Latest news with #HouseBill482
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Little keeps emergency fund used in Idaho homicides investigation
This is a breaking news story. Check back to for updates. To sign up for breaking news alerts, click here. Idaho Gov. Brad Little hopes to retain control of more than half a million dollars in emergency funding after he rejected part of a bill lawmakers passed in the last few days of the legislative session. Little signed off on the other elements of House Bill 482 but vetoed the line item Monday evening that would have eliminated the governor's emergency fund, by transferring the remaining $652,500 in the pool to the state's general fund. In a news release Monday, Little pointed to his use of the funding in the past few years, which included his pledge to provide $1 million to support law enforcement with the homicide investigation of four University of Idaho students in Moscow. He also used the fund to pay for trips to the U.S.-Mexico border that he said helped his initiative to tackle the fentanyl crisis, Operation Esto Perpetua. Little can use the fund in any emergency that the Legislature couldn't 'reasonably' foresee under state law. In his veto letter, the governor said eliminating the fund would have hindered the state's ability to respond to certain crises swiftly. 'I share the Legislature's vigor for ensuring government is efficient, but citizens expect government to be responsive in times of crisis,' Little said in his news release. Lawmakers can typically override a governor's veto with another vote on the bill if the legislation receives two-thirds support from each chamber, though the Idaho Legislature ended this year's regular legislative session early this month. Lawmakers can call themselves back to the Capitol in Boise for special sessions with a petition signed by at least 60% of the House and Senate. The rest of House Bill 482 remained intact and became law, Little said in his veto letter. That included transferring the remaining $37.8 million from a fund created to help public schools pay interest on bonds into the general fund. The bill also included moving $1.1 million from the Constitutional Defense Fund into the Legislative Legal Defense Fund. Both pools of money have been used to fight lawsuits against the state. But the constitutional fund needs sign-off from leaders of both legislative chambers, the governor and attorney general. The use of the legislative fund needs approval only from legislative leaders. Before police found Bryan Kohberger, the suspect accused of killing the four college students in November 2022, Little committed up to $1 million to help fund the sprawling investigation. About $435,000 from the fund was used to reimburse Idaho State Police and the Moscow Police Department, which had a total budget of $6.5 million in 2022. Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of the college students, as well as one count of felony burglary. His murder trial is expected to start with jury selection in late July, and prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. The four victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington. Little, a University of Idaho alumnus, said the fund 'has been used to address serious unexpected situations that fall outside of a formally declared state of emergency,' including high-profile criminal cases. Taxpayer costs for the Moscow homicides case have continued to climb as Kohberger awaits his chance for a defense at trial and remains jailed. The amount had already exceeded $3.6 million as of April 2024, with the University of Idaho shouldering the brunt of the cost, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho governor issues line-item veto to retain his emergency fund
Idaho Gov. Brad Little leaves his office to give the State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2025, at the Idaho Statehouse. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) 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.' 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.' letter Disclosure: Idaho Capital Sun reporter Kyle Pfannenstiel worked for the University of Idaho's communications department when the four students were killed. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
