The Legislative Council, the committee of lawmakers chaired by the House speaker and Senate president pro-tem that handles legislative business between sessions, is meeting this morning at the Capitol, and its first action was to approve adding another budget analyst to the legislative budget request for next year.

Eric Milstead, Legislative Services Office director, noted that longtime analyst Richard Burns retired this year, and after the upcoming session, two other longtime analysts, Ray Houston and Legislative Budget Director Cathy Holland-Smith, also will retire. “Those three folks constitute about 90 years of budgeting experience,” Milstead told the council.

The legislative budget staff already has been revamped so that it’s almost entirely budget analysts, plus one IT position. When the lone administrative employee, Margaret Major, took a job outside state government this year, her position also was converted to a budget analyst.

“We’ve had a marked increase in the number of interim committees and the number of meetings,” Milstead said, which the budget analysts help staff. “In 2010, we had four. This session, we’ve got 11. And the number of meetings has grown significantly. It takes a lot of time and a lot of work for the members, clearly, but staff has to staff those things and research and provide the answers that those committees need. So it just seemed to me that this is an appropriate time to add another position.”

Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, who serves on JFAC, said, “This will bring the number of budget analysts to 11, which is exactly the number we had pre-recesson. So we’re not gaining much – we’re just getting back to where we used to be.” Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, called that a “good observation.”

Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, said, “I believe very strongly in a citizen legislature, a part-time legislature that can only do the job that is before it by relying on staff. As our budgets grow, as the population of our state grows, as the state becomes more economically diverse, the job gets harder, not easier. I just think that in order for us to be able as citizen legislators to continue to make good decisions, we need to have the staff support there to accomplish it.” The council then approved the budget request unanimously.

Hill noted that the Idaho Legislature had 36 interim committee meetings this year.

The council also heard a report on a new pilot project it will start after the upcoming session, to provide staff support to House members for constituent services during the interim, between legislative sessions. One part-time staffer will provide the help, which could range from answering emails and letters to helping with newsletters and research, as requested by members; the Senate won’t participate in the pilot project. It’ll be evaluated to see if it should continue or expand, depending on use.