 homes to 254) and recommended audits to identify poor performers before applying deep cuts.

The substitute motion failed on roll call: Senate 4 ayes, 6 nays; House 1 aye, 9 nays. The committee then voted on the original maintenance motion, which passed (Senate 8 ayes, 2 nays; House 6 ayes, 4 nays). The chair said the committee will carry a do-pass recommendation.

Why it matters: committee action sets a maintenance-level appropriation and signals how the legislature will treat program-level reductions tied to policy changes in House Bill 863. Lawmakers repeatedly noted the tension between fiscal restraint and preserving services for vulnerable populations.

What comes next: members said Millennium Fund-related items (ACT teams, peer support, healthy connections) will be taken up separately at a future meeting, and the committee indicated it can reconvene to adjust numbers if a policy bill later changes fiscal impacts.