Idaho is one of the few states in the U.S. without an official governor’s residence. This has been the case since 2013 when the state returned a mansion in the Boise Foothills that J.R. Simplot had donated. Since then, the state’s governors have received a yearly stipend to help cover their housing costs. Currently, Governor Brad Little receives a $60,000 annual housing stipend. Little owns a home in Emmett, Idaho, but also rents an apartment in downtown Boise.
However, this situation might change soon. On Wednesday, a legislative committee took steps to explore the possibility of building or buying a governor’s residence. The committee has asked the state’s Department of Administration to form a panel that would study the issue in more detail.
Representative Jaron Crane, a Republican from Nampa, is one of the lawmakers pushing for this change. He believes that it makes more sense for the state to invest in a governor’s mansion, which would increase in value over time, rather than continuing to pay out a yearly stipend. According to Crane, “I feel like that might be a more appropriate route to consider going forward, to just have a governor’s house or mansion, if we were so fortunate to have something square footage-wise that would categorize as that.”
Senator Ali Rabe, a Democrat from Boise, is also on the Governor’s Housing Committee and supports the idea of creating a governor’s residence. Rabe is the executive director of Jesse Tree, a nonprofit organization focused on affordable housing.
She has expressed concern that the current stipend is based on a market analysis rather than Governor Little’s actual housing costs, which aren’t publicly known. Rabe believes the state should budget for the governor’s housing costs based on actual expenses rather than estimates.
The state already owns 15 acres of land in the Boise Foothills, which is earmarked for a governor’s mansion. Additionally, the state has around $200,000 set aside that could be used for construction or furnishings if the decision is made to move forward with building a new residence.
The new committee, tasked with studying the feasibility of building or buying a governor’s residence, is expected to meet in the coming months. Meanwhile, the funds that pay the governor’s monthly stipend are running low. As of June 30, which marked the end of the fiscal year, the fund held about $131,000.
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Both Crane and Rabe have suggested that state legislators should consider making annual budget appropriations to replenish the fund while they decide whether to build or buy a new residence. Earlier this year, Governor Little’s office included a proposal for such appropriations in its budget. However, the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee chose not to fund the proposal at that time.
