Last week marked the official start of the campaign, and my announcement received a lot of great local coverage. I also had a wide-ranging interview with Matthew Christensen at BYU-Idaho Radio. It will air this Wednesday, and I’ll be sure to share a link to it online.
However, the best part of the whole thing was earning the endorsement of Rep. Dell Raybould. My grandfather has served our community and state in multiple roles for over 50 years. It’s an honor to receive his endorsement, and I plan to follow his example of servant leadership.
Learning in Boise: Joint Finance Appropriations Committee
This week, I’m headed to Boise to spend some time in the Capital during the legislative session. I’m curious to see how it’s changed since my internship in Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s office.
My goal: to get a clearer sense of the committee process and the work legislators do behind the scenes between meetings. For example, right now JFAC (Joint Finance Appropriations Committee) is holding budget hearings and listening to testimony from the different state agencies.
These budgets are prepared by the individual agencies with help from a budget analyst in Idaho’s Division of Financial Management. After hearing from all the agencies, JFAC begins setting budgets and creating appropriation bills for the review and approval of the House and Senate. To become law, each bill must pass both chambers and receive the governor’s signature.
If I haven’t put you to sleep at this point, I hope it’s clear how invested I am in the process of being a good legislator for our district. I can’t wait to get started!