BOISE, Idaho — Update: After the Idaho House killed the budget for the Idaho Commission for Libraries, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) met Friday evening to consider a fifth version of the budget and the second version of the day.
JFAC voted 14-3 to set the budget and the measure was sent to the House floor once again. The Idaho House around 10 p.m. Friday debated the fifth version of the budget and voted 41-21 to pass the bill.
In an effort to potentially wrap up the legislative session, the Idaho Senate took to the floor to vote on the budget. Around 11 p.m., the Senate voted 23-5 in favor of the newest version of the budget for the Idaho Commission for Libraries.
The Idaho House late on Friday killed a must-pass budget bill, extending this year’s legislative session.
The House voted 36-29 to kill the $7.7 million budget for the Commission for Libraries.
It's the last budget bill that needs the legislature's approval, but it came under fire from right-wing lawmakers who said libraries contained pornographic material.
The budget was rejected once before this session, with all 12 Democrats and some Republicans voting to support it. It was then revised with the latest budget bill cutting nearly $4 million from the commission’s budget. That wasn't enough to placate enough Republican opponents, and it caused Democrats who opposed the cuts to pull their support.
The cuts involved $3.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money as well as $307,000 in state funding for e-books.
“I found this budget just so punitive and excessive against libraries that there was no way I could be a part of that,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel.
The 12 Democrats are often enough to push through budget bills when a majority of the 58 Republicans oppose them.
“That was not something we were willing to do on this one,” Rubel said.
After the vote, Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke put the House at ease so majority Republicans could decide on their next move. Options appeared to include continuing to work on Friday, returning Saturday, or taking the weekend off and returning Monday. Bedke said he would prefer to return Saturday, but no decision had been made late Friday.
It costs at least $20,000 a day for lawmakers to remain in session.
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