Idaho governor issues line-item veto to retain his emergency fund

Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Monday issued a line-item veto on a bill to retain the governor’s emergency fund.

House Bill 482, passed nearly unanimously by the Idaho Legislature, would have eliminated the balance of the governor’s emergency fund. 

In recent years, Little has used the emergency fund to support the investigation into the killings of four University of Idaho students, and for efforts to fight fentanyl and help secure the U.S.’s southern border with Mexico, the governor’s office said in a news release. 

Slightly more than $652,000 remains in the governor’s emergency fund, according to the bill’s fiscal note. 

“As leaders, we need the tools to be agile in responding to crises that affect our citizens. I line-item vetoed this budget bill because eliminating the Governor’s emergency fund only hinders our ability to respond quickly in a fast-moving situation,” Little wrote in a prepared statement. “I share the Legislature’s vigor for ensuring government is efficient, but citizens expect government to be responsive in times of crisis.”

The bill would have zeroed out the governor’s emergency fund by directing the State Controller’s Office to transfer all remaining balance in the fund to the state’s general fund “as soon as practicable” for Idaho’s current fiscal year, which ends June 30. 

Little’s line-item veto rejected that transfer, but approved the bill’s other fund transfers into law. 

The governor’s emergency fund transfer would have, according to the bill’s fiscal note, centralized “the state’s emergency funds in the Office of Emergency Management in the Military Division.”

In his veto letter, Little called it critical for the governor’s emergency fund to maintain the funds. The fund, he wrote, “has been used to address serious and unexpected situations that fall outside of a formally declared state of emergency.”

Unclear if Idaho Legislature will reconvene to respond to line-item veto

It’s not immediately clear how the Idaho Legislature will respond to the governor’s line-item veto.

The Legislature adjourned for the year, officially called sine die, more than a week ago on April 4. During the legislative session, the Legislature can override gubernatorial vetoes with two-thirds support in the House and Senate.

With support from 60% of members, the Legislature can call itself back in for a special session. House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, doubted that would happen but said legislative leaders could see if there’s a desire for a special session, he told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview Monday.

But Moyle called the veto unusual, saying the governor could still access $31 million in emergency funds if he declared an emergency. The fund the bill would’ve zeroed out was created as a response to COVID-19, Moyle said. 

“He could declare an emergency and still send the officers to the border. He could declare an emergency and still help out up there …” Moyle said. “This wasn’t to reduce funding. Usually, a veto is to reduce funding. This is to increase funding in his own budget. This is not normal.”

Shanon Gray, an attorney for the family of homicide victim Kaylee Goncalves, provided a statement from the family in support of the governor’s line-item veto.

“We are in support of keeping the governor’s emergency fund,” the family wrote. “In a case like ours, where a terrible tragedy occurred in a small jurisdiction in Idaho the promise of a Governor who prioritizes justice over dollars was pivotal in our case. Using the emergency fund to allocate resources to Moscow in order for a proper investigation to be done was one of the most critical pieces in bringing the defendant to justice.”

Disclosure: Idaho Capital Sun reporter Kyle Pfannenstiel worked for the University of Idaho’s communications department when the four students were killed.