Engage · State

The state budget and how to influence it

Idaho doesn't pass one big budget bill. It passes a separate spending bill for each agency, all written by one committee. Here is the yearly cycle and when each part is open to you.

The basics

• The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. Fiscal year 2028 starts July 1, 2027.
• It has to balance. The Idaho Constitution doesn't allow the state to spend more than it expects to take in.
• Three kinds of money. The General Fund comes mostly from income and sales taxes and is what legislators argue over. Dedicated funds are fees and taxes tied to a purpose, like fuel taxes for roads. Federal funds come with federal rules.
• Public schools are the biggest piece of the General Fund, followed by health and human services.

The yearly cycle

1. Summer: agencies build their requests. Starting in July, each agency writes its request for the next fiscal year, following instructions from the Governor's budget office.
2. September 1: requests are due. Agencies send them to the Governor's Division of Financial Management and to the Legislature's budget staff. The requests are public.
3. Fall: the Governor decides. The Governor's staff review the requests and the Governor settles on a recommendation.
4. January: the Governor's budget. It is released on the first day of the session. The Legislative Budget Book puts each agency's request and the Governor's recommendation side by side.
5. January and February: JFAC. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, ten senators and ten representatives, hears from each agency and then votes on each budget.
6. February and March: the bills. Each JFAC decision becomes an appropriation bill that has to pass the House and the Senate and be signed by the Governor. If one fails, JFAC writes a new one.
7. July 1: it takes effect.

Where you can weigh in

• The agency, in spring and summer. The easiest time to get something into a budget is before the request is written. Many agencies answer to a board or commission that approves the request at a public meeting.
• The Governor's office, in the fall.
• JFAC members, in December and January. JFAC's hearings are mostly for agencies to present, and public testimony is uncommon, so email is the practical route. Members from your part of the state are the ones to start with.
• Your own legislators, before the floor votes. Every appropriation bill gets a vote in both chambers. See Who represents you.

Local budgets work differently

Your city, county, school district and other local districts each adopt their own budget, and each must hold a public hearing on it first. Counties and most cities start their fiscal year October 1 and hold the hearing in August or early September. School districts start July 1 and hold theirs in June. That hearing is open to anyone, and it is where local property tax levels are set.

Following the money

The Legislature's budget office publishes the Legislative Budget Book before each session and a plain summary of what passed afterward. The State Controller's Transparent Idaho website shows state spending, payroll and local government budgets.

Sources

• Budget process (Idaho Division of Financial Management)
• The budget process, with the statutes behind it (Idaho Legislative Services Office)
• Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (Idaho Legislature)
• Idaho Constitution, Article VII (Idaho Legislature)

Last reviewed November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the linked sources before you rely on a deadline.