Idaho's 2026 Session: Health, Welfare, and Public Safety Appropriations
Published August 16, 2026 · Idaho's 2026 legislative session adjourned April 2, 2026
Twenty-two FY2027 funding bills covering the Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho's corrections system, courts, and public defense passed the 2026 session. The Department of Health and Welfare alone shows up on eight separate appropriation bills — split across Medicaid, behavioral health, and general operations rather than one consolidated budget. The standout: a brand-new Rural Health Transformation Fund with its own oversight committee, not just a maintenance-budget line item.
Notable bills
A new program, the session's closest appropriations vote, targeted public defender hiring, and two funding bills tied to other 2026 legislation.
New Rural Health Transformation Fund and oversight committee
Establishes the Idaho Rural Health Transformation Fund and creates a new Rural Health Transformation Committee — a legislative oversight body responsible for governance and review — the session's biggest new health-funding structure, not just a budget line item.
House 46–20 · Senate 20–15
Medicaid MMIS procurement funding — closest vote in this recap
Funds the continuation of the 5-year Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) procurement process and estate-recovery enhancements. The tightest margin of any bill in this recap.
House 35–32 · Senate 20–15
Six new public defender trial attorneys
Funds 6.00 FTP from the Public Defense Fund to hire additional trial attorneys assigned specifically to Ada, Bannock, Bonneville, Jerome, Kootenai, and Twin Falls counties.
House 39–31 · Senate 22–12
Correction funding tied to new sheriff cost-reimbursement law
Addresses the fiscal impact of H684 (2026), which lets county sheriff's offices seek reimbursement from the Department of Correction for the cost of collecting a prisoner.
House 58–8 · Senate 34–1
New pay plan for Idaho State Police commissioned officers
Funds a new commissioned-officer pay plan, serving as a trailer appropriation to three separate 2026 bills (H793, S1325, H967) that touched state police funding sources.
House 62–0 · Senate 33–0
Every other health, welfare, and public safety appropriations bill
Mostly maintenance-budget line items across Health and Welfare's divisions, corrections, and state police. Full vote breakdown below.
| Bill | Purpose | House | Senate |
|---|---|---|---|
| H0869 | Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired | 55–14 | 27–8 |
| H0877 | Division of Vocational Rehabilitation | 56–13 | 32–3 |
| H0933 | Commission on Aging | 47–22 | 28–5 |
| H0950 | $200,000 to the Legislature for the Medicaid Review Panel | 60–10 | 24–10 |
| H0972 | Health and Welfare — trailer bill for SNAP eligibility system changes (from HB730) | 51–10 | 25–8 |
| S1361 | Public Safety — FY27 maintenance appropriation | 56–10 | 24–11 |
| S1386 | Commission of Pardons and Parole | 49–21 | 29–6 |
| S1388 | Department of Correction — FY26 and FY27 | 46–21 | 26–9 |
| S1402 | Department of Juvenile Corrections | 49–21 | 25–9 |
| S1409 | Idaho State Police — separate FY27 appropriation | 60–10 | 28–5 |
| S1429 | Health and Welfare — Behavioral Health Services Division, FY26 and FY27 | 39–27 | 21–14 |
| S1432 | Health and Welfare — FY27 appropriation | 42–24 | 23–11 |
| S1434 | Health and Welfare — separate FY27 appropriation | 46–21 | 24–10 |
| S1435 | Health and Welfare + State Independent Living Council — FY27 maintenance | 43–25 | 22–13 |
| S1437 | Idaho State Police — third FY27 appropriation | 66–0 | 35–0 |
| S1446 | Health and Welfare + Judicial Branch — joint FY27 appropriation | 55–13 | 23–11 |
| S1454 | Health and Welfare — fourth FY27 appropriation | 42–25 | 27–8 |
Related Tally Idaho coverage
2026 healthcare policy recap · 2026 public safety policy recap · Full 2026 Appropriations-subject bills list